Edubadges should enable badge consumer verification both for URL-based sharing and verifiable credentials presentation. Consumers need to test credentials at multiple levels, so Edubadges should make sure pilots consumers implementing the capability to confirm a badge meets their expectations in these categories:
- Proof integrity: The consumer can verify the proof (digital signature) was signed by an identified key, that this key is properly associated with the identified issuer, and that the proof is valid for the credential data.
- Recipient verification: The consumer can confirm that the user who is presenting the credential to them is the learner identified as the
credentialSubject. This either means verification of a user signed into a web application or a person applying and being interviewed through some hybrid process combining web and physical contexts, such as a job application web form, a file-based resumé, email communication, and an in-person interview. - Issuer trust verification: The consumer can verify that the issuer of this badge is indeed the physical world institution that it claims to be, and that they have some reason to trust that this issuer is a trusted institution that awards educational credentials generally, and that they have some reason to trust that this issuer is a relevant issuer for the criteria described in a specific credential. The method that a consumer may implement to gather relevant data and make decisions in each of these categories may be complex or very simple, but it should be possible to explicitly describe. For example, a particular consumer may know that the
edubadges.nldomain is associated with SURF and trusts that (a) SURF would not allow misrepresentation on its domain of issuer identity, (b) that all issuers of edubadges are appropriately accredited institutions, and (c) that a course completion badge is well in scope of the type of credential they value from this type of institution. Alternatively, a consumer’s approach to these challenges could involve some combination of yet-to-be-developed digital trust registries, cryptographically verified Open BadgesEndorsementCredentialsof institutions and common alignment of all badges and job postings to ESCO skills/competencies.
Partnership with target consumers and collaborative implementation of this type of transmission and verification during a pilot poses the best chance for the successful implementation of end-to-end badge transmission. To identify an appropriate pilot opportunity, work with a partner to understand whether Verifiable Credentials wallet integration protocols, Open Badges 3.0 APIs, file downloads, or even URL-based sharing would be most appropriate for this consumer. Line up coordination with a wallet vendor if needed, and aim to build a working implementation in a pilot. Comparison of experiences using URL-based sharing and approaches that directly take advantage of Open Badges 3.0 verification will prove instructive when preparing these features for post-pilot release.
Production level offerings can follow as successful transfer workflows prove practical for learners to navigate. Previous generations of the Open Badges ecosystem did not explicitly try to demonstrate all of these verification levels, so in order to expand from pilot partners to general audiences, product documentation should offer specific guides for the easiest ways to successfully validate edubadges and make it possible for this information to easily accompany learners as they share credentials with consumers.
Recommendation: Identify a target consumer among potential partners for a pilot phase, implement a specific verification workflow, and test it out through scripted user interviews, then follow up for subsequent pilots or production release with the user experience improved and stabilized.
| Back to Index | Previous Chapter 5: Edubadges Architecture Considerations | Next Chapter 5.4: Simplifying Edubadges |
|---|