Frequently Asked Questions

The Research-Based Design Product Certification is accepting applications here.

We are currently developing the learner variability product certification. If you’re interested in contributing to the design, reach out to our team at productcertifications@digitalpromise.org.

The assessment process is rigorous and can take several weeks to complete. The application is assessed by two reviewers with expertise in edtech, product design, and research, who have been trained in using the certification’s rubric. You can expect to receive the results of their review within 28 days of submitting your application.

Product certifications will be issued as Open Badges. Awarded applicants will receive the Open Badge to display in any way they deem valuable, such as on product websites and product index sites. The Open Badge will display:

• Competency statement
• Digital Promise as the issuer
• The issue date
• The expiration date (3 years after earning the certification)
• Learner/grade levels
• Subject areas
• Product version and date it was released
• Required operating systems/platforms
• The learning or challenge the product intends to address, as described in your application

You may also opt-in to sharing one, some, or all of the content application questions in the Open Badge. Check out this blog to learn more about Open Badges.

Any software or hardware product that delivers, informs, creates, and/or offers instruction or learning opportunities to educators and/or students is welcome to apply.

If an applicant does not earn the certification, this information will be kept confidential between Digital Promise and the product. Additionally, the list of applicants is confidential and only known to Digital Promise. The product will receive a one-page description of the assessment with specific action items to take to earn the certification. We are committed to a continuous learning process and encourage products to resubmit their applications after incorporating the assessors’ feedback.

In the application, the product team can opt-out from sharing any of their responses in the Open Badge certification. While completing the application, you will be prompted to note which responses can be shared publicly through the Open Badge, but these responses will only be shared publicly if the applicant has earned the certification. When the application is submitted, responses will be reviewed by Digital Promise staff only.

The application responses and artifacts uploaded to the Digital Promise Micro-credential platform are stored in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform, specifically in an encrypted S3 storage bucket (an AWS public cloud storage).

Signing the Promise is not required to submit an application nor is signatory status considered during application review, though you are encouraged to pledge your commitment if you agree that learning sciences research is important to the product design process.

The application is currently open and there is no deadline to submit. However, many district leaders have shared with Digital Promise that they plan to review which products have earned the certification in early fall to inform budgetary decisions for the following school year. To ensure your certification status is available by September, your application must be submitted by early June.

As the application questions consider product design processes and history, it is recommended that one or more senior leaders complete the application.

The application should take the product team leadership between 2-4 hours to complete.

Digital Promise is committed to providing a rigorous and efficient review of product certification applications. To cover the cost of assessor time, each product certification requires a modest submission fee which can be found on the product certification platform. For more information about submission and resubmission fees, please contact productcertifications@digitalpromise.org.

This question intends to understand how the product team shares the research basis of the product design with the public. Products that meet this criteria typically have a specific webpage dedicated to learning sciences research or the research behind the design, often with hyperlinked citations, or publish blog posts and/or videos to describe and cite the research about learning used to inform design decisions. These resources need to be easily accessible and searchable on the product’s website, and not hidden behind login or paywalls.

The Research-Based Design certification only considers how the research about how people learn was used to design the product. The application calls for citations of rigorous research about learning and education as well as a clear explanation of how these studies informed design decisions. As such, efficacy or impact studies about the product itself will not be considered in the application review for this particular certification.