The Research-Based Design and Learner Variability product certifications are currently open.
We are in the process of developing additional product certifications. If you’re interested in contributing to the design of those certifications, please contact us 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.