credentials Sharing Verifiable Digital Credentials

Abstract

Learner ownership of digitally verifiable and shareable assertions of attainment -- credentials -- is aligned with goals of learner-centricity and open platforms. The Open edX platform has existing mechanisms for sharing Open edX credentials, however, they do not support recent innovations around distributed ledgers. Both the EU and the W3C have been focused on development standards for shareable, verifiable credentials based on distributed ledgers. Credentials are connected to a self-sovereign digital identity and can be shared and independently varied to support processes like applying to degree programs, applying for employment, etc.

The Initiative proposes to

Create a generalized mechanism for sharing Open edX credentials
Migrate existing implementations to that mechanism or deprecate them if they are not valuable
Create a reference implementation for the integration mechanism with the one or more credential stores based on distributed ledgers including the DCC/W3C wallet and/or the EU wallet.

Project-level metrics:

Impact: Increase the value of attainments achieved on the Open edX platform by allowing learners to present them in order to prove their attainment. Measure: Deployment of reference implementation to Open edX instances, enablement of the feature, use by learners