Merge pull request #53 from kayaelle/main

Content and layout update

_data/glossary-list.yml

@@ -4,32 +4,39 @@ terms:
   - term: Assertion
     definition: A statement in a credential about a person's achievement.
   - term: Competency Framework
-    definition: An instance of a logically related set of competencies, knowledge, skills, abilities, or other attributes (KSAOs). When they are stored in accessible formats, they can be easily used across systems.
+    definition: A logically related set of competencies, knowledge, skills, abilities, or other attributes (KSAOs). When they are stored in computer-friendly formats, they can be easily used across systems.
   - term: Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR)
-    definition: CLR is 1) a standard format for issuing multiple achievements as a single credential. The CLR standard version 2.0 can contain Open Badges (version 3.0) and other credentials including transcripts. 2) A credential issued in this format. Some wallets can now store CLRs in them. 
+    definition:
+    list:
+      - A standard format for issuing multiple achievements as a single credential. 
+      - A format defined by the standards organization 1EdTech for issuing multiple achievements as a single credential. The CLR standard version 2.0 can contain Open Badges (version 3.0) and other credentials including transcripts. 
+      - A credential issued in this format. Some wallets can now store CLRs in them. 
   - term: Credential
-    definition: We use the World Wide Web Consortium's broad definition of credential to mean anything that proves something about a person, i.e. qualification, competency, or clearance. This includes someone's identity, license, diploma, work eligibility, badge, certification, etc.
+    definition: We use the World Wide Web Consortium's broad definition of credential to mean anything that describes something about a person or a thing, i.e. qualification, competency, or clearance. This includes someone's identity, license, diploma, work eligibility, badge, certification, etc. 
   - term: Digital Wallet
-    definition: A digital credential wallet is software that helps individuals store, manage, and share their educational, work, and other credentials. Digital wallets should be interoperable, meaning individuals can easily import and export their standards-compliant credentials without losing information.It operates in a similar way to a physical wallet that holds money, important documents, and identification.
+    definition: A digital credential wallet is an application that supports the storage and exchange of digital credentials that conform to a credential standard. Here we are focused on LER/VC compliant credentials. They have services for storing, viewing, and sharing credentials that include protecting them from being tampered with by cryptographic proofs. Many wallets also support self-authoring of credentials that can be signed by the wallet holder. Many wallets can store credentials in formats like CLR, VC, and Open Badges. 
   - term: Evidence
     definition: Any links, multimedia, work samples, assessment results, or other documentation provided with a credential that supports its credibility and value.
   - term: Interoperability
     definition: The ability of different devices, software, or systems to successfully talk to each other. Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems.
   - term: Issuer
-    definition: An organization or person who creates a credential.
-  - term: Learning and Employment Record (LER)
-    definition: LER is a category that describes a record or collection of records relevant to education, hiring, and advancement. The current best practice for LERs for the purpose of skills-based hiring and advancement is for LERs to meet a set of criteria that supports their usefulness for representing a person's qualifications interoperably (across different organizations systems, including HR systems, education systems, and online profiles). Yet, this list of criteria is still aspirational. Issuing credentials as the latest versions of CLR, Open Badge, or W3C Verifiable Credential is a great step towards meeting these criteria. These credentials can be stored in digital wallets and easily moved between them.
+    definition: An organization or person who creates and digitally signs a credential.
+  - term: Learning and Employment Record (LER) Issued as a Verifiable Credential (LER/VC)
+    definition: LERs are a category that describes a record or collection of records relevant to education, hiring, career advancement. The current best practice for LERs for the purpose of skills-based hiring and advancement is for LERs to meet a set of criteria that supports their usefulness for representing a person's achievements and qualifications interoperably (across different organizations' systems, including HR systems, education systems, and online profiles).</p><p>We recommend awarding credentials using the latest versions of CLR, Open Badges, or W3C Verifiable Credential (VC), which are all compatible with the Verifiable Credentials standard. We call these credentials LER/VCs. These credentials should be stored in digital storage systems (i.e., wallets, portfolios, backpacks etc.) and easily movable between them.
   - term: Micro-credential
-    definition: While there is little agreement on the definition of a microcredential, AACRAO suggests&#x3b; A microcredential is generally a subset of learning achievements or outcomes that is less than a full degree or certificate. Ideally they are stackable and demonstrate earning criteria" (AACRAO, 2022).
+    definition: While there is little agreement on the definition of a microcredential, one suggestion is&colon; "A microcredential is generally a subset of learning achievements or outcomes that is less than a full degree or certificate" (AACRAO, 2022).</p><p>Ideally they are stackable and demonstrate earning criteria. A microcredential can be awarded in various formats, like as a digital badge or paper certificate.
   - term: Open Data Standard
-    definition: Open data standards are agreements that establish a consistent way to create, use, and share data… Ideally, open standards are free/low-cost, consistent, create portable data, are openly-governed, interoperable, useful, and structured. Open data standards are just the [data] formats being made available, not the data itself" (Learning Economy Foundation, 2022). 
-  - term: Open Data Standard
-    definition: Digital badges which are awarded using the Open Badge standard.
+    definition: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies, provides a useful definition&colon; “Open Standards are standards made available to the general public and are developed (or approved) and maintained via a collaborative and consensus-driven process” (ITU, 2024).</p><p>This definition implies that open standards are not just available for anyone to read and implement, but the process of creating them is itself open to participation. In practice, the definition of open standard is widely interpreted. Some are designed by a small group of organizations in commercial consortia. Others are created using open processes that encourage broad participation. Some standards are voluntarily adopted, others are mandated by regulators. "A specification created by a single organization that is available for anyone to freely use and which has been broadly adopted might also be considered an open standard" (Open Data Institute, 2018).
+  - term: Open Badges
+    definition: Digital badges which are awarded using the Open Badges standard.
+  - term: Skills-based Hiring and Advancement (SBHA)
+    definition: Skills-based Hiring and Advancement (SBHA) refers to a recruitment and career development approach focused on evaluating and promoting people based on their skills and competencies. It is a process by which employers and HR service providers identify, recruit, hire, and advance candidates informed by skills and competency data, helping to more effectively match candidates' skills and competencies with the skill and competency requirements of work or learning opportunities (USCCF, 2022). 
   - term: Verification
-    definition: Often appears as a green checkmark on a credential that ensures no fraud has occurred since it was issued and that the credential belongs to whoever is sharing it. This checkmark appears upon loading the credential or on demand to represent that the software has just checked the credential's real-time integrity. It is not a representation of the quality of the credential's contents.
+    definition: Automated procedures that check the digital signature or "seal" on a credential. These include a set of general checks (has the credential been signed by the issuer and not modified since signing), as well as business-logic checks that may include "is it expired?", "has it been revoked?", "does it conform to the expected format?" It is crucial to understand that verification checks the "seal" on the credential but does NOT imply evaluation of the truth of any statements within a credential.
   - term: Verifiable Credential
-    definition: 1) A credential that can be verified using the definition of verification above. 2) The name of the data standard from the World Wide Web Consortium that guarantees a credential is tamper evident, interoperable, and provides multiple options for disclosing all or selective parts of the credential contents, at the discretion of the credential holder. The CLR 2.0 and Open Badge 3.0 are compatible with this standard and more compatible standards are coming soon.
-  - term: Verifier
-    definition: Typically an employer or other organization which wants to check that a credential is real.
+    definition:
+    list:
+      - A credential that can be verified (see definition of verification). 
+      - When capitalized, the name of the data standard from the World Wide Web Consortium that guarantees a credential is tamper-evident, interoperable, and provides multiple options for disclosing all or selective parts of the credential contents, at the discretion of the credential holder.<p class="pt-2">Note that this standard specifies only the outer envelope of the credential, not the credential inside.</p>
 
 

_data/resources-list.yml

@@ -81,6 +81,9 @@ resources:
       - title: Skills-Based Hiring and Advancement: LERs, Resumes, and Related Data Standards
         author: The T3 Innovation Network
         url: https://www.t3networkhub.org/resources/skills-based-hiring-and-advancement-lers-resumes-and-related-data-standards
+      - title: What is a Verifiable Credential?
+        author: World Wide Web Consortium
+        url: https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/#what-is-a-verifiable-credential
       - title: What’s the Key to Building Learning and Employment Records? Interoperability
         author: Jobs for the Future
         url: https://www.jff.org/whats-the-key-to-building-learning-and-employment-records-interoperability/

glossary.md

@@ -4,18 +4,31 @@ title: LER Ecosystem Map - Glossary
 ---
 
 <div class="container-fluid">
-
-	<h2 class="sub-heading imagine">Glossary</h2>
-
-	<p>These terms reference the draft glossary at the T3 Innovation Network Learning & Employment Record Guide.</p>
-
-	{% for item in site.data.glossary-list.terms %}
-
-		<div>
-			<p><strong>{{ item.term }}</strong></p>
-			<p>{{ item.definition }}</p>
-
+    <div class="row mx-4 py-3">
+    	<div class="col">
+        	<h1>Glossary</h1>
+    	</div>
+ 	</div>
+ 	<div class="row mx-4">
+        <div class="col">
+			<p>These terms reference the draft glossary in progress with the T3 Innovation Network Learning & Employment Record Guide.</p>
 		</div>
-
-	{% endfor %}
-</div>
+	</div>
+	<div class="row mx-4">
+		<div class="col">
+			{% for item in site.data.glossary-list.terms %}
+				<h3>{{ item.term }}</h3>
+				{% if item.definition %}
+					<p>{{ item.definition }}</p>
+				{% endif %}
+				{% if item.list %}
+					<ol role="list">
+						{% for option in item.list %}
+							<li>{{ option }}</li>
+						{% endfor %}
+					</ol>
+				{% endif %}
+			{% endfor %}
+		</div>
+	</div>
+</div>

resources.md

@@ -2,24 +2,27 @@
 layout: default
 title: LER Ecosystem Map - Resources
 ---
-<div class="container-lg body-text-medium">
-<div class="row px-3 py-0">
-<div class="col">
-<h1>Resources</h1>
-<div class="body-text-medium">
-<p>A number of resources exist to help you learn more.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-</div>	
-<div class="row px-3 py-0"> 
-<div class="col">
-{% for item in site.data.resources-list.resources %}
-<h3>{{ item.name }}</h3>
-{% for site in item.sites %}
-<ul>
-<li><a href="{{ site.url }}" target="_blank">{{ site.title }}</a> | {{ site.author }}</li>
-</ul>
-{% endfor %}
-{% endfor %}
-</div>
+<div class="container-fluid">
+    <div class="row mx-4 py-3">
+    	<div class="col">
+        	<h1>Resources</h1>
+    	</div>
+ 	</div>
+	<div class="row mx-4">
+        <div class="col">
+			<p>A number of resources exist to help you learn more.</p>
+		</div>
+	</div>	
+	<div class="row mx-4">
+		<div class="col">
+			{% for item in site.data.resources-list.resources %}
+				<h3>{{ item.name }}</h3>
+					{% for site in item.sites %}
+						<ul>
+							<li><a href="{{ site.url }}" target="_blank">{{ site.title }}</a> | {{ site.author }}</li>
+						</ul>
+					{% endfor %}
+			{% endfor %}
+		</div>
+	</div>
 </div>

technical-guidance.md

@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ title: LER Ecosystem Map - LER Guidance
 					</ul>
 				</li>
 			</ul>
-			<p>It’s often asked if learning and employment records issued using older digital credentials standards, as PDFS, or other formats besides Verifiable Credentials are considered to be “LERs”. The answer is yes, but they will be inherently less usable on the web when Verifiable Credentials are expected. For as long as they are hosted by their issuing web platforms, Open Badges 2.0 and earlier should be available to share online but they will not be verifiable in the same cryptographic manner because they won’t be digitally signed. PDFs will likely continue to have their place in the world but even digitally signed PDFs are not as functionally usable as the machine readable data in Verifiable Credentials.</p>
+			<p>It’s often asked if learning and employment records issued using older digital credentials standards, as PDFS, or other formats besides Verifiable Credentials are considered to be “LERs”. The answer is yes, but they will be inherently less usable and applicable on the web when Verifiable Credentials are expected by web sites and applications.</p>
+			<p>For as long as Open Badges 2.0 and earlier are hosted by their issuing web platforms, they should continue to be available to share online but they will not be verifiable in the same cryptographic manner because they won’t be digitally signed. PDFs will likely continue to have their place in the world but even digitally signed PDFs are not as functionally usable as the machine readable data in Verifiable Credentials. The best course of action is to seek software and vendors that are using or willing to use the W3C Verifiable Credentials standard for LERs.</p>
 		</div>
 	</div>
     <div class="row">
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ title: LER Ecosystem Map - LER Guidance
   	</div>
   	<div class="row mx-4">
   		<div>
-			<p><a href ="https://www.c-ben.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CBEN-23-003-Interoperable-Learning-WALMART-V2.pdf" target="_blank">The Competency Based Education Network Interoperability Principles </a> offer guidance and key design elements for optimal LER systems. Recognition and adherence to these principles is encouraged for technology vendors and other decision makers within the ecosystem.</p>
+			<p>The Competency Based Education Network <a href ="https://www.c-ben.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CBEN-23-003-Interoperable-Learning-WALMART-V2.pdf" target="_blank">Interoperability Principles</a> offer guidance and key design elements for optimal LER systems. Recognition and adherence to these principles is encouraged for technology vendors and other decision makers within the ecosystem.</p>
 		<div>
 			<p><strong>OPEN STANDARDS</strong></p>
 			<p>Data included in LERs are formatted using a standard structure, allowing for easy exchange between individuals, education, and employment.</p>