Imagine grabbing a math badge on Khan Academy and automatically jumping to the next lesson in school. Imagine having a tutor that knows how you learn best and where you left off at school.

Imagine moving to a new school and having teachers equipped to personalize learning from day one including accommodating your learning differences.

Imagine completing a course and earning a credential and automatically unlocking work-based learning opportunities and receiving college entrance invitations.

While Amazon, Facebook, and Google have a comprehensive record of each of us, many schools still rely on a paper-based list of grades completed and classes passed as their record of progress. Comprehensive learner records would help students, teachers, and guardians track progress, coordinate services, and make informed decisions. And just like taking a Netflix movie from an iPad in the kitchen to the living room TV, a digital learning record would move seamlessly with a learner from formal to informal learning environments.

A comprehensive digital record would include transcript data such as grades, courses, and state test results; local assessments and feedback on success skills; demonstrated levels of mastery and earned certifications; record of services received and work and service experiences. An accompanying portfolio would allow learners to curate their personal bests.

During and after high school, a digital learning record provides secure and verifiable learning and employment record tracking recognitions, competencies, and evidence of achievements.

Portable digital learning records would benefit from better tagging and tracking, more interoperability, better transcripts. and learner management.

Read the full article about portable learning records by Tom Vander Ark at Getting Smart.