Canvas Credentials API

[mcarruth]

Does Canvas Credentials have an API that can be used to issue badges?

We need to issue a badge based on outcomes from multiple courses, thus a script must be written to extract the outcome and determine if the badge should be awarded. I'm looking for a way to issue the badge through this automated process.

[jsowalsk]

@mcarruth I have not seen one no.

[ryan_corris]

Hey @mcarruth! 

If I am understanding your question correctly, I believe Credentials is set up to do this for you.  Here is something that might work for your need.

Basic summary:

• Create a group in Credentials and add all of your learners to that Credentials group.  
• Let's assume you are combining the outcomes from three different courses to award your completion badge.  Create a badge for each one of those three courses (could be more than three courses and more than one badge per course if necessary).  Create the requirements and add the badge(s) within each of the three courses to award the badge(s) from each specific course.
• In Credentials, create a pathway and add the pathway to the Credentials group.  The steps on the pathway would consist of the badges associated with each of the three courses. The completion badge of the pathway would be awarded once the requirements would be met for each of the courses.

This method allows you to combine the outcomes of any number of courses. Each course would have its own badge or set of badges that would be required steps on the pathway for that Credentials group.  Once students in the Credentials group completes the pathway assigned to that group the completion badge will be awarded. All you would need to do is to check to see who has the completion badge for that pathway.

Let me know if this will help your situation or if you have any questions.  I will be happy to go into more detail if that would help.

[cstrikwerda]

Hello @mcarruth 

Thanks for posting in the Community!

To add to Ryan's answer, this is what the Pathways solution in Canvas Credentials is best suited for. That is to track learner progress from multiple Canvas courses, and to award badges based on stacked prerequisite badges. I do believe this would suit your needs if you were to setup a Pathway to award badges based on those prerequisite Course Outcomes.

Does Canvas Credentials have an API that can be used to issue badges?
To answer your question regarding the API- Canvas Credentials does have an API to interact with to award badges.

Here is a link to our API documentation: https://api.badgr.io/swagger-ui/index.html

You would need to create a token with a username/ password to interact with the API however.

Here is a guide for getting started interacting with the Canvas Credentials API: 

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Badges-Credentials/Canvas-Badges-App-Developers-API-Guide-...

To issue a new assertion to a badge (awards are called assertions in the API) this would be the "Issue a new Assertion to Recipient" API call. That API call is here: https://api.badgr.io/swagger-ui/index.html#/Assertions/handleAssertionCreation

Hope this helps! Please reach back with any questions and we would be happy to assist further.