Akshay A: I think it's worth throgouhly reflecting on what we want certifications and the transcript to function as to answer these questions (not to mention the odd overlap it has with tutor profiles). Not a major concern now, but sometime soon? I should read what Sal's book had in mind about this, assuming we still want to base this off of his ideas about alternative mastery. (oops just realized this is replied under my test acct lol)

Quinn O: Yup, using video certifications as mastery for college is the first step in the journey. Elysa Kohrs and co are thinking about how we go closer and closer to Sal's vision of alternative mastery.

Akshay A: Yes! That makes sense. Adding honorary certifications might reduce the credibility. However, for example, since I have tutored most in "Experimental - Computer Science" I want that "Computer Science" highlighted and not just "Experimental" under Top Courses.

Maybe directly adding the honorary certification is not the best move but how about probably modifying other sections to include it indirectly? That way the credibility is secured and we reflect the actual subjects we tutor the most and display our mastery in instead of a general term like "Experimental".

Nishant Aanjaney J: That could probably be solved if the transcript was allowed to show more details under "Top Courses Tutored".

Selina C: Yes! That is a work-around for the proposal I have made. If a tutor has knowledge in Chemistry and Physics and have honorary certifications for teaching those subjects under "Experimental", that could be highlighted in the transcript as "Hosted # sessions in Chemistry, Hosted # sessions in Physics" or something similar.

That way it does come under "Mastery" which could reduce credibility; and it also reflects that we have tutored in this topic indirectly showing our mastery.

Nishant Aanjaney J: Hm, when I said "more details", I was thinking more along the lines of "Experimental - [specific topic]" being shown instead of just "Experimental", but showing the number of sessions hosted next to each listed topic would be really nice to have as well. I don't think there would need to be a separate area for that in the transcript besides the small box that is "Top Courses Tutored" though.

Selina C: Yes, either modification would benefit many tutors, I think. Akshay A what do you think of this?

Akshay A: Hi Akshay, I'm writing with a related question/suggestion, on the tutor profile and transcript.

I've linked my transcript in my profile description. But can the transcript itself be modified, in the coming weeks or months, to link to the tutor profile?

Both pages offer valuable data points on one's tutoring capability. But each does not link to the other, especially the transcript. Moreover, it's fine if each page remains distinct, but practically it's far easier to share one's profile in correspondence. That's because I can just say I tutor at schoolhouse.world/u/2405, appending one's profile URL to the platform's.

So, while it's probably not worth integrating the profile with the transcript, ensuring the transcript links to the profile—upon clicking the tutor's name, for instance, or in a line beneath the name—will go a long way in making viewers see that both pages are useful.

Colleges and employers might want to see a tutor's profile after viewing their transcript, to see what a candidate is hosting in the near future. Similarly, learners too might find it useful to look at the transcript to see if the tutor can help them with a certain topic.

As for not displaying alternative credentials on the transcript, I agree. But it will be helpful if the 'Experimental' or 'Community' label also displayed a title to keep things specific. This is precisely what Nishant Aanjaney J suggested in a comment in this post.

Given that there aren't any certifications in these areas, I don't want prospective employers and colleges to overlook these in favor of the crystal-clear math topic certifications. That's because many of the capabilities that employers are looking for might lie in experimental domains too, rather than just math. Tutors host many amazing non-math sessions and series here, which deserve a mention on the transcript.

Tarun G: Good idea, r.e. linking to the tutor profile! And also, yeah we did add the "Topics tutored" section to showcase non-math subjects like Experimental. I wonder if we can also make that list a bit longer?

Akshay Ravikumar: Thank you for responding. Please think about mentioning tutor profiles on the transcript. Like I said, the URL could be beneath the name, so it'll read:

"Tarun G

Member since June 2020"

I'm sure the Schoolhouse team will figure out a feasible way, though, now that you're thinking about linking the profile.

But where's the "Topics tutored" section? In the transcript webpage or PDF? Or do you mean the "Top courses tutored" under "Tutoring highlights" in both pages? In my case, the details don't show up in either page because I haven't run many sessions yet.

That being said, I do appreciate that you're thinking about making the Experimental/General subjects more detailed. It helps to list what Experimental sessions a tutor has run. Maybe tutors could pick a small number of courses to display, just like they pick between different feedback messages. But I'm not sure if the Experimental under Tutoring highlights must be expanded, or if a "Tutoring details" section must be introduced where the specific topics and series titles are listed.

Akshay Ravikumar: Hi Akshay, I was overjoyed to notice today that the transcript page was updated to feature a blue button that links to the profile. This is amazing! Thank you so much for this update. But there's a few things I need to add.

First, in my case, the profile button doesn't actually link to my profile. I both clicked and hovered over it, and saw no sign of a hyperlink on the blue button. Since this is a new feature I assume it will be fixed soon. But the transcript web page is almost perfect now.

Next, the PDF transcript. It still doesn't link to profiles yet, so I'd love it if you could link profiles there too. In particular, do think about featuring the profile URL beneath the tutor's name. Or anywhere else is fine too. The important thing is to make it easy for transcript viewers to quickly visit a tutor's profile.

Nishant Aanjaney J: Now that I've earned an Hon. certification, I have experiential knowledge of not seeing it on the transcript. Yes, again I agree that featuring Hon. certifications will help too. Experimental sessions are already displayed. So letting transcript viewers know that a tutor's Hon. certifications were approved is nice too.

Akshay A: Hi Akshay, I fully agree that seeing both math video and hon. certifs on transcript can confuse viewers, especially if both certifs are in the same section. But what if hon. certifs were to be added as another section, not in 'Mastery' reserved for math video certifs?

There, hon. certifs could just be a list of topics, with an explanation of how hon. certifs are earned, like the blurbs for each section of the transcript. But this time, no links to 3rd party credentials or anything. These hon. certif mentions will just mention what topics a tutor has hon. certifs in.

An important issue here is who can currently view hon. certifs. Can anybody other than the tutor themsel (when logged into their My Certifications page) see one's hon. certifs? In other words, is there a place where hon. certifs are displayed publicly, just like one's feedback comments are in both profiles and transcripts?

Whether or not hon. certifs make it to the transcript, there has to be some place where they're visible to profile viewers. Otherwise, what's the point of earning them? Ultimately, hon. certifs are for learners to build trust in a tutor's expertise in the topic, and actually venture to sign up for a session, rather than shy away from anything that's not math, right?

CC Akshay Ravikumar

Tarun G: Yup, over the coming month or two we'll be thinking about the profile + transcript, and where to show a user's honorary certifications CC @JJackie L

Akshay A: Super-excited to see these changes in action!

Akshay A: Hi Akshay, Thank you so much for fixing the transcript issue I told you about earlier. I can now easily access my profile from the blue button on the transcript page. If profiles aren't also mentioned on the transcript PDF, please do think about updating that too. Not now, but when you're updating the PDF with your current logo (still features the old one). Thanks again to everyone involved in improving the transcript, and linking the profile in it!

Nishant Aanjaney J: C.Sc isn't listed among other subjects, if you noticed