As the New Year heralds a host of exciting future projects, we wanted to take a moment and look back on the past 12 months of LearningBuilder development. While we made a lot of updates to the platform, here are some of our biggest “game-changers” from 2024:
New and Improved Integrations
We are always working to optimize how information flows through the credentialing ecosystem, and last year was no different. We expanded our already robust suite of integrations to include Nursys, which verifies RN licensure without manual intervention, and Credly Acclaim, which allows LearningBuilder to issue and update shareable and LinkedIn-friendly digital badges.
But that’s not all: Lest we bury the lede, last year we also built the LearningBuilder Learning Hub! Have you ever wished that professional achievement data could get into your certification management system more quickly, safely, and effectively? Now it can! The Learning Hub is a cloud-based database that connects to systems on either end via API call. One system requests data, and the other system provides it. It adds an intermediary layer of security and protection to data exchange and acts as a buffer to throttle data, which means bulk imports (like 100,000 CE records released at once) won’t affect system processing. Because the Learning Hub is fully cloud-native, high-volume data exchange is now easier, more scalable, and more standardized.
The Learning Hub also allows LearningBuilder to share candidate data with authorized databases, verification sources, and other third-party repositories. These Subscribers can access specific, requested LearningBuilder user activity. Even a high volume of requests won’t degrade the production performance of your core LearningBuilder system.
Our development of the Learning Hub has huge implications for managing CE records and professional development activities in particular, but can supercharge data integrations in general. If you have data (like certification status, for example) that needs to get into your system, or vice-versa, the Learning Hub can likely help.
In addition, a LearningBuilder Event Subscription Template ensures that when a system publishes to the Learning Hub, LearningBuilder can pull that data directly into the appropriate learning plan to be counted automatically toward application requirements. The Heuristics Support team can configure these templates through the LearningBuilder UI without needing to escalate requests, leading to faster resolution. Our seasoned client administrators can even use these configurable templates to configure the Learning Hub integration without engaging the Heuristics team at all.
Learning Hub data enters LearningBuilder via our Enhanced Data Import Tool, which means data import has the power to trigger workflow actions, send automated notifications, and even modify applications.
Further Enhanced Data Import
Speaking of the Enhanced Data Import Tool, in 2024, we made it even more cool!
How? For starters, we extended the data functionality in a few important ways. Before, it would take two separate data imports (one to create the Member Role, and one to start the Learning Plan) to add new people to the system and start their applications. In 2024, we cut that down to one. Now end users like education providers, membership associations, and your staff can import new people into the system and simultaneously start their applications.
Plus, data import can now also create (and populate) Seat Assignments. This enhancement isn’t just for education providers that host credentialing exams (although they were designed with self-hosted exams in mind). It applies to any offering at a specific date, time, and location with a set capacity of “seats.”
We also simplified and streamlined the file preparation and management tasks associated with Enhanced Data Import, taking important steps to restrict unwanted data entry and prevent imports to the wrong targets.
We didn’t just work on bulk import capabilities, either. We also developed in-app Manual Data Entry this past year! As an alternative to the existing File Upload interface, users can instead enter one record at a time using a pre-configured form. Manual Data Entry is super helpful for those with lower volumes of data to import or who are less spreadsheet-savvy (or both).
Larger File Uploads and New Video Capabilities
In addition to data import, which brings data into a system for processing, we also worked this year to improve file uploads, which transfer data from one device to a server or other remote device. First, we leveraged Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (S3) to support Large File Uploads for — you guessed it — larger file sizes than ever before. This functionality in turn paved the way for LearningBuilder’s new Video Attribute.
Why Video? Whether someone needs to demonstrate their applied knowledge for evaluation, supply supporting evidence, or anything else that requires showing rather than telling, video can be worth a thousand words and more. Now, your system participants can safely upload video as a part of an application process for others to stream, all within the system. Your staff won’t have to download these files or use a third-party platform for hosting. No one needs to sacrifice storage space or security.
Looking Ahead: Stay Tuned for More from LearningBuilder in 2025!
We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished this year to develop LearningBuilder for our valued customer community. Thank you for being part of our world! We will continue to make improvements to the platform — both large and small — this year and in the years to come. If you’re looking to make changes in 2025-2026, take the first step here and schedule an exploratory call.
