Why Educational institutions Benefit from Integrations
Ensuring that student data is accurate and updated across all systems is one of the most challenging tasks that schools face. Entering this data for each system or application that a school uses individually is time-consuming and error-prone. Integrations allow for data to seamlessly flow between the LMS and other applications in real-time and decrease the errors that can occur with manual data entry.
Apps that can benefit from LMS integration include assessment generators, lesson banks, interactive games, student response systems, publishers, and a whole slew of other learning tools. Through integration with these applications, processes such as onboarding students and returning grades can be made simpler. Teachers can spend more time teaching and less time on administrative tasks, like setting up accounts for students or copying over grades.
Integration Basics
Integration can be achieved through a variety of different methods. Below are a couple of the ways to integrate third-party content, applications, and services with an LMS:
- API Integration - Applications that integrate with an LMS's proprietary API. Coding API calls into an application allows users to retrieve information, such as roster data, from the LMS and create resources (e.g. quizzes, assignments, lessons) in the LMS.
- Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) - Applications that integrate using the LTI standard. Many LMSs support this standard and allow users to access third-party content within the LMS.
When an app is integrated into an LMS there are new features that can be built into the connection:
- Single Sign-On
- Content Integration
- Rostering
- Grade Passback
Read More on Integration
Here are other articles we’ve written on building integrations to help you on your journey:
- What to know about Single Sign-On for Education
- Single-tenant vs Multi-tenant: What’s better for your app’s security
- Case Study: Schoolrunner
- Why would I Work with Edlink Instead of Just Building My Own LTI Application?
- District Onboarding with Edlink
Learn More about Edlink
If you're looking for a partner who can help guide you through developing LMS integrations (like these), then let’s introduce ourselves. We’re Edlink!