For an institution, an LMS is the cornerstone of a classroom’s digital ecosystem. Teachers use an LMS to assign homework, post grades, link to online resources, and perform other functions of classroom management. Students use an LMS to access materials posted by the teacher, complete assignments, and view grades. The LMS also provides an avenue for students and teachers to organize discussions and communicate with each other.

Many LMSs allow third-party companies to integrate with the LMS. LMSs let this happen because they want end-users to have access to all educational resources directly from the LMS. By doing so, the LMS increases its utility of the LMS for end-users. This value is further enhanced when the LMS allows outside content to send and receive data. For example, a teacher using an LMS could link a lesson with comprehension questions to their students. If the publisher of the lesson has developed an application with LMS integration in mind, teachers assigning the lesson could retrieve the responses from the comprehension questions and send the assessment directly to their grade book.

Why is LMS Integration Important for Schools?

Schools want third-party content that can integrate with LMSs. The ability to integrate reduces the complexity of the classroom’s online ecosystem for teachers and students. Instead of having to access different digital resources on a variety of websites and platforms, students and teachers can access most of their content directly through their LMS. For instance, users may be able to log into an LMS-integrated application solely with their LMS credentials. LMS-integrated applications reduce redundant administrative tasks that teachers or administrators typically had (or still face) to perform themselves, such as creating accounts for students and publishing grades to a classroom grade book.

Why is LMS Integration Important for Developers?

Edtech developers can also benefit from developing third-party content that integrates with LMSs. To be awarded RFP contracts, many schools now require publishers to integrate with LMS. Furthermore, LMS integration can reduce technical overhead for developers. The LMS can give third-party applications access to functions such as grade passback and rostering, which mitigates the need to develop certain features for classroom management. This lets publishers focus more on their content and less on developing features that are already performed by the LMS.

Read More on Integration

Here are other articles we’ve written on building integrations to help you on your journey:

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!