In Brief…

Since the rise of COVID-19 in 2020, the need for interoperability has risen in schools like never before. To be prepared, edtech companies need to adapt and adopt multiple connections and features to equip their products.

This is where LMS integrations come into play.

LMS integrations can help vendors get schools online and running in short order. Vendors that develop LMS integrations will be ahead of the game and attractive to districts and universities that need flexible interoperable solutions.

Expanding On That…

LMS integrations provide edtech developers powerful tools to build platforms. Good integrations can prepare vendors for the interoperability need, save developers time, and offer a better user experience for the schools they work with – leading to happier clients.

There are 2 simple ways edtech companies can benefit from LMS integrations.

  • Integrations can save developers time by cutting feature duplication
  • Integrations solve a clear client need

Integrations Can Save Developers Time by Cutting Feature Duplication

Integrations allow developers to leverage several aspects of the LMS into their own products. Most LMSs already provide the classroom management features that schools and teachers require. So, developing similar features in a learning platform can be redundant and create extra work for users.

For example, instead of building a gradebook into an app, a developer can integrate grades from the app back to the teacher's gradebook in Canvas. Now, teachers don’t have to copy and paste grades from the platform into their Canvas gradebook.

SSO integrations can also help developers better handle user accounts. SSO permits teachers and students to sign into a third-party tool using their existing LMS credentials – managed by a school’s tech administrators. Developers don't have to build out methods to allow admins or teachers to manage accounts and reset passwords in the app. This also means that issues of teachers and students having trouble logging in will be handled by LMS admins, rather than the edtech platform.

Integrations Solve a Clear Client Need

LMS integrations allow third-party apps to act on behalf of an authenticated user. This means someone who signs into an app with their LMS credentials could use the app to send data and content back to their LMS.

For example, a teacher could use a Schoology-integrated app to assign a quiz from the app to their class. Students could then log into the app, through Schoology, to complete the quiz. Teachers could then sync the quiz grades from the app back to their gradebook in Schoology.

In the scenario above, the integration with Schoology saves teachers time by letting them assign content to their course with the click of a button. It also saves educators time by not having to copy grades back to their gradebook. Furthermore, the teacher doesn't have to manage student accounts and passwords, since students will use their existing LMS credentials to access the app.

If developed properly, LMS integrations can save teachers time and allow students to seamlessly access third-party platforms. Happy teachers lead to better relationships between vendors and schools.

Read More on Data Integration

Here are other articles we’ve written on 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!