Edlink is designed to bridge the gap between various educational data systems, offering a unified way for applications to connect with Learning Management Systems (LMS), Student Information Systems (SIS), identity providers (like Clever and ClassLink), and other educational data standards. This overview explains how Edlink approaches these integrations and what you can expect when working with different types of data providers.
The primary goal of our provider integrations is to abstract the complexities and inconsistencies inherent in different educational platforms. Instead of building and maintaining separate connections for each system a school might use, developers can integrate with Edlink's single, consistent API. This allows your application to seamlessly access roster data, manage assignments, sync grades, and facilitate Single Sign-On (SSO) across a wide range of providers.
Types of Providers We Support
Edlink connects with several categories of data providers:
- Learning Management Systems (LMS): Platforms like Canvas, Schoology, Google Classroom, Blackboard, Brightspace, and Moodle. These are typically rich in course content, assignments, and gradebook functionalities.
- Student Information Systems (SIS): Systems such as PowerSchool, Aeries, Skyward, Infinite Campus, and Veracross. These are often the authoritative source for student demographics, official enrollments, school structures, and sometimes attendance or behavioral data.
- Identity & SSO Providers: Platforms like Clever, ClassLink, Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, and other OAuth/OIDC compliant systems. These are primarily used for authenticating users and providing basic roster information.
- Data Standards: We also support standards like OneRoster and LTI, which provide common frameworks for data exchange and tool interoperability.
How Edlink Handles Provider Differences
While each provider has its unique data models, API behaviors, and feature sets, Edlink works to normalize this data into our unified data model. This means:
- Consistent Data Structures: Whether data comes from Canvas or PowerSchool, it's mapped to Edlink's standard entities (e.g., People, Classes, Enrollments, Assignments).
- Standardized Functionality: We strive to offer consistent functionality (like creating an assignment or fetching a user's profile) regardless of the underlying provider. However, some functionalities might be limited by what the source provider's API supports. For example, not all SIS platforms support grade passback, and not all LMS platforms expose detailed attendance data.
- Abstraction of Complexities: Edlink handles provider-specific authentication flows, rate limiting, error handling, and data pagination, so your application doesn't have to.
What This Means for You
- For Developers: You can build your integration once against Edlink's API and gain access to a multitude of school systems. While the core data and functionality will be consistent, it's beneficial to be aware of potential differences between providers for advanced use cases or when troubleshooting.
- For Schools: You can safely share data from the systems you already use. Edlink can help application developers support complex use cases like roster syncing, grade passback, and SSO without needing to understand the intricacies of your school's particular setup.
Exploring Specific Providers
Each provider supported by Edlink has its own dedicated documentation section. These sections will typically contain (at least) the following information:
- Specific functionalities supported (e.g., rostering, grade sync, SSO).
- Data mapping specifics from the provider's entities to Edlink's models.
- Step-by-step guides for school administrators to connect their system to Edlink.
- Troubleshooting tips for common issues related to that provider.
We encourage you to explore the documentation for the specific providers relevant to your application or school to understand the nuances of each integration.
If you have a provider you'd like to see Edlink support, or if you have questions about a specific integration, please contact our support team.