What is Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)?
Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) is a technical standard developed by 1EdTech. With LTI, you can easily link various online (external) learning tools to a single central learning environment without the hassle of separate logins or disconnected platforms. It ensures that everything is accessible in one place, making it easier for both employers and employees to work with multiple external providers within their existing learning environment. For educators and organisations with a learning platform, LTI allows external learning content to be seamlessly integrated into onboarding, training programs, or compliance initiatives.
How Does LTI Work?
LTI enables educators to link courses hosted on their own platform directly to an organisation's LMS. Employees can access these courses via their familiar LMS interface without needing additional login credentials. While educators manage the content and participant progress, results and progress data are automatically synced with the LMS. This gives both educators and organisations easy access to performance insights without the need to access the educator's platform.
LTI 1.1 vs. LTI 1.3
Currently, there are two main versions of LTI: LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3. Check out our blog “LTI 1.1 vs. 1.3: Which Version Suits Your Learning Platform?” to learn all about the differences.
Benefits of LTI for Educators and L&D Professionals
The use of LTI offers numerous advantages for both educators and L&D professionals, as well as their organisations.
Benefits of LTI for Educators
- Enhanced Integration
With LTI, you can easily connect your learning tools—such as quizzes, e-learning modules, or interactive tools—to your clients’ LMS. No need to worry about technical complexities or custom solutions—everything works seamlessly. This allows you to focus on what truly matters: developing high-quality content. - Full Control Over Your Content
Even though your course is displayed within an LMS, you maintain control. You decide who has access, how the content is used, and what updates are necessary. This flexibility ensures your content stays relevant and engaging without relying on the organisation using your tools. - Cost Savings
By working through LTI, you avoid duplicate licenses or the need to develop custom integrations for each client. Setting up LTI once means lower maintenance costs and a scalable solution. - Flexibility and Future-Proofing
Developing or integrating new tools? No problem. LTI ensures you can easily expand and keep up with technological trends such as AI-based learning or virtual reality. - Insight into Progress and Results
With LTI, you can track participant performance and progress, such as test results or completed modules. This data remains centrally available, which is helpful for evaluations and improving your own learning products.
Benefits of LTI for L&D Professionals
- Seamless Integration
LTI makes it easy to add various tools to your LMS without dealing with separate login systems or complicated implementations. This means less time spent on technical issues and more time optimising your training programs. - User-Friendly for Employees
Employees don’t need to jump between platforms. Everything—from interactive training sessions to testing modules—is directly accessible via a single login. This makes learning more efficient and enjoyable, increasing engagement. - Efficient Management
As an L&D professional, you can easily manage multiple tools from your LMS. Results, progress, and reports are centrally stored, giving you a complete overview at all times. This simplifies the planning, monitoring, and reporting of training programs. - Cost-Effectiveness
Fewer licenses and reduced IT support requirements mean everything can be managed from a single LMS. This not only saves money but also time—ideal for teams working with limited budgets or resources. - Security and Compliance
LTI ensures secure data exchange between the LMS and external tools. This makes it easier to comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR without needing to implement complex security measures yourself. - Scalability
Want to add new tools or technologies to your learning environment? LTI makes this simple without disrupting existing structures. This is perfect for organisations looking to grow or innovate.
Additional Benefits for Both Groups
- Simplified Collaboration
For educators, this means you can easily offer training to multiple clients without needing to create custom solutions for each. For L&D professionals, it enables effortless collaboration with external educators and the integration of tools that work for your organisation. - Time Savings
Less hassle with logins, integrations, and reporting means more time to focus on learning and development, whether you’re creating content (educator) or managing programs (L&D professional). - Always Up-to-Date Content
Educators no longer need to send SCORM packages when updating content, and organisations always have the most recent version available.
With LTI, both educators and L&D professionals are assured of a smooth and scalable learning process—keeping everyone satisfied.
The Impact of LTI on the Future of Workforce Development
LTI offers numerous benefits, including improved integration of educational tools, user-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, future-proofing, and enhanced data security. These benefits help organisations work more efficiently and effectively while meeting stringent security and privacy requirements. Moreover, LTI plays a crucial role in modernising workforce development by enabling seamless and flexible integration of technological tools.
Organisations that don’t yet use LTI risk falling behind. By adopting LTI today, organisations can modernise their learning offerings and improve efficiency. Learn more about how LTI can strengthen your organisation. Read our comprehensive article on the benefits of LTI connections or schedule a demo with Linqur to explore the possibilities.
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