Vista Higher Learning has earned the EdTech™ certification for learning tools interoperability (LTI) v1.3 for its online digital platform, vhlcentral. This integration makes it even easier for the tens of thousands of teachers and students who use vhlcentral to access digital course materials and assignments through their learning management system (LMS).
Why is the EdTech™ certification for LTI v1.3 important?
This certification ensures that vhlcentral is compatible with the latest version of the LTI standard, which means that it:
- Streamlines enrollment for educators and automatically transfers the assignment scores and grades in vhlcentral back to the school’s LMS
- Meets the highest standards for application administration and privacy, allowing students, parents, and educators to rest assured that all their data is secure and protected
- Reduces the time and cost required to integrate digital resources into an institution’s learning ecosystem
- Provides students with a single access point to all their learning tools on a single LMS, reducing the frustration of having to log in to multiple platforms
What is LTI Advantage?
LTI Advantage is a package of LTI services that are vetted, supported, and certified by 1EdTech Consortium. These services add new features to the core LTI standard (v1.3 or higher), enabling better user experiences from the deeper integration of any 1EdTech certified learning apps and tools and 1EdTech certified LMS. With LTI Advantage, you can streamline course enrollment and automate the transfer of assignment scores and grades from vhlcentral back to the LMS.
LTI Advantage is comprised of LTI Core version 1.3 along with three services that support the delivery of innovative learning tools and applications necessary for digital transformation:
- Assignment & Grade Services 2.0: This functionality provides a way to collect actionable assignment scores and grades across a wide array of digital resources. These scores and grades can then be viewed by all stakeholders in a single system of record—either within the LMS or within the student information system (SIS)—along with any comments from the assessor.
- Deep Linking 2.0: With deep linking, teachers can build courses with links to vhlcentral and students can open these links while always staying within the LMS interface. This functionality means that students won’t have to remember the names of all the tools.
- Names and Role Provisioning Services 2.0: This service automates student enrollment in the learning tools. Teachers don’t have to type student names into each tool, and rosters are kept up to date over time—not just in the initial rostering, as the tools can retrieve data automatically from the LMS. This service also lets administrators see student activity in the LMS. In addition, students and teachers can communicate with each other without sharing contact information.
As an integrated management system (IMS) affiliate member, Vista Higher Learning is invested in the mission of 1EdTech, a member-led, nonprofit ed tech organization that is accelerating the digital transformation of learning. As a member, Vista Higher Learning prioritizes privacy and security for student data and interoperability among systems, leading to ease of use of its digital learning platform, vhlcentral.
1EdTech is a community of leaders across K–12, higher education, and corporate learning, providing coordinated leadership that improves the edtech ecosystem for every learner.
You can view Vista Higher Learning’s LTI Advantage Complete certification on the 1EdTechIMS Global website.
By Susan Blumenthal
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