We’ve all come across various obstacles when trying to sign up for services, products, newsletters or other online tools. Does any of this ring a bell? Username and password, 2FA (2-factor authorization),, “Are you a robot?” “Select all the squares containing bicycles,” “What was the first concert you attended?” …
Every time you interact with another web-based system, you’ll encounter a whole host of identification verification steps that you must navigate. On the one hand, security is important, and especially so when we’re dealing with personally identifiable information of minors, but on the other hand, it can be so cumbersome!
Example 1 – A frustrated student:
“I’ve already logged into my learning management system, but, every time I click on a different product, I have to log in to that system as well.”
Example 2 – A frustrated teacher:
“Every platform my school introduces just adds to the professional development that’s required of me in addition to the work of actually teaching.”
Enter, Learning Tools Interoperability version 1.3, shortened to LTI 1.3.
What is LTI 1.3?
According to IMS Global, “The IMS Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) specification allows Learning Management Systems (LMS) or platforms to integrate remote tools and content in a standard way.” Translation – LTI allows tools like Hiveclass to easily work with learning management systems like Canvas, Moodle, or Schoology. What does that mean in a practical context?
The core of LTI 1.3 integration between an LMS and Hiveclass means that authentication takes place in the background. When we talk about “authentication,” most people think only of user authentication, which we all know as “logging in.” User authentication via LTI 1.3 solves an important problem, as our frustrated student pointed out above, but our teacher’s frustrations can only be solved if our integration also authenticates data and invocations.
What does it mean to authenticate data and invocations? The easiest way to think about these two important aspects of authentication is this: data comes into the LMS, and invocations go out. The LMS needs to know that the data is safe, and Hiveclass needs to know that the invocations are safe.
What does authentication mean for the user? It means that all of the frustrations experienced by our teacher and student above melt away. The student logs into their LMS, clicks on a Hiveclass course, and is taken directly to the content without the need for navigating another log in or managing an additional password. The teacher can select from a menu of Hiveclass courses and include those courses in the curriculums they build within the LMS, all without ever having to leave the system, and when a student completes the Hiveclass course, the LMS will log that completion and count it toward that student’s completion of the curriculum.
What’s next?
Don’t you love when things just click together? Rostering, assigning tasks, grades, all working together under one simple system that you already are familiar with? So do we! So, in 2024, look out for the ability to assign an individual Hiveclass course to a student with just a couple of clicks, and then have the system automatically feed numerical grades back into your LMS gradebook, all enabled by LTI!
We like to say that we’re a platform created by teachers and for teachers. This means that our team is constantly collaborating with our network of educators. We listen to feedback from our clients and partners to deliver a product that solves the issue of access within physical education without adding to the already overwhelming workload of teachers. We’re excited to continue innovating and implementing new tech like LTI 1.3 into Hiveclass, all while keeping student data secure.
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