Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) is an open interoperability standard that enables Learning Management Systems (LMS) to integrate external learning applications in a secure, standardized, and seamless way. Its main purpose is to allow institutions to extend the functionality of their LMS without custom integrations or duplicated user management.

LTI allows learners and instructors to access third-party tools directly from within their courses, using a single login and a consistent user experience. This makes it possible to combine the strengths of different educational platforms while keeping the LMS as the central learning environment.

The LTI standard is developed and maintained by 1EdTech Consortium (formerly IMS Global), an international organization that defines interoperability standards for digital learning ecosystems.

1.1 Core Concept of LTI

At its core, Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) defines a standardized way for two independent systems to work together while keeping their responsibilities clearly separated. Instead of tightly coupling platforms through custom integrations, LTI establishes a trust-based relationship between a learning platform and an external tool.

1.1.1 LTI Tool Consumer

The LTI Tool Consumer is the system that initiates the interaction. This role is typically fulfilled by a Learning Management System (LMS) such as ILIAS.

The Tool Consumer is responsible for:

In other words, the LMS remains the central authority for user identity, course structure, and access control.

1.1.2 LTI Tool Provider

The LTI Tool Provider is the external application or service that delivers a specific learning function. Examples include assessment systems, virtual labs, coding environments, or multimedia platforms.

The Tool Provider is responsible for:

The external tool does not manage users or courses independently; instead, it relies on the LMS for contextual and authorization information.

Modern digital learning environments often rely on multiple specialized tools: assessment platforms, video services, programming environments, simulations, plagiarism detection tools, and analytics dashboards. Without a standard like LTI, integrating these tools would require:

LTI addresses these challenges by defining a common protocol that both LMS platforms and external tools can implement. Once a tool supports LTI, it can be connected to any compliant LMS with minimal configuration effort.

1.1.3 Institutional Benefits

From an institutional perspective, LTI’s security and privacy model provides:

Security and privacy are core design principles of Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI). Because LTI enables communication between independent systems operated by different organizations, it must ensure that data exchanges are trustworthy, protected against misuse, and aligned with institutional privacy requirements.

LTI achieves this through a combination of authentication, authorization, data integrity mechanisms, and controlled data sharing policies.

1.2 Trust Between Independent Systems

At the heart of LTI is a trust relationship between the Learning Management System (LMS) and the external tool provider. Before any interaction takes place, both systems are configured to recognize each other as trusted parties.

This trust relationship ensures that:

Once trust is established, LTI enforces security on every launch and service request.

1.3 Controlled Data Sharing

LTI follows the principle of data minimization: external tools receive only the information that is necessary to provide their functionality.

Institutions can control:

This ensures that personal data is not shared unnecessarily and remains under institutional control.

1.4 Privacy-Aware User Identification

Rather than requiring full user profiles, LTI allows LMS platforms to provide:

This approach allows tools to track user progress and outcomes without exposing personally identifiable information, supporting compliance with privacy and data protection policies.

Since its introduction, Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) has evolved significantly to address increasing requirements for security, privacy, scalability, and interoperability in digital learning environments. Each new version of the standard reflects lessons learned from real-world deployments and changes in web security best practices.