1EdTech (IMS Global)

The IMS Global Learning Consortium was founded in 1997 as a nonprofit member organization focused on advancing technology interoperability in education. In 2022, it rebranded to 1EdTech to better reflect its evolved mission.

While ADL focused on government and defense training, IMS Global became the dominant standards body for higher education and K-12. Its most impactful specification — Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) — solved a problem SCORM never addressed: how to securely integrate external tools and applications into an LMS.

LTI's evolution mirrors the broader evolution of education technology. LTI 1.0 (2010) provided basic launch. LTI 1.1 (2011) added grade passback. LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage (2019) rebuilt the security model on OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, adding Deep Linking, Assignment and Grade Services, and Names and Role Provisioning Services.

Beyond LTI, 1EdTech developed Common Cartridge (content portability), QTI (Question and Test Interoperability for assessment exchange), Caliper Analytics (learning data tracking — similar in concept to xAPI but focused on the education ecosystem), and CASE (Competency and Academic Standards Exchange).

1EdTech distinguished itself through a rigorous certification program. Unlike SCORM, where conformance testing was optional, 1EdTech's certification required vendors to pass extensive tests before claiming compliance — raising the quality of implementations across the industry.