Do you want to add a new tool to Canvas? 🤔 Well, starting January 1, 2026, there are new requirements you can’t skip. Learn more below.
Quick Refresher: What’s LTI?
Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) is one of the critical interoperability standards needed to integrate multiple campus systems so that institutions can create a coherent technology ecosystem (shared environments) with products from several different vendors.
1EdTech’s LTI standard is a technical standard (not a product) used to connect learning tools with an institution’s learning environment without logging into each tool. LTI supports a high level of security for passing data about the users, their institutional enrollment, and roles.
What changed on January 1, 2026?
To ensure a secure, reliable, and sustainable digital learning ecosystem, effective January 1, 2026, all new third-party tools integrated in Canvas through Learning Tool Interoperability (LTI) must be certified by the 1EdTech Consortium. This requirement provides an essential layer of protection for institutional data, student privacy, instructional continuity, and long-term Learning Management System (LMS) stability. Existing third-party LTI integrations and Georgia Tech-developed LTI integrations are exempt from the new certification requirement.
Requiring 1EdTech LTI certification ensures that third-party learning tools meet established standards for security, interoperability, reliability, and privacy. This protects students, faculty, and institutional data while reducing institutional risk and improving the overall quality and sustainability of the digital learning ecosystem.
Certification Requirements for Canvas Third-Party LTI Integrations
Verified Technical Interoperability: 1EdTech certification ensures that an external learning tool correctly implements the LTI standard and will operate consistently within Georgia Tech’s Canvas instance. Certification reduces integration failures by confirming that the tool has passed independent, standards-based interoperability testing.
Enhanced Security and Data Protection: LTI tools exchange sensitive information such as student identities, enrollments, and grades. Modern LTI specifications include robust security frameworks using OAuth2 and signed JSON Web Tokens. Certification verifies proper implementation of these security protocols, reducing risks of unauthorized access, data leaks, or non-compliance with FERPA and other privacy requirements.
Protection of Student and Faculty Experience: Certified tools are more reliable, predictable, and compatible with LMS features such as single sign-on, grade return, assignment launches, and roster synchronization. This reduces access issues, course setup errors, and technical disruptions that affect teaching and learning. Certification directly supports a seamless instructional experience.
Vendor Accountability and Supportability: Requiring 1EdTech certification ensures that vendors adhere to a transparent, industry-recognized standard rather than proprietary interpretations of LTI. This provides the institution with clearer expectations for tool behavior, better alignment with LMS vendor support, and assurance that vendors maintain compliance as LTI standards evolve.
What should you do next?
If you plan to request a new LTI, review the required steps on the Canvas LTI Tools knowledge article. Note the important points below before requesting a new integration.
- All requests for new integrations must be submitted at least 3 months before the course’s start date. This timeline allows for vendor onboarding, accessibility evaluation, security reviews, technical installation, and thorough testing before students access course content.
- To maintain a stable learning environment, we strongly recommend not adding new tools after students have begun the course.
- Georgia Tech supports only LTI 1.3 tools, which meet the latest security, privacy, and interoperability standards required by 1EdTech. LTI 1.1 tools are no longer supported.
FAQs
Does this affect tools already in Canvas?
No—existing third-party LTI integrations are exempt from this requirement.
What about Georgia Tech-built LTIs?
Georgia Tech-developed LTI integrations are also exempt.
I’m evaluating a new tool—what should I ask the vendor?
Ask whether the tool is certified by the 1EdTech Consortium for the relevant LTI specification and version.
Who pays for an LTI?
If an LTI has a cost associated, the cost is the responsibility of the requestor. Some tools that have campus-wide usage are installed at the account level for all users. Please contact the Digital Learning Team with any questions.
Resources
📧 If you have any questions, reach out to the Digital Learning Team at canvas@gatech.edu.
