LTI 1.3 vs LTI 1.1: Which Integration Standard to Use
Flat for Education connects to your Learning Management System (LMS) through LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability). It is a certified LTI tool for both the modern LTI 1.3 (Advantage) standard and the traditional LTI 1.1 (Legacy) method. This page explains the difference between the two and helps you choose the right one for your institution.
For new installations we recommend LTI 1.3 (Advantage). It is faster to set up, more secure, and unlocks automatic rostering and grade passback. Use LTI 1.1 only when LTI 1.3 is not an option.
At a glance
| LTI 1.1 (Legacy) | LTI 1.3 (Advantage) | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Manual exchange of a Consumer Key and Shared Secret | One-click Dynamic Registration |
| Security | A single shared secret (OAuth 1.0a) | OpenID Connect with signed keys, validated on every launch |
| Who sets it up | Each teacher or admin, often per course | District admin once, available everywhere |
| Rostering | No roster sync; accounts created and updated only when a student opens Flat | Automatic class and roster sync (Names and Roles) |
| Grade passback | Percentage only (score normalized to 0 to 1) | Real point values (e.g. out of 20 or 100), sent automatically |
| Embed scores | Supported | Supported |
| District-wide deployment | Limited | Yes |
Why LTI 1.3 is more secure
LTI 1.1 relies on a single Consumer Key and Shared Secret exchanged once between Flat for Education and your LMS. Because that secret is shared symmetrically, it has to be stored, distributed, and rotated by hand, and anyone who obtains it can impersonate the connection or forge a launch.
LTI 1.3 removes shared secrets entirely and hardens the login itself. It uses OpenID Connect: the sign-in begins with a handshake that confirms the request genuinely comes from your LMS, and each launch then arrives as a signed token that Flat for Education verifies against your LMS's published public keys. Because that token is signed with a key only your LMS holds, it cannot be altered in transit or forged without detection, closing the door on man-in-the-middle and impersonation attacks during login. One-time nonce and state values add a further layer, stopping a captured launch from being replayed and a forged sign-in from being slipped in (cross-site request forgery). The result is a connection that is both more secure and easier to maintain, with nothing sensitive to leak or rotate.
What you get with Flat for Education's LTI 1.3 integration
Beyond the standard itself, Flat for Education's LTI 1.3 implementation automates the work that admins and teachers used to do by hand:
- One-click setup with Dynamic Registration: your LMS and Flat for Education exchange all configuration and security keys automatically, replacing the manual, multi-step key exchange.
- Automatic rostering: with LTI 1.3, Flat for Education keeps your classes and rosters in sync with your LMS automatically (Names and Roles), so the whole class appears without anyone having to open it first, and the roster follows along as enrollments change. LTI 1.1 had no roster sync: a student's account was created and updated only when that student opened our product from the LMS, so the class filled in gradually as students launched the tool.
- Automatic grade passback: grades flow straight to your LMS gradebook when you grade an assignment, with no extra configuration. Flat for Education sends the real points earned (for example 18 out of 20), rather than the percentage-only score that LTI 1.1 was limited to.
- Single sign-on and account provisioning: teachers and students land in Flat for Education already signed in, and their accounts are created for them on first launch.
- District-wide install: the admin completes the setup once and Flat for Education becomes immediately available in every course, with zero setup for teachers.
- Adapts to your LMS: Flat for Education automatically detects which services your LMS supports, so you only get the features your platform offers.
When LTI 1.1 is still the right choice
LTI 1.1 (Legacy) remains a good option if:
- Your LMS does not support LTI 1.3.
- You want to set up a single class or course without admin permissions.
- You need to connect multiple Flat for Education organizations to one LMS district instance.
- You started the school year on LTI 1.1 and want to maintain continuity.
Set up your integration
Ready to connect your LMS?
- Set up LTI 1.3 with Dynamic Registration: the fastest path for any LTI 1.3 LMS.
- Platform-specific guides: Canvas, Schoology, Moodle, Blackboard, ClassLink, and Schoolbox.
Developers and platforms looking to integrate Flat for Education can find the technical details of how we implemented both standards in our developer documentation: LTI 1.3 (Advantage) and LTI 1.1 (Legacy).
If you need any assistance choosing or setting up your LTI integration, please contact our support team at edu@flat.io.