TSUGI: a framework for building PHP-based learning tools

Innovation on ICT-based learning depends on the ability of researchers, developers and services (and content) providers to push new kinds of tools and services in real life contexts. This implies that new developments need to be interoperable with the current LMS that are running almost everywhere. Thus, either new developments have to be custom built for every LMS or there is a real need for an interoperability standard Over the last 8 years IMS Global Learning Consortium has pushed the IMS Learning tools interoperability as the missing standard. IMS LTI has been developed in collaboration with the major LMS and tools authors in a long process where reference implementations and automated compliance tests have been created, and IMS LTI is supported for all the major commercial and open source LMS. But despite the collaborative open process there are different versions of the standard (Simple LTI, Basic LTI, LTI 1.0, LTI 1.1 and soon LTI 2.0) and there are subtle differences in the implementation of LTI provided by each LMS, which defeats the whole purpose of having an interoperability standard. For this reason the TSUGI project has been created: to provide a framework that makes as simple as possible to develop and deploy LTI applications.