Global Learning Consortium

IMS Announces Ecosystem Accelerator Program

Lake Mary, FL (USA), September 2020 - IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), a world-leading non-profit collaborative that advances educational technology’s impact, has announced new services to verify and guarantee proper implementation of the popular IMS OneRoster® standard in school districts.

The Ecosystem Accelerator Program is a first worldwide, going beyond product certification to ensuring that products integrate reliably across the edtech ecosystem. Global Grid for Learning (GG4L) is the first edtech integration services provider to include the new OneRoster Compatibility Check in GG4L products. Existing preferred partners Savvas Learning and McGraw-Hill Education already included their full set of digital curriculum products in OneRoster Compatibility Check through the program.

OneRoster Compatibility Check is an integration testing and issue resolution service that empowers school districts to put digital resources into the hands of teachers and students on day one of learning. The OneRoster Compatibility Check services identify integration requirements between a district and its certified products and display the results in a user-friendly dashboard to show technical gaps and steps to ensure compatibility.

Thus, school districts can compare the compatibility of their data with any digital resource or tool provider implementing OneRoster. Edtech suppliers can similarly check the compatibility of their rostering requirements with district data systems. IMS provides issue resolution, working with both suppliers and districts to guarantee that products integrate successfully.

As an IMS Preferred Partner, GG4L provides seamless integration between IMS OneRoster Compatibility Check and GG4L's Connect Platform to guarantee compliance and compatibility of OneRoster data. Verifying rostering information using the GG4L Connect Platform and OneRoster Compatibility Check helps districts identify and resolve data, compliance, and compatibility issues with supplier partners before they become costly problems. IMS and GG4L are working together to onboard suppliers and districts into the program to ensure transparency and confidence when implementing the IMS OneRoster standard.

“The IMS Ecosystem Accelerator Program provides the clarity, trust, and transparency that educational institutions expect to help them build a seamless digital ecosystem," said Dr. Rob Abel, CEO, IMS Global Learning Consortium. "Working together with organizations like GG4L, the first authorized IMS Ecosystem Accelerator Program Preferred Partner for integration services, we're supporting districts and suppliers with faster, more reliable ways to identify and resolve gaps in their OneRoster data exchange, so they can ensure equitable access to digital learning materials when teachers and students need them."

"We are honored to be a Preferred Partner for the IMS Ecosystem Accelerator Program to assist both schools and vendors with plug and play using IMS OneRoster Compatibility Check," said Robert Iskander, Chairman and CEO, Global Grid for Learning. "Schools can now enforce open interoperability standards compliance from all of their vendors without any hesitation."

The Ecosystem Accelerator Program is currently available to IMS Contributing Members.