LMS & Edtech Glossary

A learning management system (LMS) is software that delivers, tracks, and reports on learning activities — courses, assessments, certificates, and learner progress — for a defined audience such as a university, training institute, or enterprise.

A multi-tenant LMS hosts many institutions on a single shared codebase and infrastructure, with strict logical isolation of data, branding, and user pools so each tenant behaves as if it had its own dedicated platform.

SIS integration synchronises learners, courses, enrolments, and grades between the LMS and the institution's student information system (the system of record for admissions, transcripts, and accreditation reporting).

A white-label LMS is a learning platform deployed under the institution's own brand — its logo, colours, domain, certificates, and emails — with no reference to the underlying vendor visible to learners.

LTI is an IMS Global specification that lets external tools (homework systems, lab platforms, video proctoring, plagiarism checkers) embed into an LMS with single sign-on, gradebook write-back, and roster sharing.

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is a set of technical standards from Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) that defines how e-learning content packages communicate with an LMS — launching lessons, tracking completion, and exchanging scores.

xAPI (Experience API, originally Tin Can) is a learning-data specification from Advanced Distributed Learning that lets any system record "actor — verb — object" statements about learning activities into a Learning Record Store (LRS).

Adaptive learning is an instructional approach in which content, pacing, and assessment difficulty adjust to each learner's observed performance — typically through Bayesian or item-response-theory models running over learner interaction data.

A cohort-based course delivers content on a synchronous schedule to a defined group of learners who progress together, with live sessions, peer accountability, and instructor feedback — in contrast to self-paced courses.

Course translation is the end-to-end process of localising a course's text, subtitles, voice-over, and assessment content into another language while preserving pedagogical intent, accuracy of terminology, and accessibility.

A cyber lab (or cyber range) is an isolated, on-demand environment of virtual machines and networks where learners practise offensive and defensive security techniques without risk to production systems.

Microlearning is an instructional design pattern in which content is broken into short, single-objective units (typically 3–7 minutes) that can be consumed in isolation and reinforced through spaced repetition.

An AI-proctored exam uses computer vision, audio analysis, and browser lockdown to detect potential academic dishonesty during a remote test — flagging events like face-not-visible, multiple voices, or window-switching for human review.

India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA) governs how a Data Fiduciary — including a university or LMS vendor — collects, stores, and processes the personal data of learners (the Data Principals).

SSO lets learners log in to the LMS using credentials they already have at the institution — typically via SAML 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), or LDAP — so the LMS never stores passwords and access can be revoked centrally.