Key Points
- Uniform ID solves fragmentation by connecting otherwise isolated app directories, enabling seamless sharing of app information across platforms without centralizing control.
- Built on W3C’s Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), Uniform ID allows institutions to discover and verify edtech tools faster, allowing vendors to update one record that syncs across multiple directories.
- Though currently focused on app directories, Uniform ID lays the foundation for broader innovation, including connected course catalogs, digital credentials, automated procurement, and personalized learning ecosystems.
Today’s education technology systems are often disconnected, making it harder for educators and institutions to work efficiently.
App directories, from national registries to locally curated lists, help find trusted tools, but they don’t connect with one another. This leads to extra work, inconsistent data, and missed chances to improve teaching and learning.
That’s where 1EdTech’s Uniform ID Framework comes in.
Based on the open, trusted technology of W3C’s Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), this community-developed framework allows various directories to talk to one another. It bridges the gap between how each directory identifies applications and gives educators a more holistic understanding of the tools available to them.
The Challenge: Too Many Directories, Not Enough Connection
Across K-12 and higher education, organizations are building directories that serve vital purposes. There are directories for discovery, vetting, technical and academic certifications, procurement, and more. But each operates independently, using its own identifiers and metadata structures.
This fragmentation leads to:
- Incompatible app listings, so educators need to search through multiple directories to vet one tool.
- Redundant work for schools and vendors, to make sure needed information is available in each individual directory.
- Missed connections between trusted sources, when each directory only shows part of the information.
The Solution: One Standard to Connect Them All
Uniform ID solves this by creating a shared language to connect app directories, without centralizing control.
Let’s say 1EdTech and ClassLink each maintain listings of a popular math app. With Uniform ID, each directory would look and operate the way it always has, but with the ability to access and share additional information provided by the other directories.
Using W3C’s Decentralized Identifiers standard (DIDs), the application's name and issuing organization can easily be shared and verified between directories. Uniform ID then adds to that data, sharing additional information via services attached to the tool from various organizations.
For educational institutions, this means educators can discover the app faster, verify its credentials instantly, and make better-informed decisions using its preferred source.
For the edtech providers, this means updating one record and having that trusted information cascade through multiple partner platforms, increasing discoverability and simplifying certification and listing processes.
That’s the power of Uniform ID.
Beyond Directories: The Possibilities for Innovation
While Uniform ID is currently only used in app directories, its potential goes much further. With community collaborations, future possibilities include:
- Course catalogs that sync across institutions
- Digital credentials that follow students from K-12 to higher ed to employment
- Procurement ecosystems that automate vetting and compliance
- Learning analytics platforms that aggregate verified tool usage across schools
- Personalized learning profiles anchored to trusted resources via DIDs
This is the connective tissue of a next-gen, interoperable edtech ecosystem, and because it's based on the globally used and trusted DIDs standard, the possibilities extend worldwide.
How to Get Involved
Uniform ID is open, extensible, and collaborative. Whether you're a district technology officer, a university CIO, or an edtech provider, your input can shape this work.
Institutions can:
- Connect with partners using the Uniform ID standard or encourage your current partners to participate.
- Stay updated on the progress, and get involved in future governance and metadata model workgroups.
EdTech Providers can:
- Add DIDs to their product listings
- Join 1EdTech’s TrustEd Apps ecosystem
- Pilot integrations with platforms like ClassLink
Let’s Build the Future Together
Uniform ID is not just a technical fix, it’s a shared commitment to openness, trust, and user-centered design in educational technology. Together, we can reduce duplication, strengthen trust, and build an ecosystem where every tool is discoverable, verifiable, and connected.
Start here: Uniform ID Framework at 1EdTech.
Want to collaborate or pilot the work? Join the growing coalition connecting the dots across edtech.
About the Author
As the Vice President of K-12 Programs at 1EdTech, Dr. Tim Clark assists schools and districts in adopting 1EdTech standards and practices to enable interoperable and secure digital learning ecosystems. He also provides strategic leadership for K-12 in 1EdTech in collaboration with K-12 institutional and state department of education members of the consortium. Tim holds a Doctor of Education in Leadership for Learning with a concentration in Instructional Technology, and his research and dissertation focused on designing online learning communities for elementary students. Throughout his career, he has been a vocal advocate for implementing instructional technology, digital content, and curriculum to increase achievement and motivation, encourage collaboration, facilitate critical thinking, and construct engaging learning environments.
