Introduction
Building educational apps on top of the Timeback platform
Overview
Timeback provides an interoperable suite of 1EdTech-compliant APIs for educational data and infrastructure. This documentation serves as a resource for developers building on top of the Timeback platform, addressing the gap between low-level specifications and production-grade educational apps.
What is Timeback?
Timeback provides eight core APIs for building educational applications:
| API | Purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| OneRoster | Manage courses, class rosters, and student enrollments across learning platforms | |
| EduBridge | Simplified resource management and pre-aggregated student analytics | |
| Caliper | Track learning sessions, record activity events, and calculate XP based on time and mastery | |
| QTI | Create, deliver, and score digital assessments with interoperable question formats | |
| PowerPath | Deliver adaptive quizzes, placement tests, and mastery-based progression paths | |
| CASE | Align educational content to academic standards like CCSS, NGSS, and state frameworks | |
| Open Badges | Issue and verify digital credentials for skills, achievements, and learning outcomes | |
| CLR | Create comprehensive learner records that aggregate achievements across platforms |
Building on Timeback
Which path should you choose?
| Task | Direct Integration | Playcademy |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Request credentials for staging/production | Automatic |
| Authentication | Implement OAuth flow in your app | Automatic |
| Course Creation | Manual OneRoster operations | playcademy timeback setup |
| Activity Tracking | Manual OneRoster/Caliper operations | client.timeback.startActivity() |
| Deployment | Configure your own hosting | playcademy deploy |
| Best for | Existing infrastructure, full control | New projects, rapid development |