Using LTI 1.3 integration with D2L Brightspace

In this article, you'll learn how to set up and use the LTI 1.3 integration with D2L Brightspace.

• What does the integration offer?
• Setting up the integration
• Using the integration
  • Inserting content from ThingLink
  • Authenticating users
  • Accepting scenario scores as grades

What does the integration offer?

The integration adds a ThingLink button to the 'Insert stuff' menu that allows your users to easily pick a piece of content from their account and embed it without having to use the embed code. However, note that the content embedded this way will automatically create a ThingLink account for anyone who views it. See this article for more info on the integration and some limitations.

The integration also allows you to set up an External Tool Activity link that opens ThingLink in a new tab and automatically authenticates the user.

Setting up the integration

In order to set up the integration, you must be an admin of your organization's ThingLink account. 

1. Log in to your ThingLink account and go to the Organization page, then open the Integrations tab and scroll down to LTI 1.3 connections.
2. Click the blue 'Add new' button to create a new connection.
3. This will bring up a new form. Enter anything in the 'Connection name' field, then click the blue 'Add' button. You'll need to fill in the rest of the form later.
4. Click the 'View details' button next to the connection you've created. This will show different credentials that you need to create an LTI tool in Brightspace.
   
5. In Brightspace, go to Admin tools -> Manage Extensibility, then select the LTI Advantage tab and click the Register Tool button.
6. Under 'How would you like to register your tool?', select 'Standard'.
7. Fill out the tool registration form:
   • Name: this will be the name of the tool, e.g. ThingLink
   • Domain: https://www.thinglink.com
   • Redirect URLs: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/launch
   • OpenID Connect Login: copy the 'Initiate login URL' from connection settings on ThingLink (see step 4)
   • Target Link URI: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/launch
   • Keyset URL: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/.well-known/jwks.json
8. Under Extensions, select all available extensions (Assignment and Grade Services; Deep Linking; Names and Role Provisioning Services):
   
9. Under Roles, select 'Send Institution Role'
10. Do not add any substitution parameters or custom parameters.
11. Click the 'Register' button. A pop-up window called 'Brightspace registration details' will appear. Copy these details.
    
    
12. Click the 'View deployments' button in the pop-up window. You will be taken to the page that lists all configured external learning tools. Click the 'New Deployment' button.
13. Click the Tool selector and find the tool you've set up for ThingLink. Fill out the deployment registration form:
    • Name: anything, e.g. ThingLink
    • Under Extensions, select all available extensions (Assignment and Grade Services; Deep Linking; Names and Role Provisioning Services)
    • In Security settings, select the following: Org Unit Information, User Information (and all included options), Link Information.
      
      
    • In Configuration settings, select 'Open as External Resource', 'Grades created by LTI will be included in Final Grade' and 'Auto create Grade Items'.
14. Do not add any substitution parameters or custom parameters.
15. Click the 'Create deployment' button and copy the Deployment ID from the pop-up window.
16. Go back to ThingLink and fill out the connection settings form:
    • Issuer / Platform ID: copy from the Brightspace Registration Details (step 11)
    • Client ID: copy from the Brightspace Registration Details (step 11)
    • Deployment ID: copy from Brightspace Deployment Details (step 15)
    • Platform keyset URL: copy from the Brightspace Registration Details (step 11)
    • Access token URL: https://auth.brightspace.com/core/connect/token
    • Authentication request URL:  copy the OpenID Connect Authentication Endpoint from Brightspace Registration Details (step 11)
    • Save the changes
17. Go back to Brightspace and find the deployment you created for ThingLink. If you closed the deployment configuration page, you can find it via Admin tools -> External Learning Tools -> LTI Advantage. Open the deployment, scroll down, and click the 'View Links' link at the bottom of the page.
18. Click the 'New Link' button and fill out the form:
    • Name: anything, but note that this name will be visible to your users when they use the 'Insert stuff' menu. Example: Insert ThingLink
    • URL: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/launch
    • Type: click and select 'Deep Linking Insert Stuff'
    • Do not add any substitution parameters or custom parameters
    • Save and close
19. [Optional] Step 18 will add ThingLink to the 'Insert stuff' menu to make it easier to embed content. If you want to give your users an easy way to sign in to ThingLink from Brightspace, create another link:
    • Name: anything. Example: Launch ThingLink
    • URL: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/launch?t=landing
    • Type: click and select 'Basic Launch'
    • Do not add any substitution parameters or custom parameters
    • Save and close
20. [Optional] If you'd like to save the points your learners receive when completing scenarios in Brightspace's Grades section, create another link:
    • Name: anything, but note that this name will be visible to your users when they add new activities.
    • URL: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/launch
    • Type: click and select 'Deep Linking Quicklink'
    • Do not add any substitution parameters or custom parameters
    • Save and close

Using the integration

Once you've registered the tool, created a deployment, and created the 'Deep Linking Insert Stuff' and (optionally) 'Basic Launch' links, you can use the integration for inserting your ThingLink content or authenticating users on ThingLink.

Inserting content from ThingLink

1. When editing or creating a lesson, HTML document, Discussion, or other types of pages, click the 'Insert stuff' button
2. Select the ThingLink tool in the pop-up window
3. If the tool was set up correctly, you will see another pop-up window with content from your ThingLink account:
   

From here, you have a few options:

• Go to ThingLink: Click the 'Open ThingLink in a new window' button to open your ThingLink profile in a new tab. If you do not have a ThingLink profile yet, it will be created automatically.
• Embed public or unlisted content: click the 'Send as' menu and select 'HTML link', then hover over the content you want to embed and click the 'Send' button. The content will be displayed on the same page.
• Embed private content: click the 'Send as' menu and select 'LTI link', then hover over the content you want to embed and click the 'Send' button. This will create a special link that will take the user to ThingLink, automatically authenticate them and display the content.

Authenticating users

If you completed Step 19 above and set up a 'Basic launch' link, you will be able to add a link that opens ThingLink in a new tab and automatically authenticates the user. If the user does not have a ThingLink account yet, it will be created and added to your license automatically.

To add such a link, do the following:

1. Edit a module/lesson and click 'Add Existing'
2. Select 'External Tool Activity'
3. Find and select the 'Basic launch' link for ThingLink

This will create a prompt to open the link in a new tab. When clicked, it will launch ThingLink.

Accepting scenario scores as grades

If you completed Step 20 above and set up a 'Deep Linking Quicklink' link, you can add links to ThingLink scenarios as a graded activity. Note that this works only for scenarios.

1. When creating a new activity in Brightspace, click the 'Add existing' button
2. Select 'More'
3. Select ThingLink under Third Party tools. The name will vary depending on what you've used in Step 20.
4. In the popup window, select Scenarios
5. Hover over the scenario you'd like to insert and click 'Send'. Note that the scenario must be inserted as an LTI link.

When accessing the activity, the students will see a prompt to open the link in a new tab:

The link will open the scenario in the new tab and automatically authenticate the student so we can track their progress. Once the learner reaches the end of the scenario, we'll show them how many points they've received and the total number of points available in the scenario:

ThingLink will calculate the final grade as a ratio of points received to the maximum number of points. In the example above, the learner's grade would equal ((75/110)*100%)) = 68.18%. 

• If the learner goes through the scenario another time, their grade will be overwritten
• If the learner does not complete the scenario, their grade will not be sent to Brightspace

Note that you will get an error if you try to complete the scenario using a teacher/instructor account. If you wish to test the assignment, please sign in to a student account.