Using LTI integrations with Moodle

In this article, you'll learn how to set up and use LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3 integrations with Moodle.

• What's the difference between LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3?
• How to set up the LTI 1.1 tool
• How to set up the LTI 1.3 tool
• LTI 1.3: Accepting scenario scores as grades in Moodle

Note that you must be an admin on both Moodle and ThingLink to set up the integrations. 

You can embed your ThingLinks in Moodle without the LTI integrations. See this article for more details

What's the difference between LTI 1.1 and LTI 1.3? 

LTI 1.1 allows your users to sign into their ThingLink accounts by simply clicking a button in your LMS. See this article for more information on what data the integration uses. 

LTI 1.3 allows you to pick a piece of content from your account and embed it without having to use the embed code. However, note that it will automatically create a ThingLink account for any viewer. See this article for more info on the integration.

How to set up the LTI 1.1 tool in Moodle

1. Log in to your ThingLink account, go to the Organization page, then select the 'Integrations' tab and scroll down to LTI 1.1. You'll need the information from this page to set up the integration:
   
2. Log in to your Moodle account and go to Site Administration, then select the 'Plugins' tab and select 'Manage tools' under 'External tools'.
3. Click 'Configure a tool manually':
   
   
   Fill out the form using the instructions above, then expand the 'Privacy' section and select the following options:
   
   ThingLink needs the launcher's name and email address to set up the accounts. 
4. Click 'Save changes' and the app should appear in your external tools list.

Once the app has been added, teachers will be able to add it to their courses as an external tool.

How to set up the LTI 1.3 tool in Moodle

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 connect ThingLink to your LMS:
   

5. On Moodle, go to Site Administration > Plugins and select 'Manage tools' under 'External tools'
6. Click 'Configure a tool manually'
7. Enter the tool name. Note that this will be visible to your course creators.
8. Enter the tool URL: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/launch
9. Under LTI Version, select LTI 1.3
10. Under 'Public Key Type', select 'RSA key'
11. Enter your Public Key (not the Keyset URL), Initiate login URL and Redirection URL. You can find these on the LTI 1.3 settings page back on ThingLink.
12. Do not enter any custom parameters.
13. Under Tool configuration usage, select 'Show in activity chooser and as a preconfigured tool' if you wish to show ThingLink in the activity chooser.
14. Leave 'Default launch container' at 'Embed, without blocks'.
15. Check the 'Supports Deep Linking (Content-Item Message)' box and paste the Content Selection URL: https://www.thinglink.com/lti1p3/launch
16. Click 'Save changes'. 
17. This should add the tool and redirect you to the tools configuration page. Click the 'View configuration details' button next to your ThingLink LTI 1.3 tool.
18. Go back to ThingLink > Organization > Integrations> LTI 1.3 connections and scroll down to Platform-specific parameters. You'll need to paste the information from the Tool Configuration Details popup window on Moodle here.

Click the blue 'Save' button and you are done! The ThingLink tool will be visible to course creators as an activity/external tool and will allow them to easily embed their content now:

LTI 1.3: Accepting scenario scores as grades in Moodle

If you are embedding scenarios into Moodle using the LTI 1.3 app, you can allow ThingLink to send the score the learner has received back to Moodle as their grade.

1. Click Add an activity or resource
2. Select ThingLink (or External tool, depending on how the integration was set up)
3. Click 'Select content', then select 'Scenarios' and choose the scenario you'd like to display
4. Open the Privacy section and tick the 'Accept grades from the tool' box
5. Open the Grade section and make sure that the grade type is set to Point
   
   
6. Save the activity

How the scenario is displayed

If the scenario is public, it will be displayed on the same page. If the scenario is not public, the learner will see a button that will redirect them to complete the scenario on ThingLink. The scenario will open in a new tab.

Note that we will automatically create a ThingLink account for the learner in order to track their progress.

How the grade is calculated

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. 

Note:

• 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 Moodle

The grade will be available via the Grades tab.