LTI Setup for LMS

These instructions are designed to help instructors and administrators configure single sign-on and grade sync linkages between the Canvas Learning Management System and Expert TA.

  1. In Expert TA, on an existing class, enable LMS integration by selecting “Edit Class” from the Class Menu, and clicking “Configure my Class for LMS Integration.”

  2. Select “Canvas” from the drop-down menu, and click “Proceed with Integration.”

  3. You will now see the LMS Integration Information displayed under the class details.

  4. In Canvas, navigate to the course with which you would like to pair. Then select “Settings,” “Apps,” and choose the “+ App” option.


     

  5. Name your App “Expert TA” and copy-and-paste the Consumer Key, Shared Secret, and Launch URL associated with your Expert TA class into the appropriate fields. The Domain should be “lti.theexpertta.com” and the Privacy will need to be set to “Public.” Submit your changes.

  6. Now that the LMS linkage has been established, you are ready to create assignments. Expert TA assignments will need to be linked individually to Canvas.
  7. Create your assignment in Expert TA by choosing “Create Class Assignment” from the Class Menu. Give the assignment a name and description, adjust the dates accordingly, and add problems. Click “Save” and you will see an LMS Assignment link generated at the top of the page.

    IMPORTANT: Please do not skip step 8. Attempting to add in the LMS assignment link as a hyperlink will cause issues.
  8. Create a corresponding assignment in Canvas. Under “Submission Type” select “External Tool.” Paste the LMS Assignment link from Expert TA, and we highly recommend that you select the “Load This Tool In A New Tab” option for the best possible student user experience.

    IMPORTANT: Do not select “Find” for this step. It will alter the link you have entered which will cause an error when attempting to enter the assignment.
  9. Follow steps 7 and 8 for linking Expert TA with each subsequent assignment you create for your class.

These instructions are designed to help instructors and administrators configure single sign-on and grade sync linkages between the Canvas Learning Management System and Expert TA.

  1. Important: Your school will need to be connected to Expert TA at an institutional level. If you are unsure if your school has this level of connection, you can reach out to your Expert TA account manager or the IT department at your school.
  2. If your institution is connected to Expert TA with LTI 1.3, you are ready to create assignments. Expert TA assignments will need to be linked individually to Canvas.
  3.  

  4. Create your assignment in Expert TA by choosing “Create Class Assignment” from the Class Menu. Give the assignment a name and description, adjust the dates accordingly, and add problems. Click “Save” and you will see an LMS Assignment link generated at the top of the page.

    Important: Please do not skip step 4. Attempting to add in the LMS assignment link as a hyperlink will cause issues.
  5. Create a corresponding assignment in Canvas. Under “Submission Type” select “External Tool.” Paste the LMS Assignment link from Expert TA, and we highly recommend that you select the “Load This Tool In A New Tab” option for the best possible student user experience.

    IMPORTANT: Do not select “Find” for this step. It will alter the link you have entered which will cause an error when attempting to enter the assignment.
  6. Follow steps 3 and 4 for linking Expert TA with each subsequent assignment you create for your class.

Note: Your IT department should fully configure BlackBoard to support Expert TA as an approved LTI provider before creating or attempting to link any individual classes to Expert TA. If any classes are created before the LTI provider support is fully set up, class assignments will not have the required fields to assign linked assignments.

  1. Once logged into Blackboard, we will need to go to the System Admin tab in order to setup the LTI Tool Provider settings.
  2. Under “Manage Global Properties”, enable the settings to match the following options boxed in red and submit.

  3. Under “Register Provider Domain”, enable the settings to match the following options boxed in red and submit. In some institutions, the IT department may want to be more restrictive regarding approval, however, Expert TA must be an approved provider fully configured in order to link assignments. Allowing only links to approved tool providers could be the correct answer for an Institution that wishes to lock this feature down. All other settings should be considered required to configure the process fully.


  4. Configuring the Expert TA Class and Assignments before linking within Black Board

  5. Start the process by going into the instructor account in the Expert TA system. We will need to configure the class that will be used later in the process on the Blackboard side.

  6. Setup the class the same way any calls is setup in Expert TA.

    Once the Class has been configured you can edit and configure my Class for LMS Integration.

  7. Choose the Blackboard LMS Provider. Click Proceed with Integration.

  8. Copy the configuration settings. Note: Launch URL will change here, see on configuration screen for now.
  9. Create the assignment the same way you would any Expert TA Assignment but when you save you will see the assignment link code.

  10. Take note of the assignment link code. Copy it to your notes for set up in Blackboard.

  11. Create as many assignments as necessary, making sure to capture the information for each of these assignments to set up the links in the Blackboard screens.
  12. Setup your new Blackboard course by going to the System Admin tab under the courses section.

    *setting up a course without first configuring the LTI Tool Provider settings could cause the assignment links to not function properly.

  13. Set a Name and Course ID. Select Submit to initialize the course.

  14. Once configured, find your previously created course under the “Courses” tab

  15. Under the “Content” tab, select the “Build Content” menu item, choose “Web Link”.
    IMPORTANT: Do not put assignments in learning modules.

  16. Take note of the following settings inside of your weblink, and submit when finished:

    1) Name the assignment similar to what it’s named inside of Expert TA for consistency.
    2) Paste the Assignment Link Code you copied earlier from your Expert TA assignment Edit Screen.
    3) Make sure This link is to a Tool Provider is checked.
    4) Paste the Consumer Key from the Configuration Settings you copied earlier.
    5) Paste the Shared Secret from the Configuration Settings you copied earlier.
    6) Enable Evaluation (Grade passthrough) set to “Yes”.
    7) Input your points possible for the assignment.

    Your new WebLink is configured and shows in the list.

    Once Students log-in and click the link, they will be taken to Expert TA in a separate tab and be prompted for payment or a free 14-day trial.


Integrating Expert TA as a Tool Provider

  1. To integrate Expert TA into your Brightspace course, start by creating a class within the Expert TA system. If you’ve already created a class, you can get to this screen by editing the existing class.
  2. Select “Configure my Class for LMS Integration” and select the appropriate LMS from the dropdown.
  3. Select “Proceed with Integration” to continue to the next screen.
  4. You will receive your class “LMS Integration Information”, which you will use within your Brightspace course.

    Note: Be sure to record the Consumer Key, Shared Secret, and Launch URL for use later.

  5. Log into your instructor account within Brightspace and select “External Learning Tools (LTI)” from the top menu. Then, select “Manage Tool Providers” from the now available sub-menu.
  6. Select “New Tool Provider”
  7. Using the integration information you gathered earlier, fill out the appropriate fields in the “New Tool Provider” form.
    • The following items should be set according to the following:

    • Version: Inherit Global (1.1)
    • OAuth Signature Method: HMAC-SHA1
    • Secret: Shared Secret From Expert TA Class
    • Tool Consumer Information: Checked
    • Key: Shared Key From Expert TA Class
    • Visibility: Checked
    • Security Settings: According to the picture below

  8. Select “Save and Close”

Adding an Expert TA Assignment into Brightspace

    Getting the Expert TA assignment link

  1. To create an Expert TA linked assignment in Brightspace, you will first need to create an assignment within your Expert TA class. If you’ve already created the assignment, you can simply edit the assignment within your Expert TA class to get the information.
  2. You will find the “LMS Assignment Link” at the top of the edit assignment screen.

    Adding the Link to the Course

  3. From the main Content screen of the New Brightspace User Experience, select the Unit, Lesson, Folder, etc… you would like to add the Expert TA link. Then, select “Create New” from the right side of the screen.
  4. Select “External Tool Activity” from the following screen.
  5. You will then give your link a name, provide the assignment link, and select “Create and Insert”
  6. Once you’ve created your link, you will receive errors in the Expert TA window, as the Expert TA system does not allow itself to be embedded.
  7. Select the three dots from the far right side of the screen, and select Edit.
  8. Select the option “Open in a new tab” and then select “Save”
  9. Note: Do not skip this step.

    Your link will now open in a new tab/window, and students will be routed directly into the Expert TA assignment.

    NOTE: Students should only complete their assignments by clicking the links provided within the Brightspace environment. Otherwise, grades will not be passed back to the Course.

Integrating Expert TA as a Tool Provider

  1. To integrate Expert TA into your Moodle course, start by creating a class within the Expert TA system. If you’ve already created a class, you can get to this screen by editing the existing class.
  2. Select “Configure my Class for LMS Integration” and select the appropriate LMS from the dropdown.
  3. Select “Proceed with Integration” to continue to the next screen.
  4. You will receive your class “LMS Integration Information”, which you will use within your Moodle course.

    Be sure to record the Consumer Key, Shared Secret, and Launch URL for use later.

  5. Within a Moodle Admin account, navigate to the “Manage tools” screen and select “configure a tool manually”. You will be presented with a screen like the following image.
  6. Using the “LMS Integration Information” recorded earlier, fill out the appropriate fields.
    • Add Tool name (e.g., Expert TA)
    • Add Tool URL (i.e., Launch URL)
    • Add Consumer Key
    • Add Shared Secret

  7. Set the remainder of settings to those found in the image below to ensure all information is transferred between Moodle and Expert TA properly.
  8. Select “Save changes” to save this External Tool.
  9. You will now see the tool in your “Manage tools” screen, like the image shown below.

  10. Ensure your “Course visibility” has been set to “Show”.

Adding an Expert TA Assignment into Moodle

    Getting the Expert TA assignment link

  1. To create an Expert TA linked assignment in Moodle, you will first need to create an assignment within your Expert TA class. If you’ve already created the assignment, you can simply edit the assignment within your Expert TA class to get the information.
  2. You will find the “LMS Assignment Link” at the top of the edit assignment screen.

    Adding the Link to the Course

  1. From within the Course, choose “Add an activity or resource” and select Expert TA from the list provided.
  2. NOTE: The course must be set to “EDIT” for this step to be possible

  3. From the create activity page, fill out the appropriate information for the activity. Be sure to complete the following:
    • Name the assignment
    • Add the Tool URL
    • Add the Consumer Key
    • Add the Shared Secret
    • Set “Launch Container” to “New Window” Important!

    NOTE: If “Launch Container” is not set to “New Window” errors will be produced when accessing an Expert TA assignment.

  4. Be sure to save the activity once all information has been entered.
  5. You will now see the new activity listed where you chose to add it within your course

    Students will now be routed directly into the integrated Expert TA class and assignment by clicking the activity found within the Moodle course.

    NOTE: Students must access all assignments from within Moodle for grades to be passed back properly.

    If you would like to test your link to verify students will be properly routed to the correct assignment without error, you can access the assignment as an instructor.

    Expert TA will automatically recognize your account and supply you with a “Student View” account upon being routed into the assignment.