Blackboard LTI Integration

To communicate with the Blackboard LMS using the LTI 1.3 specification an API Consumer will need to be configured with standard settings. This article will help you configure the values necessary to enable Skillable to provide LTI 1.3 Tool services.

Best Practices for Integrating with Blackboard

The Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) 1.3 specification allow Learning Management Systems (LMS) or platforms to integrate remote tools and content in a standard way. Follow the step-by-step instructions in this guide to integrate the Blackboard LMS with Skillable using LTI 1.3.

Obtain LTI 1.3 Credentials

Prior to beginning the Blackboard LTI 1.3 configuration and integration you will need to request some information by opening a support request with our customer support team. In the support details be sure to request the following information.

The following fields are required to configure different aspects of the Blackboard LTI 1.3 setup. Copy the field value to Notepad or another text editor for quick reference

Skillable may require your Customer or Organization ID, Blackboard Instance URL, Platform name or other information. It is always recommended to provide as much information as possible with any support request.

Enable LTI 1.3 support in Blackboard

To enable support for LTI 1.3 within Blackboard you will need to create a LTI 1.3 Application. The following section will guide you through this process.

Registering Skillable as an Application within Blackboard

In order to take advantage of the LTI 1.3 specification an Application must be set up with a specific configuration. This section will guide you through the steps necessary to complete the LTI 1.3 integration between Skillable and the Blackboard Application.

1. Log in to the Blackboard Portal as an administrator.

2. From the My Applications page select the circled plus icon to open the Register a new application page.

   

3. Populate the page with the following information:

   Field	Value
   Application Name	Skillable Integration
   Description	Skillable LTI 1.3 Integration
   Domain(s)	lod-lti-api.labondemand.com
   Group	[Your Blackboard administrative group]

   

4. To display the LTI 1.3 configuration settings enable the My Integration supports LTI 1.3 toggle.

5. Using the information from your organizations LTI provided by Skillable Support, populate the following fields:

   Field	Value
   Login Initiation URL	https://lod-lti-api.labondemand.com/ltiv13/connect/{API Profile ID}
   Tool Redirect URL(s)	https://lod-lti-api.labondemand.com/ltiv13/launch,https://lod-lti-api.labondemand.com/ltiv13/link
   Tool JWKS URL	[optional] https://lod-lti-api.labondemand.com/lti13/config/jwks/{API Profile ID}
   Signing Algorithm	RS256
   Custom Parameters	optional

6. Save your new configuration by selecting Register Application.

   

7. Copy the Verification values from the Verification Key page reference.

   Application Key

   Of particular interest is the Application Key. This will be used to register the LTI 1.3 Advantage tool in the next exercise.

   

Set up Skillable Studio in Blackboard

Blackboard LMS LTI 1.3 Initialization

Now that LTI 1.3 has been configured as an application within Blackboard you still have to register the LTI 1.3 Advantage Tool to get access to all the features of LTI 1.3 Advantage. This process only needs to be completed one time. This section will guide you through the steps needed to complete this configuration.

Create a Course Tool

1. Log in to the Blackboard LMS as an administrator.

2. Select the System Admin tab.

3. To enable the LTI 1.3 tool for Courses in the Courses section from the Administrator Panel select Course Settings.

   

4. To access the list of Course Tools select Course Tools.

   

5. To toggle the LTI setting on for new and existing Courses find LTI in the list and select the lock icon to turn the setting ON then select Submit to save the configuration.

   

   Select All Ultra Courses

   If you wish to apply this setting to all Ultra courses select the lock icon and then select the appropriate setting from the drop down.

Enable LTI Organization Settings

1. To enable the LTI 1.3 tool for Organizations in the Organizations section from the Administrator Panel select Organization Settings.

   

2. To access the list of Organization settings select Organization Tools.

   

3. To toggle the LTI setting on for new and existing Organizations find LTI in the list and select the lock icon to turn the setting ON then select Submit to save the configuration.

   

   Select All Ultra Organizations

   If you wish to apply this setting to all Ultra organizations select the lock icon and then select the appropriate setting from the drop down.

Enable the LTI Tool Provider

1. To enable LTI 1.3 Tool Providers in the Integrations section from the Administrator Panel, select LTI Tool Providers.

   

2. The Courses and Organizations features need to be enabled for the Blackboard integration to be complete. To enable these features for all tools select Manage Global Properties

   

3. From the Manage Global Properties page select Yes for both the Enabled in Courses and Enabled in Organizations options.

4. To allow the LTI 1.3 Tool Providers to post grades back to the Blackboard LMS select Yes in the Allow configured tool providers to post grades option.

   

5. To save the Tool Provider Global Properties select Submit.

Adding the LTI 1.3 Tool Provider Placement

In order to allow the addition of content to a course the LTI Tool Provider must have one, or more, placements created. The following steps will guide you through this process.

1. From the System Admin --> Integrations --> LTI Tool Providers page hover over the the LTI Tool Provider that you created in the previous exercises and select the down-chevron.

2. To manage Content Placements select Manage Placements from the pop-up menu.

   

3. To add a new Content Placement, select Create Placement.

4. In order to properly identify the Content Placement on the Create Placement page in the Placement Information section enter to following details:

   Field	Value
   Label	{Enter a unique title for the placement}
   Description	{Enter any descriptive details}
   Handle	{Enter a unique identifier for the placement}
   Availability	Yes
   Type	Deep Linking Content Tool
   Allow student access	Selected
   Launch in New Window	Selected
   Icon	{Optional} Any 50X50 pixel image

   Default Values

   If a field is not referenced in the above table keep the default value.

5. To enable the relationship between the Content Placement and Skillable labs for this LTI Tool Provider, still on the Create Placement page, complete the Tool Provider Information section with the following values:

   Field	Value
   Target Link URI	https://lod-lti-api.labondemand.com/ltiv13/link
   Tool Provider Custom Parameters	{Optional} This field should likely be blank

6. Save the LTI 1.3 Tool Provider Placement by selecting the Submit button.

Register the LTI 1.3 Advantage Tool

1. To register an LTI 1.3 Tool provider, from the LTI Tool Providers page, select the Register LTI 1.3/Advantage Tool option above the list.

   

2. To complete the link between the LTI 1.3 Application and the Blackboard LMS enter the Application ID that was copied from the final step of the previous exercise into the Client ID field and select Submit.

   

3. You will be redirected to the Accept LTI 1.3 Tool page. Review the settings on this page and change the Tool Status to Approved.

   

4. To provide some customization you can select the specific actions that are available to your institution in the Institution Policies section.

   

Establish Trust between Blackboard and Skillable

The establishment of the trust relationship between Blackboard and Skillable is handled in the setup of LTI 1.3 on the Skillable platform. It is secured through the use of private and public keys.

This configuration must be performed by the Skillable support team. The Blackboard Client ID may be required to complete this configuration and can be copied from the Blackboard Application Keys on the Admin page.

1. Reply to the original Skillable Support ticket and supply the following information to be used to complete the Trust Relationship.

Test the Integration

Now that the setup and configuration of both your Blackboard instance and the Skillable API Consumer for your organization have been completed it is time to test the integration. Follow these basic steps to ensure that LTI 1.3 is working for you.

Prerequisites:

• A completed Blackboard LTI 1.3 setup

• A Skillable API Consumer with LTI 1.3 configured

• A Skillable Lab published to the API Consumer

1. Add or edit a course in Blackboard.

   See: Blackboard - Create Courses

2. In order to add a Skillable lab to the Blackboard course you will need to add a Content section. Select the Course Id of the course that was just created and then select Content from the left menu.

   

3. Adding content to a course requires enrollment. To add yourself to this course simply select + Quick Enroll from the bottom of the left-menu granting you the role of Instructor for this course.

   

4. To add the Content Placement that links the Skillable lab to Blackboard that was created in the Adding the LTI 1.3 Tool Provider Placement section, hover over the Build Content menu option and then select the name of the Content Placement that you created.

   

5. A new browser tab should be opened displaying the list of Skillable labs that have been published to your organization's API Consumer. Select the lab(s) that you wish to add to this course, and then select Add Selected Labs to include in the Content portion of the course.

   

6. If everything has been configured correctly you should now be presented with a Success message. You can close the current tab and return to the Blackboard Course Content tab.

   

7. Before the lab will be displayed you will need to refresh the page. Either refresh the browser or select the refresh icon from the left-menu.

   

8. To confirm that the full LTI 1.3 integration has been configured correctly select the Skillable lab from the Content list that you just added. The lab should successfully launch in a new tab verifying the complete integration of your Skillable instance within the Blackboard LMS.