Welcome to this article where we will look at how to configure and use the LTI standard to connect your Nudgis platform to an LMS.
The LTI standard governs interoperability between an LMS (Learning Management System) and an external service such as Nudgis. In the case of Nudgis, LTI enables user authentication, attribute mapping (surname, first name, email address, etc.) and the application of specific permissions according to the user's role.
In this article, we will focus on the example of Moodle, which is the most widely used LMS.
We strongly recommend that you have read the article dedicated to permissions to fully understand how LTI works on Nudgis.
Table of content
3/ CONFIGURING AN LTI LINK BETWEEN NUDGIS AND YOUR LMS
3B/ CASE 2 : LTI 1.3
How LTI works
LTI is a protocol that enables LMS users to integrate content provided by a third-party web tool simply and securely. It works with dedicated links to access content. Each piece of content that can be integrated by LTI is called a "tool" in the LTI nomenclature.
Nudgis supports the following versions of LTI :
- LTI 1.0 and LTI 1.1 : The authentication protocol is based on OAuth1 and all communication between the LMS and Nudgis passes through the user's browser. These versions are deprecated.
- LTI 1.3 : The authentication protocol is based on OAuth2 and communication between the LMS and Nudgis takes place via the user's browser but also directly between the servers (which requires that the LMS and Nudgis servers can communicate in both directions using HTTPS). This is the recommended version.
To use LTI 1.0/1.1 and LTI 1.3 at the same time with Nudgis, the version 12.2.0 of Nudgis is required.
The most interesting part of LTI is that it supports the notion of user roles; this means that the LTI tool provider knows what rights the user should be granted when accessing content.
In short, security is based on the fact that if the user can access the content in the LMS (e.g. a student enrolled in class "A"), then any content located in class "A" will be accessible to them.
Let's see how LTI works with a practical example :
1- The recording is triggered on a Miris Box UbiCast with the speaker's email in the metadata (speaker_email).
2- When the capture stops, the recording is automatically sent to the Nudgis.
3- On receipt, when the media is ready, Nudgis sends an email to the teacher containing the LTI link and (potentially) instructions.
4- Once the LTI link has been integrated into the LMS, when the teacher clicks on the link they are automatically recognized as the editor and moderator.
5- When a student accesses media from Nudgis for the first time, a user account is created in Nudgis and permissions are applied to the user for this media based on the student role.
6- Once the student has viewed the media, a score can be sent to the LMS, which is a percentage of the video played.
This last feature is optional and set to No by default.
Main settings
To find the settings relating to LTI in Nudgis, go to Menu > Administration > Authentication settings and services > LTI.
To access these settings your user account must have the "Can edit site settings" permission.
The first option allows you to enable or disable LTI on your Nudgis platform.
If you want your users to be able to browse the Nudgis catalogue from the LMS, you will need to activate the "Parent access" option. This gives access permissions to the media's parent directories.
The automatic media movement feature allows you to store media added via LTI in dedicated channels. It goes hand in hand with the following option, which allows you to define which channel will be used as the root for LTI content.
To understand the next setting, we need to define the notion of LTI context. The LTI context is the place in the LMS where the media has been integrated (a course, for example). If the option is activated, the content can only be integrated into one and only one course in the LMS.
Playback progress is used to send a note to the LMS in the form of a media playback percentage. This is not very accurate, however, because if the user watches the first half of the video twice, a score of 100% will be returned.
The LTI test page is very important : When you integrate it into your LMS, it allows you to view the user attributes reported by your LMS via LTI (surname, first name, email address, etc.) as well as the user's role and permissions. It is particulary useful for debugging.
Field matching allows you to match the attributes returned via LTI with the fields associated with Nudgis users. Since version 12.2.0, two field mapping forms are available, allowing simultaneous use of LTI 1.0/1.1 and LTI 1.3. We strongly recommend that you use the test page to help you fill in these fields.
Configuring an LTI link between Nudgis and your LMS
The method for configuring the link between your LMS and Nudgis depends on the version of LTI supported by your LMS.
It is not possible to use LTI 1.0/1.1 and LTI 1.3 simultaneously.
Case 1 : LTI 1.0/1.1
On the Nudgis LTI settings page, go to the "LTI 1.0 / 1.1 specific settings" section. Retrieve the LTI key and secret (click on "Edit value" to display the secret) :
For Moodle, go to Site administration > Plugins > External tools > Manage tools > configure a tool manually.
Fill in the form as shown in the screenshot below.
Finally, save the new tool.
Case 2 : LTI 1.3
Dynamic registration : Version 1.3 of the LTI protocol allows you to add an external tool dynamically, using a single link and not, as with LTI 1.0/1.1, the key and secret.
To retrieve the dynamic link, go to the Administration > Settings and Authentication Services > LTI page in Nudgis, then in the Dynamic Registration box, click Get the dynamic registration link. Finally, copy this link to re-use it in your LMS.
It should look like this : https://your_nudgis_instance/lti/adv/registration/?access_token=XX...
In Moodle, go to Site Administration > Plugins > Manage tools.
Insert the dynamic registration link in the field :
Click on "Add LTI Advantage". Moodle will open the link in a window, and, once the operation is done, a success message will appear.
Click Close and then Activate to make the tool available in Moodle :
If necessary, you can change the tool's name, description, etc. in the tool settings.
Manual registration : If your LMS does not support dynamic registration, you can configure the tool manually.
From the previous page (Site administration > Plugins > Manage tools) click on Manually configure a tool.
Then fill in the form as shown below.
You can find these links in the Nudgis LTI settings page (Administration > Authentication settings and services > LTI) in the Manual registration box.
Finally, you need to register your LMS in Nudgis. To do this, go to the "LMS (Learning Management System) definitions" box and click on "Register a new LMS". Fill in the fields as follows:
The client ID was generated in Moodle when the external tool was created; you can find it in the tool settings (the field is read-only).
The deployment ID can be retrieved from the tool management page by clicking on "View configuration details" :
You can choose to use an existing key where appropriate or generate a new one. The new key will be generated once the form has been saved.
Adding content to Moodle
You can now add content from your Nudgis platform to your Moodle courses. Changes have been made to Moodle in version 4.3, so we'll look at how to add content in versions below 4.3, and then in versions 4.3 and above.
Version lower than 4.3
To do this, go to the settings page for a video and copy the 'LTI Link' link.
It looks like this : https://votre.nudgis.fr/lti/video_oid
In Moodle, go to the course where you want to add the content and click on Add an activity or resource. Select "External tool" and you will be taken to the following page :
Fill in the "Activity name" field and leave the "Preconfigured tool" field unchanged. Then copy the LTI link into the "Tool URL" field and, if the external tool has been configured correctly, it will be selected automatically (as indicated by the orange underlined message above).
If you don't want the external tool to be selected automatically you can also manually select your preferred external tool from the drop-down list.
Save your changes and the Nudgis content is now integrated into Moodle.
Version 4.3 and higher
Since version 4.3, the automatic selection of external tools no longer exists, you must select one in the add activity page.
Since Moodle 4.3 it is necessary to activate or deactivate the activities that can be used in a given course. To do this, go to your course and click on More, then select "LTI external tools" from the menu. You will be able to choose which external tools will be visible in the activity selector for this course.
Thank you for following this article on the use of LTI in Nudgis. Don't hesitate to visit the Nudgis section of our documentation to learn more about the solution's features!
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