Using LTI 1.1 in Populi Courses

This article covers the integration between Populi and an LTI 1.1 Tool Provider. If your LTI Tool Provider supports LTI 1.3, we strongly recommend you go that route instead. Populi's LTI 1.3 integration is discussed in this article.

LTI stands for Learning Tools Interoperability. It is a software standard that enables users in one system to jump to other systems without a separate login or app; it also lets the two systems share pertinent information with one another.

Use LTI when you're using another LMS or service to provide course content to your students (while using Populi to store the permanent academic record). For example, a nursing school enrolls 35 students in a biology course that connects to an LTI-enabled test bank maintained by a textbook publisher: using LTI, the students can log in to Populi and follow the LTI link in the biology course to access the tests. In turn, the publisher passes the grade information back to Populi and automatically fills in the course gradebook.

Technical stuff

Here's a more technical explanation of LTI. Feel free to skip this part!

• Populi is an LTI consumer.
• It is designed to work with an LTI tool provider.
• Populi handles authentication to the provider and supplies: name, some contact info, user ID, and user roles.
• The LTI provider uses this information to admit the Populi user with the correct permissions. For example, the course faculty clicks the LTI link and is given test management/grading permissions in the other system. A student clicks the link and is given permissions that let her take the test. The other system, in turn, can then pass the student's grade back to Populi's gradebook.
• The Populi user's permissions in the other system are determined by the other system's setup.

Setting up LTI tools

You can set up global LTI tools for use in your courses, add your own LTI tools manually, and link specific assignments so grades can be passed in to Populi from the other system.

Set up a global external LTI tool

To set up a global LTI tool, the user must be a Populi account administrator.

1. Go to Account > Account Settings > Integrations.
2. Click Add an integration.
3. For Integration type, select External LTI Tool.
4. Choose how you'd like to configure the LTI tool. You can use a Config URL, Pasted XML, or Manual Entry. Consult your LTI tool's instructions to see which option you should use and what to enter in each field.
5. When you're done, click Save.
6. Repeat these steps to add additional LTI tools.

Now that you've added this LTI tool, it's available for use when setting up an LTI link in any course at your school.

Using LTI tools in courses

You can view the available global LTI tools in Course > Settings > Global LTI Tools. Here's how to use these tools to add LTI links to your course.

Use a global LTI tool on Syllabus > Links

1. Go to the Course > Syllabus view.
2. Click add a link.
3. Enter the title.
4. Click show advanced options.
5. Select the LTI tool for the link. When you do this, it will supply the URL.
6. When you're done, click Save.

Using another LTI tool

Advanced users can use the LTI dialog to configure a different LTI tool.

1. Go to the Course > Syllabus view.
2. Click add a link.
3. Enter the URL and title.
4. Click show advanced options.
5. Select the LTI tool for the link.
6. Click add custom parameters.
7. Enter the name and value for each parameter; you can enter as many parameters as you wish.
8. When you're done, click Save.

Using LTI to pass grades into Populi's gradebook

For this method, you'll need to have associated an assignment with a lesson.

1. Go to the Course > Lessons view. Select the lesson you'd like to work with.
2. Make sure you've added the appropriate assignment(s) to this lesson!
3. Click add a link.
4. Enter the URL and title.
5. Click show advanced options.
6. Select an LTI tool; you can also enter custom parameters.
7. Select the assignment you wish to interact with this LTI tool.
8. When you're done, click Save.

Now that you've added this LTI link, when you enter grades in the other system, it will send those grades to Populi and automatically populate the course gradebook.