Published on: 11/11/2024 · Last updated on: 12/11/2024
About LTI External tools
Learning Tool Interoperability (LTI) is a specification developed by the IMS Global Learning Consortium that enables systems to communicate with one another simply and effectively, streamlining integration between tools without the need for additional plugins.
At Bath, LTI integrations are set up centrally within Moodle allowing staff to make use of them as though they were part of the core Moodle product. Common LTI tools include ‘Library Lists’ (which routes users through to relevant reading lists in software hosted by the library), and the communications platform ‘Zoom’.
LTI tools are accessible from the activity chooser (i.e. via the ‘Add an activity or resource’ function), however only the most commonly used tools will appear there by default.
In the above screenshot, both Zoom and FeedbackFruits are LTI tools. Clicking on any item that appears within the activity chooser will add an instance of that resource/activity to your Moodle space.
Customising the activity chooser
While not all LTI tools will appear on the activity chooser screen by default, Moodle Teachers can customise their view to add (or remove) pre-configured LTI tools as required:
- In the relevant Moodle space, click the More tab
- Select LTI External tools from the resulting menu
- Identify the LTI tool you’d like to appear/hide in the activity chooser and click the adjacent slider icon (as needed) to either add it or hide it in the activity chooser.
Once an LTI tool has been added to the activity chooser, it can be added to Moodle spaces through the ‘Add an activity or resource link’.
Requesting new LTI tools
At Bath, we have restrictions in place that prevent staff from adding LTI tools that have not been approved by IT Security. This is because cross-system integration of this kind typically involves a transfer of user data (at some level). For this reason, anyone wanting new integrations to be set up at the site level must first gain confirmation from IT Security that they have no concerns relating to security of the tool and the data.
IT Security are likely to want to know what data is likely to be transferred and may also require an explanation of how the data life cycles relate to managing data that is transferred from the LTI link. You should also contact the University’s data protection officer for their confirmation that they too have no concerns about the proposed tool.
In addition, all tools that support learning and teaching within Moodle must be reviewed for accessibility. Tools that are not accessible will not be approved for use, so where new LTI links are being requested, staff should liaise with the relevant vendor who should be asked to supply their accessibility statement and/or VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) for review.
Once a request has been approved (having been considered for both security, data protection and accessibility), staff should send the integration credentials and the internal confirmations to the TEL team who will be happy to set up the integration.