External Tools: Overview
In this area, the OpenOlat administrators switch various external tools on and off (e.g. several virtual classrooms) and, depending on the tool, configure certain basic settings that apply system-wide. The area is located in the system administration under: Administration > External tools
BigBlueButton
BigBlueButton is software that enables online conferences or can serve as a virtual classroom.
To enable web conferences with BigBlueButton in OpenOlat, BBB must be activated and configured under Administration > External tools > BigBlueButton.
See the details >
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OpenMeetings
OpenMeetings is a solution for web conferences.
In the system administration you configure the OpenMeetings module and activate the functionality, under:
Administration > External tools > OpenMeetings
In the tab "Configuration", enter the "URL OpenMeetings Server", as well as the "Web Service username" previously created in OpenMeetings and the corresponding "Web Service password". Then save the data and press the "Check the connection" button to check the connection data.
If the module is switched on and the connection parameters to the OpenMeetings server are correct, OpenOlat can create and use OpenMeetings rooms in the following locations:
- In courses with the course element OpenMeetings. Each course element creates a corresponding room on the OpenMeetings server.
- In groups with the OpenMeetings group tool. Each group has its own OpenMeetings room that can be used like any other group tool.
In the tab "Rooms", administrators get an overview of the OpenMeetings rooms created in OpenOlat.
Adobe Connect
Adobe Connect is the web conferencing solution from the Adobe product line.
Activation and configuration can be carried out if the required licenses are available.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the web conferencing solution from Microsoft. After activation, authors can use the course element "Microsoft Teams" in their courses.
Prerequisites for activation:
- A Microsoft 365 tenant (Microsoft Entra ID or Azure) with the required Microsoft Teams licenses.
- The access data for the tenant (Application (client) ID, Client secret, Tenant GUID) is stored at server level in the OpenOlat configuration. For hosted instances, this is done by the frentix support.
Prerequisites for use:
- Users log in to OpenOlat with the Microsoft account of their organisation (Azure login). This is a prerequisite for opening meetings: OpenOlat creates the online meetings via the Microsoft Graph API on behalf of the logged-in person.
Configuration in the system administration under:
Administration > External tools > Microsoft Teams
- Activate the module "Microsoft Teams".
- Under "Activate for", define where Microsoft Teams may be used: course element "Microsoft Teams", course events, course element "Appointment scheduling", groups and supervisor chat.
In addition, the tabs "Online-meetings" (overview of all meetings of the instance) and "Calendar" (room bookings) are available there.
How the roles Organizer, Presenter and Attendee are assigned in a Teams meeting and what the moderator setting does is described in the user manual in the section Roles in MS Teams.
Microsoft SharePoint / OneDrive
To enable writing and copying files to and from SharePoint and OneDrive in the OpenOlat File Hub and OpenOlat Media Center, these two tools must be activated under Administration > External tools > Microsoft SharePoint / OneDrive. (They can be activated individually).
The prerequisite is that the required licenses are available.
See the details >
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Zoom
Zoom is software that can be used to hold video conferences, meetings, and webinars.
To enable Zoom meetings in OpenOlat, Zoom must be activated and configured under Administration > External tools > Zoom.
See the details >
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LTI 1.3
In the system administration you activate and configure LTI 1.3 under:
Administration > External tools > LTI
This allows e.g. external LTI platforms and tools to be connected.
See the details >
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GoToTraining
GoToTraining is a virtual training platform.
Activation and configuration can be carried out if the required licenses are available.
Website GoToTraining >
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vitero
Vitero is a tool for holding web conferences and online meetings.
To use the vitero connection, you must have a valid vitero license and enter the
access data for the Web Service API in the system administration, under:
Administration > External tools > vitero
You receive the following information from your vitero or OpenOlat administrators: "URL vitero server", "Web service username", "Web service password" and "Client identifier".
Under "Time Zone OLAT server" you set the time zone of your OpenOlat system. This is necessary to synchronize the times of the appointments with the vitero system.
Once you have entered the data, select the "Test server connection" button to check the configuration and the connection to the vitero server. Then you save the configuration and use vitero in your courses.
Please note that user accounts are automatically created for the OpenOlat connection on the vitero server. Any existing user accounts and appointments will not be considered.
Website vitero >
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JupyterHub
JupyterHub is used to provide Jupyter images for learners.
User manual: Course element JupyterHub >
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card2brain
card2brain is a software for learning with a flashcard system.
Activation and configuration can be carried out if the required licenses are available.
Website card2brain >
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Edubase/Edubook
Edubase is an e-book platform.
Activation and configuration can be carried out if the required licenses are available.
Website Edubase >
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YouTube API
Enter, remove or check the API key. The key is used to automatically import metadata such as title, description and license when embedding YouTube videos.
Opencast
Opencast is an open source software for planning, recording and publishing audiovisual learning content, especially for the recording and distribution of courses.
After activation, the API and LTI configuration can be carried out. BigBlueButton recordings from OpenOlat can also be used.
MediaSite
Activation of MediaSite. MediaSite is an automated video platform for video recording, video management and subtitling. The OpenOlat Mediasite module allows you to integrate MediaSite content into courses as a single presentation, channel, or module.
The MediaSite module can be connected to the MediaSite server via LTI 1.1 or LTI 1.3 . For LTI 1.3, select version 1.3 in the LTI version field and enter the LTI 1.3 Client ID and LTI 1.3 Deployment ID fields as well as the endpoint URLs required by the MediaSite server. Connections via LTI 1.1 remain usable unchanged.
Documentation for MediaSite >
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edu-sharing
Edu-sharing is a software for networking learning platforms, exchanging
learning content, metadata and tools and making them searchable in an
education cloud and usable in all connected systems. In the system
administration you activate the module in general and enable the use of
edu-sharing as a course element, under:
Administration > External tools > edu-sharing
Configuration takes place in four steps:
- Enter and save configuration values.
- Generate and save keys.
- Import and save the public key of the edu-sharing repository.
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In edu-sharing: Connect OpenOlat as an application. URL with metadata:
https://your.openolat.domain/olat/edusharing/metadata
Website edu-sharing >
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Document editors
Various tools can be used in OpenOlat to edit Office documents, configured under Administration > External tools > Document editors:
- ONLYOFFICE
- Microsoft Office
The prerequisite in each case is that the necessary licenses are available.
draw.io
draw.io is an online tool for creating diagrams that can be used in many places in OpenOlat, e.g. in projects, in the portfolio, in the course element "Document", in the Media Center and in many other places where new documents can be created. In draw.io, several people can also work together on one diagram. To use draw.io, the function must be set up under Administration > External tools > draw.io.
Website draw.io >
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Analytics
Under Administration > External tools > Analytics you activate external analytics services, e.g. Google Analytics.
AI module
Under Administration > External tools > AI module you activate and configure the artificial intelligence tools that can be integrated into OpenOlat.
See the details >
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PDF Generator
In OpenOlat PDFs can be created in various places, e.g. certificates, test results, member lists or similar. These functions are only available if a PDF service is configured.
Gotenberg (recommended)
Gotenberg is a PDF generator based on Google Chrome or Chromium, and it is Docker based.
More information on Gotenberg can be found at Gotenberg and GitHub.
To learn more about how to install and configure the Gotenberg service please visit the installation manual.
Athena PDF (outdated)
AthenaPDF is a PDF generator based on Electron and Docker. This implementation uses the Variant micro service.
More information on AthenaPDF can be found at GitHub.
To learn more about how to install and configure the AthenaPDF service please visit the installation manual.