Course Settings - Tab Share:
Configure LTI access to a course
What can you do with the LTI share?
With the LTI share, you can offer an OpenOlat course in another learning management system, such as Moodle. Users there remain in their familiar system. They click on a link and are taken directly to your OpenOlat course without having to create an OpenOlat account or log in separately.
This is useful when a partner organization uses a different system and needs to access your course. You maintain the course once in OpenOlat and publish it to one or more platforms.
For step-by-step instructions on integrating a course into Moodle, see How do I integrate an OpenOlat course into Moodle?.
What the LTI share does:
- The course remains in OpenOlat. Users work on content and tests in OpenOlat, which opens in a new window for this purpose.
- The first time a user accesses the course, OpenOlat creates an LTI account for them. The user becomes a member of the LTI group of the course, as participant or as coach.
- OpenOlat reports the course results back to the other system if a grading column is designated for this purpose there.
- The LTI share applies only to this specific course and only to the platform you select. In the user interface it is called "Deployment". All other courses remain blocked for that platform.
- If you delete the LTI share, the platform can no longer access the course.
The platform must first be set up as an external platform in the system administration, under Administration > External tools > LTI > Tab "External platforms". Whether you add the LTI share yourself or request it from support using the button "Ask for a new deployment" depends on your role. For more information, see Requirements.
Requirements
Requirements in system administration
System administrators register the external platform in the system administration of OpenOlat under Administration > External tools > LTI > Tab "External platforms". On the other side, administrator access to the other LMS is required as well. Who may create the LTI share of a course is set in the system administration: Who can add deployments?
Ideally, set up both systems at the same time, because certain dialogs in both systems must be configured directly one after the other.
Requirements in the LTI share of a course
The LTI share allows a specific external platform, for example Moodle, to launch this one course via LTI 1.3. Without a share, OpenOlat rejects every LTI call for the course, even if the platform is set up in the administration.
One deployment ID for several courses
If you offer several OpenOlat courses on the same platform, the platform often sends the same deployment ID for all of them. This happens when the platform runs the tool as a shared deployment. A platform running OpenOlat does this automatically as soon as an "LTI page" course element or its course is copied there. Each OpenOlat course can still be shared with this deployment ID, no second tool is needed on the platform.
Enter the deployment ID in the LTI share of every course the platform should reach. Within the same course, a deployment ID can be used only once per platform. A second attempt ends with the message "Deployment ID must be unique for a specific platform and course."
OpenOlat recognizes which course to open from the address the platform sends with the call. In Moodle, this is the "Tool URL" of the external tool. This address must begin with the "Tool URL" that OpenOlat shows in the dialog after clicking "Add deployment". If the address matches no shared course, OpenOlat cancels the call instead of opening another course.
A copied OpenOlat course does not take over the LTI share of the original. It needs its own LTI share, even if the platform uses the same deployment ID.
What information is exchanged between the two systems?
With every call, Moodle sends information about the person and the course context to OpenOlat. OpenOlat sends only one thing back: the course result of the person.
Which LTI services OpenOlat supports as a tool and as a platform is shown in the overview Supported LTI services.
From Moodle to OpenOlat
Moodle sends a signed token (LTI 1.3 launch). OpenOlat reads the following information from it:
| Information | What OpenOlat needs it for |
|---|---|
| Issuer and user ID | This is how OpenOlat recognizes the person again. The combination is stored as LTI authentication. |
| First name, last name, e-mail address | The user account is created from these. For LTI-only accounts, the values are updated with every call. |
| Language | Is only adopted as the language setting of the account when the account is created. |
| LTI roles | Determine whether the person becomes coach or participant. |
| Deployment ID and Tool URL | Show which shared course or which group is meant. If the same deployment ID applies to several courses, the Tool URL decides. |
| Context ID and resource link ID | Identifier of the Moodle course and of the activity in it. |
| Addresses of the Moodle services for grades and member lists | OpenOlat stores them per Moodle course. |
From OpenOlat to Moodle
If the assessment of a person in the course changes, OpenOlat sends the result of the course as a whole to Moodle's grading service (Assignment and Grade Services). Individual course elements are not transferred. The following are transferred:
- the user ID from Moodle
- the score achieved
- the maximum score (100 if none is defined)
- the activity progress and the grading progress
- the comment on the assessment
- the timestamp
The result is only sent if Moodle has sent the address of a single grade column with the call. It goes to the Moodle platform through which the person is logged in.
OpenOlat sends the result with every change of the score, not only at the end of the course. OpenOlat sends results only for participants of the course. Whoever comes from Moodle as Instructor or Mentor becomes coach of the LTI group and receives no result: Which role do people get who open an OpenOlat course from Moodle?
What is not exchanged
- Member lists: OpenOlat stores the address of the names and roles service, but never queries it. Members are therefore only added when they open the course themselves.
- List of grade columns: This address is also only stored.
- Course content: It remains in OpenOlat and is displayed there.
Which role do people get who open an OpenOlat course from Moodle?
With every LTI share of a course, OpenOlat creates an LTI group. All persons accessing externally via LTI are added to this group.
Through the group, the persons are then (group) coach or (group) participant in the course. Which of the two roles they get is decided by the LTI role that Moodle sends with the call.
| LTI role in Moodle | Course role in OpenOlat | |
|---|---|---|
| Instructor (course role or role in the institution) | becomes | group coach in the LTI group |
| Mentor | becomes | group coach of the LTI group |
| Learner or any other role | becomes | group participant |
Nobody becomes course owner via LTI.
Where do you see the people from the other platform?
Once you have added the LTI share, OpenOlat creates the group "LTI: Name of the platform" in the course. You find it in the members management under the groups. The group is initially empty. A person will only appear in it when they access the course for the first time from the other platform. In the member list, they will then be listed as group coach or group participant.
If you copy the course, the LTI group is not copied along with it. Set up a separate LTI share for the copy.
Configuration procedure
The configuration requires steps in Moodle and in OpenOlat. The instructions How do I integrate an OpenOlat course into Moodle? guide you through the whole procedure, from the external tool in Moodle to the connection test.
How and where are the results displayed?
External courses in the assessment tool
The assessment form can also be filled in and adjusted for the course element "LTI page". Select the course element in the course editor. In the tab "Page content", "Transfer score" must be switched on. Depending on the case, a scaling factor must also be entered and the score for passing must be defined: Course element "LTI page"
Further information
Mentioned on this page
How do I integrate an OpenOlat course into Moodle? >
LTI 1.3 Integrations >
Course Element "LTI Page" >
Further reading
Configure LTI access to a group >
LTI - External Platforms >
LTI - External tools >
LTI - Deep Linking >
LTI - Role mapping >
Course settings - Tab Share >
Members management >
Assessment tool - overview >
Access configuration >