Schoology: Adding External Tools

Powerschool Knowledge Article
Created Date: December 29, 2016

Schoology: How To Add External Tools

About External or LTI Tools

LTI stands for Learning Tools Interoperability, and is a sign-on standard developed by IMS Global allowing web-based resources to be accessed and viewed from within a learning platform. LTI integration provides a secure way to utilize a wide range of publisher content from a single place, such as Schoology.

The resources, most often referred to as “tools,” can range from a single piece of content to an interactive website including search tools, assessments, and more.

You can learn more about LTI integration from IMS Global’s website.

Note: Schoology is compatible with LTI v1.0 and v1.1 content. However, there is not an automated way to determine if a publisher is LTI compatible or not. The best, and sometimes only, way to find out if a publisher is LTI compatible is by checking the IMS Conformance Certification website for a registration number at http://www.imscert.org

Setting Up LTI External Tool Providers in Schoology

LTI integrations are called External Tools. To set up External Tools in Schoology, first add the  tool provider. The Schoology System Admin can install the tool provider at the course or the district level. However, if you have a free account or if your system admin does not plan to configure the External Tool at the system level, the Course Admin will need to install the LTI Integration at the course level.

If your System Admin has not configured the External Tool at the System Level, follow these steps first.

1. Select your Course from the Courses dropdown
2. Click Course Options below the course profile photo
3. Select External Tool Providers
   
   
4. Click Add External Tool Provider
5. Fill out the necessary information in the pop-up window:
   • Tool Name—this is the name educators see when adding external tools to their courses.
   • Consumer Key—if the content publisher requires one, they will provide this.
   • Shared Secret—if the content publisher requires one, they will provide this.
   • Privacy—choose what information is sent to the publisher upon launch of the tool.
   • Configuration Type—choose how the tool provider is configured in Schoology.
     • Always choose Manual UNLESS the provider uses XML to deliver content.
     • If using XML, input the configuration URL/XML code to complete setup.
   • Match By—designates which information will automatically populate when an educator is adding an external tool to a course.
   • Domain—if the URL used to add the external tool to a course contains the designated domain, then all the tool settings will automatically populate.
   • URL—enables educators to select a tool provider and automatically generate the proper URL.
   • Domain/URL—input the domain or URL of the publisher, depending on which you choose to match by.
   • Custom Parameters—these may be required by the content publisher.
   • Each parameter must be on its own line and formatted as “name=value.”
6. Click Submit

Adding LTI Tools to Your Course

Once the above steps are complete, or if your System Admin has already configured the External Tool at the System level, return to your Materials page. Then, to add the tool into your course:

1. Click Add Materials
2. Select Add File/Link/External Tool
   
   
   
3. Select External Tool
   
   
   
4. Enter the required information in the popout window 
5. Optional: Click Enable Grading to add a due date and other grading information to the external tool. Read the section below "Grading External Tools" for additional information.

For any questions, please send an email to the support team.