Transferring grades to the TeachCenter and reusing content from other LMS with LTI
LTI can be used to connect the TeachCenter to the MOOC platform iMooX and to Metacampus, the learning management system of the UNITE! university alliance. Content from the provider system can be embedded in the system where the course is actually held, and students' grades can be transferred.
LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) is a technical standard that allows learning management systems to be connected for secure data exchange. One system is the provider platform, which offers content; the other is the consumer platform, where the content is displayed and, optionally, grades are received.
The TeachCenter can be connected via LTI to iMooX.at (a platform for Massive Open Online Courses, also hosted at Graz University of Technology) or to Metacampus (the learning management system of the UNITE! university alliance).
Use case iMooX (provider) / TeachCenter (consumer) with grade transfer: At the beginning of the course, students complete a MOOC on iMooX to bring everyone up to the same level of knowledge when it comes to the basics. The iMooX content is displayed as an embedded frame in the TeachCenter using LTI; i.e., students access the iMooX content directly from the TeachCenter. Their points from the MOOC (provider) are transferred to the TeachCenter (consumer) and teachers can thus check who has already completed the MOOC.
Example of an embedded MOOC from iMooX.at
Use case Metacampus (provider) / TeachCenter (consumer) with grade transfer: Students take part in a UNITE! course whose learning materials and grades are collected in Metacampus because students from several universities have access there. In order to receive a grade at TU Graz, the grades are transferred from Metacampus to a TeachCenter course at the end, and from there they are exported to TUGRAZonline.
Use case TeachCenter (provider) / Metacampus (consumer) without grade transfer: Teachers hold a joint course within UNITE! and use Metacampus as a learning management system. They want to reuse existing content from the TeachCenter for this purpose, but do not want to copy it into the Metacampus so that it only needs to be kept up to date in one place. Through LTI, students can see the TeachCenter content embedded in the Metacampus and work with it.
an entire course and the total grade of the course
a single graded activity, such as a quiz, and its grade
The following things CANNOT be transferred:
a specific unit/section and its grade
badges
certificates
LTI only links or embeds the content in the other system, including all its settings. The content is not duplicated and therefore cannot be changed in the target course.
It is possible to start the grade transfer only after the course has been completed (according to Moodle course completion) or the activity has been completed (according to Moodle activity completion).
Before points or content can be transferred between the TeachCenter and another system, the two platforms must be connected by a system administrator: the LTI connection needs to be configured. This connection with the TeachCenter is already set up for iMooX and Metacampus.
An LTI connection to transfer grades or content between the TeachCenter and iMooX or Metacampus can only be set up by the TC Support.
Please write an email to the support with the following information:
Which course (MOOC on iMooX or course on Metacampus) do you want to link to which TeachCenter course? (Course names + links)
What exactly should be transferred? The whole course or just an activity - which one? Should the grades be included, or just the content?
If the grades are included, should they only be transferred after the students have completed the course or activity, or also before that?
The TeachCenter support team will create an external tool in the course for you. Students then have to link their accounts - how exactly this works depends on the scenario. The TeachCenter support team will be happy to provide a text template for instructions for students.
External tool activity in the TeachCenter
Once the connection has been set up, the grades are transferred every 30 minutes by default. You will find the grades as a new grade item in the target course. See the instructions for grading for help if you want to customise the grade item.
Students have to connect their TeachCenter account to their iMooX or Metacampus account so that they can see the transferred content and, if applicable, transfer the grades. The exact procedure may vary by scenario and is usually communicated by the teachers in the course.
We recommend that teachers provide a short set of instructions for students on how to use the external tool to ensure that the connection works, the transferred content is visible, and the grades are successfully transferred. It has proven useful to describe the steps as precisely as possible. The TeachCenter support team will be happy to provide a text template.
Help & Contact
If you have any questions on setting up a connection via LTI between the TeachCenter and another learning management system: tc@tugraz.at
TU Graz Educational Technology