Etudes

What is LTI?

LTI is an abbreviation for Learning Tools Interoperability, which is a standard protocol developed by 1EdTech. It allows services like VoiceThread to integrate with your Etudes environment as single-sign-on tools.

The resulting experience for instructors and students is simple:

1. Sign in to your Etudes account.
2. Navigate to your course.
3. Click on the VoiceThread LTI link.
4. Use VoiceThread.

Clicking on a VoiceThread LTI link will authenticate the user, establish an account for him if he didn’t have one already, and enroll him in his course within VoiceThread. No additional work is required from the instructor or student.

• Instructor Documentation
• Student Documentation

LTI Tool Configuration

Before instructors can use VoiceThread, it must be configured globally for your Etudes instance by an administrator. This will make VoiceThread available in all courses created in the future. For courses that are already created at the time of integration, the steps below must be followed to enable VoiceThread for each one.

To add Link to VoiceThread on the left menu of course sites:

1. Click on Site Setup in the left menu.
2. Click on Edit to the right of Site Links.
3. Enter a Link Title (for example: “VoiceThread”).
4. Enter the Launch URL (provided by VoiceThread).
5. Click on the LTI icon to the right of the URL.
6. Enter the Launch Key (provided by VoiceThread).
7. Enter the Launch Secret (provided by VoiceThread).
8. Click on Done.

To enable embedding VoiceThreads in the content editor:

1. Click on Site Setup in the left menu.
2. Click on Edit to the right of External Services.
3. Enter “VoiceThread editor” under the Title (case sensitive) and the launch URL (provided by VoiceThread).
4. Click on the LTI icon and enter the Launch Key and Launch Secret (provided by VoiceThread).
5. Click Done.

The “VT” icon will be available in the editor when authoring content.

Troubleshooting Tips

Error message: “Could not find Org for this launch.”

Make sure you have entered the Consumer Key correctly.

Error message: “The authentication failed; the signature on your request did not match the expected value” or “Unsupported Signature Method”

Check to make sure the Shared Secret is entered correctly.

If the Shared Secret is accurate, please make sure the clock on your Etudes server is accurate.

Error message: “Oh, buttons! We are unable to find [path]”

Make sure the URL is entered correctly.

You’re not automatically signed in to VoiceThread when you click on a VT link

Make sure your web browser accepts third-party cookies.

When you click on a VT link, you see a page titled “VoiceThread Account Verification”.

This means you already had a VoiceThread account under your email address, and the system is now trying to connect that existing account with your Etudes profile.  You’ll only need to complete this step once.  To proceed through this page:

• Click on the link that says “Set it here” to set a verification password for your account.
• Proceed through the steps to set a password.  This will involve receiving an email from VoiceThread.
• Use that password you just set on the verification page.