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This guide is for instructors who have SoftChalk Cloud accounts and covers linking to or uploading your SoftChalk lessons into the Blackboard learning management system.
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For your instructors, you may want to post the URLs for our guides (see below). As we update the guides, the URLs will remain the same.
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Description and URL
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Search our FAQs
https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SKB/pages/196182576/SoftChalk+FAQs
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System Specifications and Supported Browsers
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This web page lists the system specifications for instructors and students.
https://softchalk.com/cloud/system-specifications
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Blackboard Admin LTI 1.3 set up FAQ
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This FAQ provides steps for the Blackboard administrator to quickly set up LTI 1.3.
https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SKB/pages/2208956417/Blackboard+LTI+1.3+setup
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Blackboard Admin LTI 1.1/1.0 set up FAQ
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This FAQ provides steps for the Blackboard administrator to quickly set up LTI 1.1/1.0.
https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SKB/pages/2213904385/Blackboard+LTI+1.0+1.1+Tool+Provider+Setup
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Student Guide to SoftChalk Lessons
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This Student Guide includes a Troubleshooting section.
https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/200114368/studentguide.pdf?api=v2
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SoftChalk Create is SoftChalk's content authoring program. It is available in both a web launch version (as part of a SoftChalk Cloud Account - see the section SoftChalk Cloud) and in a desktop version.
https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/129532299/createguide.pdf?api=v2
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SoftChalk Cloud is an award-winning, multi-function platform that combines a learning object repository, content authoring, hosting, and management features. https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/129404604/cloudguide.pdf?api=v2
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As mentioned in the previous table, SoftChalk Cloud is an award-winning, multi-function platform that combines a learning object repository, content authoring and hosting and management features.
With a SoftChalk Cloud account, you can:
- Create and update your content in one place by logging into your SoftChalk Cloud account whether you are at work or at home. (SoftChalk Create is part of your Cloud account.)
- Link to your content in many places.
- Search for content in SoftChalk Share (SoftChalk Cloud's public content repository) and add it directly to your lessons. You can modify the content you find with a SoftChalk Cloud account.
- Collaborate with other instructors on SoftChalk lessons. For more details, see the section Collaborate with Other Instructors on SoftChalk Lessons in the SoftChalk Cloud Guide.
- Collect scores using the SoftChalk ScoreCenter Feature. Grades from your SoftChalk lessons can appear within the gradebook of your learning management system.
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To take advantage of volume purchasing (or if you plan to purchase a SoftChalk Cloud account with a purchase order), please contact sales@softchalk.com.
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Your institution also has the option to purchase an Enterprise SoftChalk Cloud. Please contact sales@softchalk.com
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A SoftChalk Cloud account is available as a yearly subscription. You can purchase a SoftChalk Cloud account on our Buy Now page. Fill out the information and submit your credit card information.
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Try out a SoftChalk Cloud account for 30 days. Click the Free Trial button (see below) and fill out the information.
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The web link for this guide is below. As we update this guide, the URL will remain the same. (You may want to bookmark this guide link in your web browser.)
https://softchalk.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/121929729/lms_blackboardcloud.pdf?api=v2
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- Create Content: you will use a SoftChalk Cloud account to create and save your lesson in the Cloud (see the SoftChalk Cloud User Guide for additional information about this). After creating and saving a lesson in SoftChalk Cloud, your lesson will be assigned a unique hyperlink that you can use to share your lesson with your students in Blackboard.
- Link Your Lesson: you will use the SoftChalk Link Selector app to link your lessons into your Blackboard course(s). Additional step-by-step instructions for the SoftChalk Link Selector are provided below. A single SoftChalk lesson can be linked into as many Blackboard courses as you wish. If you wish to collect scores in your Blackboard gradebook, student scores for your lesson will pass into each individual course gradebook.
- Update Content: if you should need to update your lesson, you will login to SoftChalk Cloud, edit your lesson, and save it. Immediately and simultaneously, all courses in Blackboard that are using that lesson will be automatically updated.
- Student Access: your students do not need to have accounts on SoftChalk Cloud to use your SoftChalk content in Blackboard. Students will login to your Blackboard course and click on your SoftChalk lesson links to view your content. To the student, the content is seamless with Blackboard and appears to be native Blackboard content. If you are tracking student scores, the SoftChalk lesson scores will pass directly into the Blackboard gradebook for students to view the same way they view native Blackboard gradebook information.
- Collect Scores: Before linking your SoftChalk lessons into your Blackboard course, you will decide if you want to collect scores from your students or if you want your lessons to be "practice" lessons and you do not need to collect scores. Each time you link a lesson into Blackboard, you can decide whether or not to collect scores. Many instructors use both "scored" and "practice" lessons within a course. NOTE: a single SoftChalk lesson can be linked into multiple Blackboard courses simultaneously and can be set to report scores in some courses and set to not report courses in other courses. In other words, the same lesson can be used simultaneously in different ways in different courses.
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This section describes how to add scored SoftChalk lesson links into your Blackboard course using the SoftChalk Link Selector app. It is assumed that you have already created your SoftChalk lesson and saved it into your SoftChalk Cloud account.
- Log into your Blackboard account. At the top of your screen, click the Courses tab.
- Within the Course List, click on your course to select it. At the left, choose Content.
- Under the Build Content menu, select SoftChalk Cloud Link Selector (see below).
- Expand the lesson folders of your SoftChalk Cloud account and select your lesson.
- Then choose LTI Link and Select.
- The lesson is then inserted within the course as a new assignment.
- Click on the arrow icon next to the assignment title to adjust the assignment point value to match the points available within the lesson.
- Scroll down and click Submit.
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- After copying the LTI Link for your lesson (see the section Copy the LTI Link for Your Lesson in the SoftChalk Cloud Guide.), log into your Blackboard account. At the top of your screen, click the Courses tab.
IMPORTANT: As mentioned previously, be sure to copy the LTI Link and NOT the Hyperlink for the lesson.
- Within the Course List, click on your course to select it.
- At the top left, select Content (see below).
- Under the Build Content menu, select Web Link (see below). (If you don't see the menu below, be sure to turn on your Edit Mode in the upper right hand corner of your screen.)
- Enter a name for your lesson and for the URL paste the LTI hyperlink (see below). (Notice that lti is included in the path that you pasted.)
IMPORTANT: Be sure to select This link is to a Tool Provider. Leave the Tool Provider XML field blank.
- For Enable Evaluation, select Yes. Enter the points possible for your SoftChalk lesson. (The value does not have to be 100, but it should match the number of points for your lesson.) For Visible to Students, select Yes (see below).
- Under Description, you can enter a description if you like.
IMPORTANT: We have identified a few Blackboard errors that occur with certain formatting in the description area. Please click on a link below to see the FAQ explaining the error:
- Under Standard Options, for Permit Users to View this Content, leave Yes selected.
- Scroll to the bottom and click Submit (see below).
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- After copying the LTI Link for your lesson (see the section Copy the LTI Link for Your Lesson in the SoftChalk Cloud Guide.), log into your Blackboard account. At the top of your screen, click the Courses tab.
- Within the Course List, click on your course to select it.
- In the Blackboard Ultra course, click the
icon to add a new item and then select Create from the list of options.
- Select Teaching tools with LTI connection.
- Enter a name for your lesson.
- Use the drop-down menu to make the lesson Visible to students.
- For Configuration URL, paste the LTI hyperlink (see below). (Notice that scorecenter/lti is included in the path that you pasted.)
- Select Create gradebook entry for this item.
IMPORTANT: A 24-hour default Due date will automatically appear. You can remove or edit the default date/time.
- For Grade using, select Points. At Maximum points, enter the points possible for your SoftChalk lesson. (The value does not have to be 100, but it should match the number of points for your lesson.)
- Under Description, you can enter a description if you like.
IMPORTANT: We have identified a few Blackboard errors that occur with certain formatting in the description area. Please click on a link below to see the FAQ explaining the error:
- Scroll to the bottom and click Save (see below).
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When a SoftChalk Cloud lesson is linked into a Blackboard course as a scored lesson, the instructor can use SoftChalk ScoreCenter to view detailed student score results, as well as configure various scoring options for the lesson. Instructors access the SoftChalk ScoreCenter directly in Blackboard.
Note that although you can view student scores via the SoftChalk ScoreCenter, the student's grades are also passed directly into the Blackboard course gradebook, where the instructor also has access to view and edit individual student grades.
The SoftChalk ScoreCenter serves a variety of functions that allow the instructor to:
- Set the Maximum Attempts: Determine how many times a student can access a lesson (unlimited times or a specific number of times).
- Set the Scoring Method: Determine which attempt score is sent to the Blackboard gradebook (i.e., first attempt score, highest score, most recent score, or average score).
- View all student attempt details and see how many students have completed the lesson, how many total attempts have been made, average score, etc.
- View individual detailed student scores. All student attempts are saved and are viewable. You can see how many attempts each student has made, how long the student spent on each attempt, start and end dates/times for each attempt, and detailed score data (lesson scores, which questions or activities were attempted, etc.)
- Modify scores. You can update individual student scores, and you can force completion for all students (this closes out a score for any student who has unfinished attempts or no score.
- Clear Attempts and Re-Open Attempts
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An instructor accesses the SoftChalk ScoreCenter in Blackboard by clicking on a SoftChalk lesson link that is scored.
- Click on a SoftChalk scored lesson link in your Blackboard course.
- The instructor view of ScoreCenter will appear. Once students have accessed the LTI linked lesson, the instructor will see a list of Learner names and will have access to the details of their attempt.
The following sections describe how the SoftChalk ScoreCenter features work.
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At the top of the ScoreCenter, you will see a 'Class average' summary of all learners attempts on the lesson. This summary will include:
- the total number of Learners
- a visual representation of scores obtained
- the overall lesson high and low scores obtained
- total score possible
- Scoring Method and Max Attempts settings for the lesson
The next section will display the total number of attempts that have been made on the lesson. This section will also list Average Score and Class Percentage for the overall lesson and for each scored Activity, Quiz Popper, or Quiz Group in the lesson.
At the top, click to identify which Activity, Quiz Popper, or Quiz Group was scored in the column. The tooltip will also display the 'Question' and 'Possible Answers' for Quiz Poppers and Quiz Group questions. Each interactive will display the average score and class percentage of correct responses as well as if the 'Allow Retry' option was enabled, offering Learners another chance at the interactive to improve the score.
Learners that have accessed the lesson will display listed at the bottom of ScoreCenter. Quickly see the number of attempts the Learner made, attempt score, and details of their attempt.
An asterisk next to score helps to easily identify scores made on a previous version of the lesson.
| The Learner made the correct answer choice and obtained full credit for the Activity, Quiz Popper, or Quiz Group. |
| The Learner made the incorrect answer choice and did not obtain any score for the Activity, Quiz Popper, or Quiz Group. |
| The Learner obtained a partial score for the Activity, Quiz Popper, or Quiz Group by making correct and incorrect answer selections. |
| The Learner did not make or 'Complete' an attempt on the Activity, Quiz Popper, or Quiz Group. |
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- Select the number of maximum attempts from the drop-down menu and be sure to click Save changes (see below).
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A quick check of the Status icons helps to identify learner attempts that successfully completed the attempt by clicking on the Finish button on the last page.
Below are Status icons you may see in ScoreCenter.
| Completed Attempt |
| Incomplete Attempt |
| Changed Score |
| Cleared Attempt |
- IMPORTANT: Instructors can manually 'Complete' individual and/or all incomplete attempts using the Actions menu. See the section Complete All Attempts for All Students for a Lesson below.
- Click on an attempt to see additional attempt data (see below).
Notice you can use the attempt drop-down menu to switch views between the available learner attempts.
- Activity, QuizPopper, and Quiz Groups in the lesson will be listed at the bottom. The
icons let instructors quickly know if the learner received full, partial, or no points for their attempt at each Activity, QuizPopper, and Quiz Group question.
- Notice you can view detailed information about this attempt at the bottom.
- If you need to change the score for an attempt, use the Actions menu to select Change Score from the dropdown.
- Enter a new score and click Change Score (see below). IMPORTANT: An attempt has to be complete before you can change the score.
- Notice that you also have the option to Clear an attempt (see below). If you clear an attempt, it will not count as part of the grade calculation. If needed, you can also Restore the attempt.
- Notice that you also have the option to Complete an attempt (see below). If a student starts a lesson but neglects to click the Finish button at the end of the lesson, then that attempt is incomplete. An incomplete attempt does not count as part of the grade calculation. You can cause the attempt to be completed so that the score for the attempt is part of the grade calculation.
Be sure to click Complete Attempt.
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You have the option to complete all attempts for all students for a lesson. You may find that your students have neglected to complete their attempts (i.e., they have neglected to click Finish on the last page of the lesson – clicking Finish sends a completion status to the gradebook).
IMPORTANT: You may want to do this procedure after the availability of your lesson has expired.
IMPORTANT: This procedure cannot be undone. (You can change individual scores or re-open individual attempts if you need to.)
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If you use essays in your lesson, you can view the essays within the ScoreCenter area (see the previous section View or Change Scores). Please note the following important information.
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Score an Essay
Essays that you have assigned points to must be manually scored for each student's attempt.
Please read the important information below:
You will go into the gradebook (i.e. ScoreCenter) and evaluate and score the essay. You can also provide feedback to the student on the essay.
For example, you may have a lesson worth 100 points including one essay worth 10 points. (You assigned the points for the essay and other items.) Let's say a student completes everything correctly, completes the essay, clicks the Finish button for the essay and then clicks the Finish button on the last page of the lesson to submit his or her score. At this stage, the student has a score of 90 out of 100 because you will need to evaluate the essay and assign points.
(You may want to explain the above process to your students; as mentioned, you also have the option to assign 0 points to an essay if you like.)
In ScoreCenter, click on a student's name to view a list of attempts they have made on the lesson link. Select one of the attempts to view the Learner Details page. (See the View or Change Scores section above.)
Scroll down and click on an Essay QuizPopper and choose to Grade Essay. Here you can evaluate and score the essay. You can also add feedback for that Essay question here.
When you launch ScoreCenter, a scored Essay will appear with a yellow 'partial credit' icon until graded. A non-scored Essay will immediately appear with the green 'check mark' icon.
Students can launch the lesson link and click on the Feedback and Previous Attempts link available in the initial popup to view the score and any feedback received for each Essay question from their previous attempt.
Here students can view the Feedback from instructors of their overall lesson feedback (from the Actions menu Give Feedback option) or the individual Essay feedback.
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If you go to the Gradebook area in Blackboard, you can see that the scores from your lessons appear in your Blackboard Gradebook. (If you want to view or change scores for individual student attempts, see the section View or Change Scores.)
IMPORTANT: As previously mentioned, be sure to LOG OUT of your SoftChalk Cloud account when you are taking your lesson as a student to test the ScoreCenter feature. (If you are logged into your SoftChalk Cloud account while logged into Blackboard and taking a lesson, then the scores will not be recorded.)
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- Your Results Center shows the scores from your SoftChalk lessons (see below).
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We recommend the use of the ScoreCenter feature mentioned previously (see the section ScoreCenter Overview) to collect scores but if you want to have students print certificates or email you their scores, please see the basic steps below:
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This section describes how to add non-scored SoftChalk lesson links into your Blackboard course using the SoftChalk Link Selector app. It is assumed that you have already created your SoftChalk lesson and saved it into your SoftChalk Cloud account.
- Log into your Blackboard account. At the top of your screen, click the Courses tab.
- Within the Course List, click on your course to select it. At the left menu, choose Content.
- Under the Build Content menu, select SoftChalk Cloud Link Selector (see below).
- Expand the lesson folders of your SoftChalk Cloud account and select your lesson.
- Then choose Hyperlink and Select.
- The lesson is then inserted within the Course as a new assignment.
- Click on the arrow icon next to the assignment title to adjust the assignment point value to match the points available within the lesson.
- Scroll down and click Submit.
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This method of adding SoftChalk non-scored items into your Blackboard course uses the SoftChalk Link Selector feature that is available in the rich text editor in Blackboard. This allows you to add SoftChalk content into any Blackboard content area that uses the Blackboard rich text editor – this includes Files, Discussions, Quizzes and Surveys. The instructions below describe adding a SoftChalk lesson using the Blackboard File tool, but the process is similar for Discussions, Quizzes and Surveys.
- Log into your Blackboard account. At the top of your screen, click the Courses tab.
- Within the Course List, click on your course to select it. At the left, choose Content.
- Under the Build Content menu, select Item.
- At the bottom of the rich text editor panel, you will see an 'Add Content' icon.
- Click 'Add Content' to see a list of available options; scroll down to select 'SoftChalk Link Selector'.
The Link Selector application dialog will display. NOTE: If this is the first time you are accessing the SoftChalk Link Selector from Blackboard, you will be prompted to enter your SoftChalk Cloud username and password. After successfully entering this information, a secure connection is established between your Blackboard account and your SoftChalk Cloud account.
Thereafter, when you use the SoftChalk Link Selector tool in Blackboard, you will be automatically logged into your SoftChalk account and will not be prompted for this information again.
- Expand the SoftChalk Cloud folder tree until you locate the item to add to the course. Note that because you are adding a non-scored item to your course, you may choose from your SoftChalk lessons or files.
- Click on the item name to select it in the folder tree, then choose either the 'Hyperlink' or the 'Embed' option at the top of the dialog.
Note that embedded content will load in a frame in your Blackboard course, while hyperlinked content will appear as a link that when clicked by the student will load the content in a new tab or window.
- Once you have chosen an item and a display type (hyperlink or embed), click 'Select' to place the content into your new Item in Blackboard.
- Fill out any remaining required description or title information in the Blackboard Item dialog and then click 'Submit'.
- Once published the Item will show within the selected Blackboard course.
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- Save your SoftChalk lesson to your SoftChalk Cloud account. See the section Save a Lesson to the Cloud in the SoftChalk Cloud Guide.
- Copy the Hyperlink (NOT the LTI Link) for your lesson. See the section Copy the Hyperlink for Your Lesson in the SoftChalk Cloud Guide.
- Log into your Blackboard account.
- At the top of your screen, click the Courses tab.
- Within the Course List, click on your course to select it.
- In the Blackboard Ultra course, click the icon to add a new item and then select Create from the list of options.
- Select Link.
- Enter a name for your lesson.
- Use the drop-down menu to make the lesson Visible to students.
- For Link URL, paste the hyperlink (see below).
- Under Description, you can enter a description if you like.
- Scroll to the bottom and click Save (see below).
IMPORTANT: Be sure to see the next section Set the Scoring Method and Maximum Attempts
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One of the primary reasons for using SoftChalk Cloud with Blackboard is the ease of managing your Blackboard content. When you build your content in SoftChalk Cloud and link it into your Blackboard course, updating your content is quick and easy!
For example, lets imagine that you create a lesson that you link into three different Blackboard courses. As explained above, you can track scores for that lesson into each of those courses simultaneously (and independently). If you decide to make an update to the lesson, you do not have to login to each course and update. Instead, you will login to SoftChalk Cloud and update your lesson. As soon as you save the lesson in SoftChalk Cloud, every course it is linked in Blackboard is simultaneously and immediately updated! One clicks to save, and all three courses are updated!
Additionally, at the end of the semester, you can copy your Blackboard course that contains your SoftChalk lesson links. All links will be automatically ready for your students in your new course to use. You do not have to make any updates to the Blackboard course to re-use your SoftChalk links. So easy!
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If you used the LTI Link or Hyperlink to your SoftChalk Cloud lesson, then you can easily edit your lesson within your SoftChalk Cloud account. (You don't have to paste in a new LTI Link or Hyperlink; simply edit your current lesson in SoftChalk Cloud and the LTI Link or Hyperlink for this lesson will still work.)
IMPORTANT: If you wish to edit a lesson for which you are tracking scores within Blackboard. we recommend that you do not make scoring changes to the lesson if students have already started taking this lesson.
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(The following instructions assume you already have a forum set up under the Discussion Board.)
- IMPORTANT: Log into your Blackboard account as a student (rather than as the instructor).
- At the top of your screen, click the Courses tab.
- Within the Course List, click on your course to select it.
- On the left sidebar, select Tools.
- Within the Tools area, select Discussion Board (see below).
- Right-click on the name of your forum and choose Copy Link Location (Firefox) or Copy shortcut (Internet Explorer) (see below).
- Start SoftChalk and open your lesson.
- Select some text in your lesson.
- Choose Insert/Hyperlink.
- In the URL or Selected file area, use Ctrl+V to paste the link (or right-click and choose Paste.)
- Click OK.
- Save your lesson.
IMPORTANT: The link will only work when you're in Blackboard (not if you preview your lesson on your local computer). If you get an Access Denied Error, then you may have neglected to log in as a student. See step #1 above.
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When copying a course that has LTI links in Blackboard, be sure to select the Results Center Columns and Settings option (see below). (To copy a course in Blackboard, log into Blackboard and select the course you want to copy. At the left, choose Packages and Utilities/Course Copy.)
(Otherwise, there are no Blackboard gradebook columns for the LTI links. Scores from LTI lessons would not pass to the Blackboard gradebook unless the Results Center Columns and Settings option is selected before the course copy.)
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The steps below are for your Blackboard administrator to enable the LTI/ScoreCenter feature for your Blackboard server. For details on the LTI/ScoreCenter feature, see the section Scored Lessons (Cloud Users).
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- From the Administrator Panel, select LTI Tool Providers.
- Select Register LTI 1.3/Advantage Tool.
- In the Client ID field, enter the Application ID:
7b8a1975-96b9-4981-ac38-1c0dfe3e32eb
- Select Submit.
You're brought to a page that displays the application's configuration settings from the Developer Portal. These values are read-only and can't be changed within Blackboard Learn. The Institution Policies section pulls preferences from the Global Properties. You can manage settings for the individual provider here.Any choices you make for the individual provider override the Global Properties.
- Set the Tool Status to Approved.
- Institution Policies should be set to send the Role in Course and Name.
- Allow Grade Services should be set to Yes.
- Membership Services and User Acknowledgement Message can be set to No.
- Select Submit to register the tool.
- You'll receive a 'Deployment ID' for your LMS instance.
- Finally, send an email to help@softchalk.com with the subject line Blackboard LTI 1.3 Registration and provide the Blackboard system URL and the 'Deployment ID'; we will perform the final registration to enable the Tool Provider's connection with SoftChalk ScoreCenter.
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- From the LTI Tool Providers page, open the SoftChalk Cloud – LTI 1.3 tool's menu and select Manage Placements.
- Select Create Placement.
- Type a Label. This is the name that appears to users in a course; we suggest using SoftChalk Cloud Link Selector.
- Type a Handle. Because this becomes the database entry, it must be unique and can only contain alphanumeric, underscore, or dash characters; we suggest SCLinkSelect.
- To make the placement available, select Yes.
- Set the Type as a Deep Linking content tool.
- Leave the option to Launch in New Window deselected.
- Fill in the Target Link URI with: https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lti/content
- Select Submit.
IMPORTANT: Once you have created the LTI 1.3 SoftChalk Tool Provider, you do not want to delete the tool provider.
If the LTI 1.3 Tool Provider is deleted and re-created in the LMS, a new key/secret is generated. Since the key/secret is different, all content published using the prior key/secret will break. Faculty will need to re-create the assignments.
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As a Blackboard administrator to use the ScoreCenter feature, you need to register with SoftChalk and configure the ScoreCenter for your system.
If you have a test server that is a different physical server from your production server, you will need to register each server separately.
- To register with SoftChalk for a consumer key and secret, if you have not registered with SoftChalk for a consumer key and secret (or you cannot find your previous key and secret), please contact help@softchalk.com and provide the following information to register with SoftChalk and receive authentication credentials (i.e. an OAuth Consumer Key and an OAuth Consumer Secret). If you have a test server and a production server, you may send us two LMS URLs and we will register both of them. (You will receive a separate email with a unique key and secret for each registered URL.)
- Your institution name
- LMS URL
- First Name (optional) of the person registering with us
- Last Name (optional) of the person registering with us
- Email for this registration (the email can be a specific person's email or a generic email such as lmsadmin@myinstitution.edu)
- It is okay to use a different key and secret for your LTI configuration from your SoftChalk Publish with ScoreCenter building block. IMPORTANT: Please keep the SAME key and secret once you have started collecting scores for your LTI configuration or SoftChalk Publish with ScoreCenter building block.
- After registering, you will receive an email from SoftChalk with information to enter into your Blackboard system (see the steps below).
- Log into Blackboard. Click System Admin tab. Under the Building Blocks area, click Building Blocks.
- Click LTI Tool Providers.
- Click Register Provider Domain (see below).
- For the Provider Domain, enter www.softchalkcloud.com (see below).
- For the Default Configuration, select Set globally (otherwise instructors would have to enter the key and secret information). Paste in the Key and Secret information that you received in an email when you registered with SoftChalk (see below).
- For the Organization Policies section, select Send user data only over SSL and choose the Constituency in Course and Name options for User Fields to Send (see below).
- Click Submit (see below).
- Select Manage Global Properties (see below).
- For Feature Availability, make the following selections including Allow configured tool providers to post grade (see below).
- Click Submit (see below). IMPORTANT: Be sure to see the next steps on setting the LTI tool to Always On.
- Click the Administrator Panel link at the top left of your screen (see below).
- Under Tools and Utilities, select Tools (see below).
- Scroll down to LTI and select Always on for every item (see below).
- Later service packs may have an On/Off feature. Be sure On is selected under Availability for each item (see below). (You want On to be set for new and existing classes, courses, and organizations.)
- Scroll to the top or bottom of your page and click Submit (see below).
- Check that the LTI tool is available in all courses. Click your System Admin tab if it is not already selected. From the Administrator Panel, under Courses select Course Settings (see below).
- Click Course Tools (see below).
- Scroll down to view the LTI tool and make sure it is turned on and the lock appears as closed (see below).
- Scroll to the top or bottom of your page and click Submit (see below).
- Test the LTI integration by uploading a lesson and taking it as a student. See the section Scored Lessons.
IMPORTANT: If you get the error message Error Submitting to ScoreCenter and your test server is NOT available to the public, then you probably have a firewall issue. Please see our FAQ I think my institution has a firewall that is preventing me from saving content to SoftChalk Cloud. What should I do?
IMPORTANT: If multiple students will be using the same computer, please ask students to close their browser before logging into Blackboard. Otherwise, a score may be recorded to the wrong student.
- If individual students report that they do not see the Finish button at the end of their lesson or the Finish button is disabled, see the Troubleshooting section of the Student Guide to SoftChalk Lessons. Test an LTI Link to see that grades go into the Blackboard gradebook by following the steps in the section Scored Lessons (Cloud Users). IMPORTANT: As previously mentioned, be sure to LOG OUT of your SoftChalk Cloud account when you are taking your lesson as a student to test the ScoreCenter feature. (If you are logged into your SoftChalk Cloud account while logged into Blackboard and taking a lesson, then the scores will not be recorded.)
- If you plan to copy courses that have LTI links, be sure to see the section In Blackboard: LTI Links and Course Copy.
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If you are testing out your own graded LTI linked lessons in an LMS to confirm the gradebook connectivity, there are a couple of things to be aware of as the Cloud account owner/course instructor:
- If you are logged into SoftChalk Cloud, you will not be able to establish a connection to ScoreCenter. The two sessions interfere with one another, and you need to ensure that you have logged out of your Cloud account to produce a valid test. (Using the SoftChalk Link Selector will automatically log you into your Cloud account.)
- If you are logged in as the 'Instructor' role in the course, you will not launch the 'Student' view of the LTI lesson, and it will not connect to ScoreCenter in such a way that it will pass any grades. Be sure to log in as a test student or impersonate a student user enrolled into the course.
- If you are logged into the LMS 'Admin' account and attempt to access an LTI link, it will likely fail. LTI is only intended to work with users assigned 'Faculty' or 'Student' roles in an LMS. Oftentimes an admin is also enrolled into the course as the instructor, but it is best to test things with an instructor account if possible.
To test the Blackboard course as a student and confirm the grade has passed to the Blackboard grade book:
- Add your SoftChalk Cloud lesson LTI link to your Blackboard course using the steps shown in this guide beginning on page 8.
- Open another web browser tab. Navigate to https://softchalkcloud.com and click Log out next to your SoftChalk Cloud account username in the upper-right corner. Close the tab.
- Impersonate an enrolled student in your Blackboard course or log out of your Blackboard course as the instructor and then log into your Blackboard course as an enrolled student.
- Navigate to and click on the SoftChalk assignment in the Blackboard course.
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- Students will see the connection to ScoreCenter message (with instructions to click Finish) when they access the lesson (screenshot below):
- Students will see the Finish button at the end of the lesson.
- Students will receive the successfully completed message after clicking on Finish (screenshot below):
5. After taking the SoftChalk assignment, log out of the Blackboard course as a student.
6. Access your course in Blackboard as the instructor and navigate to the SoftChalk linked assignment.
7. Click on the SoftChalk linked assignment. You should see the ScoreCenter containing the attempt details for the lesson. You can read more about ScoreCenter on page 14 of the this guide.
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Issue | Description/Resolution |
I am the Blackboard administrator. The SoftChalk Link Selector does NOT appear under the 'Build Content' menu. How can I enable the SoftChalk Link Selector? | Please see the LTI 1.3 Tool Provider setup section of the Blackboard and SoftChalk Cloud Integration Guide and send the 'Deployment ID' and your LMS URL to help@softchalk.com. |
I am the Blackboard administrator. The SoftChalk Link Selector appears under the 'Build Content' menu. Once the SoftChalk Link Selector is clicked, I receive a 404 error. What could be wrong? | SoftChalk may need to finalize the LTI 1.3 integration. Please send SoftChalk support the 'Deployment ID' and your LMS URL at help@softchalk.com. |
I am the Blackboard administrator. The SoftChalk Link Selector is not available in all courses. How do I enable the SoftChalk Link Selector for all courses? | Confirm LTI settings apply to 'existing and new' courses. (System Admin>Tools>LTI)
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I am the instructor. I used the SoftChalk Link Selector to add my lesson, but scores are not collected in ScoreCenter or Blackboard gradebook. What could be wrong? | When using the SoftChalk Link Selector Submission Type, be sure to select LTI to add your SoftChalk lesson. Selecting the Hyperlink will not capture scores in ScoreCenter or the Blackboard gradebook. |
I am the instructor. I do not see a 'Finish' button on the last page. What should I do? | When testing scored LTI linked lessons in an LMS to confirm the gradebook connectivity, there are a couple of things to be aware of as the Cloud account owner/course instructor:
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Some students report they do not see a 'Finish' button on the last page. What can I do? | If there is a record for a student's attempt in ScoreCenter, the course instructor can 'Complete' a student's attempt and push the score to the grade book. |
Students report they receive a spinning icon when clicking on the 'Finish' button on the last page. What could cause this? | If your Blackboard administrator has updated to LTI 1.3, then faculty may receive the spinning icon if there are no points associated with the lesson.
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A student's name is not listed in ScoreCenter. What should I do? | If a student is not showing in the ScoreCenter gradebook, their submissions to ScoreCenter did not come across and SoftChalk does not have a record of their work. |
Some students receive an Empty Attempt ID error when accessing the lesson. What should I do? | This error is intended to display when there is an issue detected during the LTI launch, a missing Attempt ID value, which would prevent the student from successfully completing the ScoreCenter attempt and posting a score to the LMS gradebook.
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I am an instructor. I receive an error message when accessing my SoftChalk assignment in Blackboard. What could be wrong? | We have identified a few Blackboard errors that occur with certain formatting in the description area. Please click on a link below to see the FAQ explaining the error: |
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