leveraging sakai and lti to standardize integrations

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Leveraging Sakai and IMS LTI

to Standardize Integrations

Presented By

Gary Gilbert, Unicon

Fred Tibbitts, Pearson Education

July 9, 2009

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Overview

• The Challenge

• Pearson Education’s Solution

• Leveraging LTI

• Sakai as Reference Implementation

• Demo

• Q & A

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The Challenge

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The Challenge

• Custom integration solutions

– Usability

– Reinvented for each LMS / learning application

– Brittle

– Minimal reuse

– High cost of ownership

– Lack of content portability

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What is TPI?

• “Third-Party Interoperability”

• TPI is a gateway that allows external applications to integrate seamlessly with Pearson applications

• External LMS embeds links to TPI in course content

• TPI mediates the request before redirecting to the Pearson learning application

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• Handle tool launch (i.e. application linking) requests

• Orchestrate enterprise data exchange

– Users, courses, enrollments

• Seamless SSO

TPI’s Main Responsibilities

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TPI Design Principles

• Be flexible – enable partner and Pearson application integrations with minimal effort

• Lightweight – don't include or develop components we don't need

• Support/leverage industry standards when appropriate

• Highly scalable and fault tolerant

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TPI Server

• Java-based web application

• Red Hat Enterprise servers

• Oracle RAC

• TPI is based largely on open source software

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What is IMS LTI?

A standard method of integrating learning tools with learning management systems

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Why LTI in TPI?

• Expand support for standards

• Economies of Scale

– Single provider for many tools

• LTI addresses features such as automated

tool deployment

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LTI Overview

• “Learning Tool Interoperability”

• Version 2.0 (Not Final)

• Working Group includes:

– Pearson Education

– Sakai

– IBM

– Microsoft

– Blackboard

– Wimba

– Others

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LTI Objectives

• Define a deployment framework

• Standardize process for building links

• Guarantee secure communication

• Provide a tool launch protocol that preserves learning context

• Supports content development and distribution

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Key Concepts

• Tool Consumer

• Tool Provider

• Tool Profile

• Messaging Framework

• Link Types

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Tool Consumer

• Publishes a Tool Consumer Profile

• Provides Tool Consumer Runtime

• Exposes LTI Services

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Tool Consumer Profile

• XML descriptor of the Tool Consumer's supported LTI functionality

• Read by Tool Provider during deployment

Tool Consumer Metadata

Vendor Information

Capabilities List List of supported

Security Profiles

Tool Consumer Profile

Web Services

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Tool Provider

• Learning application that runs in a container separate from the LMS

• Publishes one or more tools via Tool Profiles

– Tool is an HTTP-based application that serves content

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Tool Profile

• XML descriptor describing how a tool integrates with a Tool Consumer

• Delivered to the Tool Consumer during tool deployment

Tool Metadata

Vendor Information

Resource Handlers

Menu Links

Outcome Handlers

Tool Profile

Event Handlers

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Messaging Framework

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Message Types

• Tool Deployment Request

• Tool Launch Request

– Menu view request

– Resource view request

– Resource create/modify/delete requests

• Server-to-Server

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Link Types

• Menu Links

– Rendered in navigational element

– Defined in the Tool Profile

• Resource Links

– Rendered anywhere they are supported by the Tool Consumer Runtime

– Authored

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Key Interactions

• Tool Deployment

• Tool Launch

• Resource Link Authoring

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• A handshake between the Tool Provider and Tool Consumer where they exchange profiles

• Initiated by an administrator on the Tool Consumer side

• Uses RegisterTool web service

Tool Deployment

User Agent Tool Consumer Tool Provider

Submit Deployment URL

Send HTML Form

Auto-submitPost (toolConsumerProfileURL, passwd, returnURL)

Get Profile

Collect informationValidate profile

registerTool(ToolProfile, ToolSettings, SecurityContract)

Submit

Send Redirect

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Tool Launch

• Initiated by a user on the Tool Consumer

• Tool Consumer Runtime generates HTML Form (POST) that is auto-submitted

• POST to appropriate Message Handler on the

Tool Provider

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<form id="launchRequestForm" name="launchRequestForm" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" action="http://someserver.com/lti/launch"method="post">

<input name="userId" value="admin" type="hidden"/><input name="contextId" value="fb2720f7-bc89-4c15-9d11-f959be22835c"

type="hidden"/><input name="contextType" value="ims/lis/CourseSection" type="hidden"/><input name="toolInstanceGUID" value="448c77e6-3d01-4f6a-97d2-5316fb472ee4"

type="hidden"/>

<input name="timestamp" value="1238096397997" type="hidden"/><input name="mac" value="9sba5G5oEOoAKtJuRLHtzhqtZr0=" type="hidden"/><input name="nonce" value="-2714224520731310511" type="hidden"/><input name="digest-algorithm" value="HmacSHA1" type="hidden"/>

<input name="system_institutionId" value="unicon" type="hidden"/><input name="system_partnerId" value="sakai" type="hidden"/>

<input name="context_book" value="campbell8" type="hidden"/>

<input name="resource_targetId" value="studyplan" type="hidden"/>

<input value="Submit" type="submit"/></form>

Resource Context

System

Security

Standard

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Resource Link Authoring

• Initiated by user on the Tool Consumer

• Tool Provider provides authoring UI

• Uses ResourceLink web service

User Agent Tool Consumer Tool Provider

Initiate Link Creation

Send HTML Form

Post [resource-create]

Collect information

Submit

Send Redirect

saveResource

Show new resource

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Sakai as Reference Implementation

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LTI in Sakai

• Tool Consumer

• Test harness for TPI Tool Provider

• Reference implementation

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Sakai Tool Consumer Runtime

• New Sakai Tool (lti.tool.consumer)

– Reasonable Server Faces

• Tool Deployment

• Tool Launch

– Integration with Sakai Resources Tool

• Resource Link Authoring

– Heavy use of Entity Providers

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Sakai LTI Services

• Standard Sakai API / IMPL Model

• Spring Web Services

– IMS Enterprise Services v1.1

– RegisterTool

– ResourceLink

– ToolSetting

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Sakai LTI Authoring

• Pearson Scripted Links

– Extension to the LTI spec

– Allows direct authoring of links

• Requires Melete

– Minor changes to Melete to support LTI tool launch via JavaScript

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Sakai in LTI – What's left?

• Tool Deployment at the System level

• Tighter integration with Sakai Resources

• You tell us

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Demo

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Q&A

Gary Gilbert, Uniconggilbert@unicon.net

Fred Tibbitts, Pearson Educationfred.tibbitts@pearson.com