Sphere Engine Problems LTI Tool Integration

Note: To successfully integrate the Sphere Engine Problems LTI tool, your LMS must support the LTI standard. Most of today's learning management systems implement this standard, and thus they are compatible with Sphere Engine Problems LTI tool (also referred to as Sphere Engine for Education).

Important: In order to successfully integrate Sphere Engine Problems LTI tool you need to have a working Sphere Engine account. Register for a Sphere Engine account by filling in the sign-up form.

Generating configuration data

Creating a new integration

Create a new set of configuration data for the LMS system that will enable LTI integration with the Problems LTI tool.

In the Sphere Engine panel on the Menu > Problems > Education page (link: list of configurations click the Add a new LMS button (1).

This will generate the configuration data for the LTI integration: customer key and shared secret. After clicking the configuration name (2) that appeared on the list, you will be transferred to the page with detailed information.

Fig. 1. List of configurations
Fig. 2. New configuration on the list

Note: The In use / Unused label (3) indicates whether the given configuration has been used for configuration in the LMS. This information can be useful for identifying configurations that can be safely removed.

Configuration data

The Sphere Engine client panel page with detailed information (Menu > Problems > Education > #ID CODE) displays configuration data needed for integration with the LMS system:

  • consumer key (1),
  • shared secret (2),
  • tool URL (HTTP (3) or HTTPS (4)).
Fig. 3. Configuration data

Some LMSs (e.g. Canvas and Moodle) allow for an automated configuration process based on data in the XML format. The XMLconfig tab (5) contains all the information required to complete the configuration procedure.

The XML data needed for the automated configuration can be used in two ways:

  • through a dedicated URL (6),
  • by copying it directly from the text field (7).
Fig. 4. XML data for automated configuration
Fig. 5. Additional settings

Note: We recommend using a separate configuration for each LMS. The use of a common configuration for many systems is possible after deselecting the Safe mode option (8).

Important: Configuration removal procedure (delete this LMS button (9)) is irreversible. Problems LTI tool will become inactive in all LMSs that use the deleted configuration data.

LMS Configuration

Setting up integration with the Problems LTI tool in an LMS is similar for all systems. Key for configuration are the parameters discussed in the previous section (mainly the customer key and shared secret parameters).

Note: Due to the dynamic development of LMSs, which often involves a reorganization of the user interface, the following descriptions may slightly differ from the actual appearance of the LMS in their newer versions.

We provide how-to guides on integrating Problems LTI tool with the following LMSs:

The LTI standard is supported by most modern LMS. If you need confirmation of Problems LTI tool's compatibility with your system or have a configuration problem, please contact us.

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