VISION Connect Using AICC/SCORM
Large training organizations manage their programs through the deployment of a Learning Management System (LMS). An LMS will typically manage organizational structure and personnel, course catalogs, training resources, deliver instruction and assessments to learners, and store their completion records and other relevant data. A few common LMSs include SABA, Plateau, SumTotal, SAP LSO, and Cornerstone.
VISION is designed to interface with your LMS through VISION Connect. It does so by making use of the same internet protocols (AICC/SCORM, LTI) which are used by the LMS to launch a Web Based Training (WBT) module.
How Standard WBT Works
A WBT module is a package created by an instructional designer that delivers a chunk of learning content (often an entire lesson), including the instructional content and a built-in knowledge assessment. The WBT files are placed on a web server, and the LMS calls the WBT from the file location, which it then delivers to the learner. The learner's score and completion status are returned to the LMS by the WBT module.
How VISION Connect Works
VISION connect works on the same principle, except that instead of calling up a static file stored on a server, the LMS will call on VISION Connect, which takes the request from the LMS and then dynamically assembles multiple objective content objects into a single learner experience. Following the instruction, VISION will dynamically assemble an assessment from the questions linked to the objectives in VISION. VISION will grade the learner’s assessment, noting which questions the learner answered incorrectly. Because both instructional content and questions are stored as separate objects with the learning objective, VISION instantly determines the objectives with which the learner needs help, and delivers remediation content specifically targeted to the missed questions.
VISION Connect Using AICC/SCORM
Note that your LMS needs to be on the same domain as VISION Connect.
1.In VISION Developer, design a learning architecture in VISION which adheres to the Systems Approach to Training (SAT). This means a Job-Task Analysis (JTA), Learning Objectives derived from the analysis, and Training Units (TU) into which objectives are linked in a sequence of learning.
2.In VISION Developer, develop instructional content for at least one (usually the terminal objective, but preferably each) of the objectives sequenced into the lesson. This content can be built in an e-learning authoring tool, Word, PowerPoint, or as PDF files.
3.In VISION Developer, develop at least one question for each of the objectives.
4.In VISION Developer, assign an Assessment Profile to the TU in VISION. The profile tells VISION how to dynamically generate an exam from questions linked to the objectives.
5.In the LMS, create a new course. Add a SCORM or AICC learning activity (the terminology here will vary depending on your LMS). The simplest way to do it is to provide a launch URL. The URL should point to the launch.cfm page web address of your VISION Connect installation, and provide the ID of the TU in VISION Developer.
For example, if VISION connect is installed at http://focuslearning.com/online_learning, and the ID of the TU is 1234, the launch URL should look like this:
http://focuslearning.com/online_learning/testing/aicc/launch.cfm?visionlessonid=1234
Example
Below are example pages from the Moodle LMS, in which a course is set-up for using VLS. In the basic course settings, you may have multiple learning activities, but at least one should be a SCORM package. Your LMS will handle the addition of SCORM packages differently, but the idea is generally the same. Refer to your LMS manual for details.
Continuing with Moodle as an example, the SCORM package activity must be edited so that the LMS knows where to direct the learner when they access the activity. This is done by either uploading AICC or SCORM files, or by simply providing a direct URL.
In the image below, “Type” may be an “uploaded package” or External AICC URL. The simplest option is to use the External AICC URL, which is described in step 5 of the VISION Connect Process above.
VISION Connect Using LTI
To use VISION Learning Station as an LTI tool provider, several critical pieces need to be in place on both the LMS (Blackboard, Moodle, etc) and the VISION Learning Station side. In some part, you will need to work with FOCUS to get some of these pieces in place. In general, these steps will include the following:
1.Contact FOCUS Learning and request a VLS Public Keyset. This public key will be used to validate traffic between the LTI "consumer" (your LMS) and the LTI Tool Provider, VLS.
2.In your LMS, register and configure VLS as an LTI Tool Provider.
3.In VLS, add and configure an LTI Configuration with the information supplied by your LMS in step 2.
4.Define/create an LTI Tool in your LMS
Request a VLS Public Keyset from FOCUS Learning
Your first step should be to contact FOCUS Learning and request a keyset for your use. The public key we generate will be hosted at https://www.focuslearning.com/jwks/{your_company's_keyset}.json to which you will point your LMS in the following step, registering and configuring VLS as an LTI Tool Provider. You should contact FOCUS by emailing us at support@focuslearning.com
Registering and configuring VLS as an LTI Tool Provider
Before you can add VLS as an LTI tool provider in your LMS, the VLS application must be registered. Depending on your LMS this process may differ, but the information required for configuration should be the same. If you wish to configure VLS to accept LTI launch requests from your enterprise LMS, please contact FOCUS and we will help provide the information you need. Below are some common settings used
1.Tool URL: This is the web address of the VISION Learning Station which will serve as the LTI Tool.
2.LTI version: LTI 1.3
3.Client ID: Will be generated/provided by your LMS
4.Public key type: Keyset URL
5.Public Keyset: The web address of the VLS Public Keyset, generally hosted at a location at https://www.focuslearning.com/jwks
6.Initiate login URL: This value will be the Tool URL, followed by /lti/auth.cfm
7.Redirection URI(s): There will be two:
a.The Tool URL, followed by /lti/validate.cfm
b.The Tool URL, followed by /lti/launchlti.cfm
8.Custom parameters: This value will be similar to the following: username=$User.username
9.Default launch container: Always set VLS to launch in a new window. The name of this setting may be different, depending on your LMS.
10.IMS LTI Assignment and Grade Services: Use grade services
11.IMS LTI Names and Role Provisioning: Do not use
12.Tool Settings: Do not use
13.Share launcher's name with tool: Always
14.Share launcher's email with tool: Always
15.Accept grades from the tool: Always
Configure VLS to accept requests from the LTI Platform:
The next step is to configure VLS to be able to recognize and validate launch requests from the LTI Platform. This requires a VLS administrator account.
1.Login to your VLS administrator account.
2.In the left side menu select “Configuration”, then chose the “LTI” sub tab near the top of the page.
3.Select the “New LTI Configuration” in the “Configuration Set” dropdown menu if it was not already selected by default.
4.Fill out the configuration set as follows:
a.Name: Give the configuration set a name of your choice to identify the configuration.
b.LTI Platform URL: The base URL of the LTI Platform (in this case the LMS).
c.VLS Client ID: This ID is provided by the LMS when registering your VLS as an LTI Tool. Registration may differ based on your LMS of choice.
d.VLS Client Secret: This secret is provided when registering your VLS as an LTI Tool. Registration may differ based on your LMS of choice.
e.Default organization for new learners: This dropdown contains a list of organizations in VLS and the selected organization is used as the default organization for any learner accounts created automatically in VISION during the exam launch process (All learners must belong to at least one organization in VLS).
f.Public Keyset URL: The “Public keyset URL” provided when originally registering your VLS as an LTI Tool. Registration may differ based on your LMS of choice.
g.Auth token endpoint URL: The “Auth token endpoint” URL provided when originally registering your VLS as an LTI Tool. Registration may differ based on your LMS of choice.
h.OIDC auth request endpoint URL: The “OIDC auth request endpoint” URL provided when originally registering your VLS as an LTI Tool. Registration may differ based on your LMS of choice.
5.All fields must be entered in order for the configuration to work, verify all values entered match with those provided during LTI Tool registration and click the “Submit” button.
Define an LTI Tool in your LMS
Once a Tool Provider is configured in your LMS, you will need to identify what particular tool (a VISION Training Unit, in this case) should be provided to the learner through the LMS. This means providing the tool definition with a custom parameter programID. The value associated with programID is the ID of the Training Unit found in VISION.
For example, if the ID of the Training Unit you want to deliver through the LMS is 1234, then provide the custom parameter programid=1234 to the tool definition.
Example
In the example below, a Moodle LMS is configured as a set in Learning Station. Only an Administrator has access to this page; it is located in the Configuration area found in the main menu, and under the LTI menu in the top menu. The entries in the set are provided, in this case, by Moodle when VLS is added as an LTI Tool Provider.
The set may be edited after it is created, bu clicking the checkbox for the row, and then making the edit, and then clicking Submit.
