LTI 1.3 Integration: Instructor Guide

This article assumes your LMS course is already built. For how to create links in your LMS course with the CertMaster LTI tool, use the course-building article found in your LMS's section of our LMS Integration Documentation.

If you don't yet have an integration set up and would like to learn what the LTI integration does and how to request one, please see Is LMS Integration right for my organization? 

Instructor First Steps

Each time you gain access to an integrated LMS course, the very first things you should do are ensure the start and end date are correctly configured in the LMS course settings, and then click an LTI 1.3 link that points to CertMaster content. This single click automatically configures almost everything you need in CertMaster for the integration, including the following:

• Creates a user account in CertMaster with the Instructor role and associates it to your institution. 
  • If you already have a CertMaster account through your institution with the same email address as your LMS user profile, it will log you into it.
• Grants your account an instructor license to the CertMaster product you clicked into if you don't have one
• Creates an integrated Class in CertMaster tied to your LMS course with start and end dates that match those set in your LMS.
• Assigns you as an Instructor to that Class, granting you reporting access and adding it to your Classes list.

IMPORTANT:

• Click at least one CertMaster LTI link in every LMS course you teach. Otherwise, you will not be assigned as an Instructor to the Class in CertMaster, and you will not be able to see the class or any reports in your CertMaster Class list.

• DO NOT manually create your course in CertMaster

• DO NOT manually create student accounts

• DO NOT manually enroll students in a CertMaster Class

• DO NOT manually assign licenses to users from CertMaster

• DO NOT rename, duplicate, or archive the class until the course has concluded.

Confirm your Class was created

After clicking into CertMaster from your LMS course, navigate to Home in the left nav bar. Your Class list should appear, but if it does not, select the My Campus/School/Institution tab at the top, and then the Classes tab below that. 

Confirm that:

• Your class's name matches the LMS course name

• The correct CertMaster product is listed in the Courseware column

Click your Class's name. 

• If your course hasn't begun, this screen is likely empty, but once students start entering the content, you'll see a list of students who have clicked at least one link.

• If a student is missing, it means they have not clicked an LTI link into CertMaster from the LMS course yet.

• If there is a 'No' under 'Required Courses are Activated', this means that they clicked a CertMaster link and were enrolled in the Class, but they didn't redeem their Access Key yet. They will continue to receive a prompt each time they click in until they enter it.

Click the Edit button in the upper right. (This can also be accessed from the Class list by clicking the three-dot menu to the right of your Class name and selecting Edit Class.)

• Class Name is set the first time a user launches from the LMS. After that, editing it in the LMS will not change it here, and editing it here will not change it in the LMS. If changes are needed, make sure to make them in both locations.

• Dates are taken from the LMS course's settings, and set the first time a user clicks into the course. Again, changes will not sync past the first click, so make sure to make them in both locations if changes are needed.

• Instructors are assigned automatically when a user with the Instructor or Admin role in the corresponding LMS course clicks an LTI link, but they can also be added here.

• Associated Course(s) are set any time a user clicks an LTI link into a product from the course in question. Even if it is removed here, it will be re-added if a link to that product is clicked from the LMS course afterward.

• Set Goal Completion for All Students allows you to pre-set a goal date for the course, which removes the prompt each student encounters the first time they click in and allows you to ensure the CertMaster Progress Tracker experience is uniform among your students.

• Clear/Restore Scores allows you to reset a student's scores for the products associated to the course, as well as undo a previous reset. See How to Clear Student Progress in a CertMaster Course for more info. This does not affect any scores that have synced to the LMS gradebook, which need to be cleared from there.

Important Notes:

• If your LMS course doesn't have start/end dates set, your CertMaster Class will have a start date of the first time a user clicked an LTI link from the course and an end date of one year later. 

• Please note that CompTIA releases new versions of our products every three years, and the previous version retires six months after a new one is released. When a new product version is released, your course will need to be rebuilt to use links that point to the new version.

• If your organization is routinely running the same course in different terms, it is strongly recommended to make a fresh course copy for each group of students. Reusing an LMS course can have various negative technical effects.

Automatic Class Creation and User Enrollment

Students are automatically enrolled in the CertMaster Class the first time they click a CertMaster link.

If your students use Access Keys to gain access to the product, they'll be prompted for a key the first time they click into a given product from the LMS course. They should not redeem their key anywhere except for this prompt, such as at CompTIA Central.

If your institution uses Usage-based Billing (UBB) or limited Licenses, students are granted a license automatically on their first click.

Grade Syncing and Reporting

• Students’ scores automatically sync to the LMS course gradebook within 20 seconds of completion.

• The Highest grade achieved is sent

• In order for grades to sync:

  • Learners need a stable internet connection

  • Learners need to have started their CertMaster session by clicking a content link in the LMS course that the grades are to return to. Logging in manually, or entering through a link in a different integrated course will cause grade sync to fail.

• Only scores earned after the LMS course’s start date sync.

• You can confirm a student's work by looking in the Class Reports.

For more information on Grade Sync, see LMS Integration: Grade Sync FAQ

For troubleshooting, see LMS Integration: Grade Sync Troubleshooting

Custom Quizzes and Competency Assessments

Custom Quizzes and Competency Assessments (called 'Class Assessments' in the LTI Content Selector) have some unique functionality when used in the context of an LMS integration.

• Normally, Custom Quizzes and Competency Assessments need to be scheduled from within the CertMaster platform in order for a learner to take them. However, when a user clicks into one through an integration link, the learner will be automatically allowed one attempt immediately the first time they click that link.
• If they attempt to click the Custom Quiz or Competency Assessment link in the LMS again after this attempt, they will encounter an error.
• To allow a learner more attempts, use the scheduling dialogue within CertMaster:
  • Custom Quizzes: Allowing Multiple Attempts for an LMS-Scheduled Quiz
  • Competency Assessments: Skip to Step 8 in Schedule a Competency Assessment

Student Instructions

Edit these instructions per your organization's needs, or forward them on as-is.

To create your Student account and access CompTIA's CertMaster content

DO NOT manually create a user account on the CompTIA website.
DO NOT redeem your access key anywhere except at the prompt that you see when you first click a link to CertMaster from your institution's LMS.

DO click on any CertMaster content link inside the LMS course.

• You will be prompted to create a CompTIA Central account, or if you have an existing one tied to the email address in your LMS profile, you will be prompted to link it to your LMS-generated account. This platform is separate from the CertMaster learning platform, and it is used to schedule Certification Exams, as well as access any other products tied to the account.

• If your instructor has not set a goal completion date for the course, you will be prompted to set one. CertMaster will use this to provide guidance on what needs to be completed in order to meet your goal. 

"First Click"

On your first click into CertMaster, your institution's integration with the platform will do the following in the background:

• Create your user account in CertMaster based on the information in your LMS user profile and tie that account to your institution in CertMaster, or, if you've already clicked into CertMaster from this LMS before, it will log you into your account.
• Enroll you in the CertMaster Class that's tied to your LMS course.
• Grant you product access:
  • Access Keys: If your school expects you to use an Access Key to gain access, you will be prompted for it the first time you click a link to that product.
  • Licenses: If your school uses pre-purchased license pools or Usage-based Billing, access will be granted automatically on click, and you'll be taken directly to the material.

LMS Grade Sync

If your institution's LMS is set up to sync grades between CertMaster and the LMS gradebook, please do the following to ensure Grade Sync functions properly:

DO always start your CertMaster study session by clicking a link in the LMS course. This refreshes the grade endpoints that CertMaster uses to send the grades to the LMS gradebook. Grades will sync for any activities completed in a single login session, so you do not need to click every link in the course.
DO make sure you have a stable internet connection when completing any graded work.

DO NOT complete graded work on any account except the one associated to your school's LMS
DO NOT log in manually through CompTIA Central
DO NOT complete graded work before the LMS course's start date.