Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) is a technical standard developed by IMS Global (also known as 1EdTech) that allows different learning platforms and tools to work together seamlessly, provided they are all LTI-compliant. It is especially prominent in the K20 ed-tech space. Consider it a universal adaptor that makes it easy to plug content and certain features from one system into another without complex custom integrations.

For example, a university might use one learning management system, but want to embed interactive quizzes from a third-party tool. If both the LMS and the third-party tool are LTI-compliant, the quizzes can appear inside the LMS without multiple logins or complicated data sharing.

What Does LTI Enable?

There are three key features of enabling LTI:

• Access to content: Creating high-quality content from scratch is expensive. LTI makes it easy to connect with a broad range of third-party providers, so you can quickly expand your Course libraries without reinventing the wheel.
• Better data & consistency: With LTI, learning data (progress, grades, enrollment, etc.) can flow between the LMS (the "Consumer") and the external content tool (the "Provider"). This ensures data reliability, accurate Learner records, and avoids the use of multiple spreadsheets.
• Ease of use: Once an LTI connection is set up, Learners can use single sign-on (SSO) directly from Absorb to log into a third-party resource. This simplifies the process for both Admins and Learners. 

LTI integration allows you to choose from countless trusted content providers to expand your training library, while maintaining the same seamless User experience you expect from Absorb.

Key LTI Services Absorb Supports

Currently, Absorb supports the following LTI services:

Core LTI 1.3

Basic launching of external tools from the LMS. This includes authentication and the essential handshake between the two systems.

Assignment & Grades Services (AGS)

Allows the external tool and the LMS to sync grades and completion data. Without AGS, the LMS wouldn't know if the Learner completed or passed the content in the external system.

Deep Linking (DL)

Eliminates the need to copy & paste URLs for each piece of content. Instead, Admins can browse and select content from the external provider directly within Absorb. This improves the experience for Users and reduces potential errors.

Connecting your Absorb Portal to Different LTI 1.3 Providers

This section walks you through connecting your Absorb portal to certain LTI 1.3 providers. Please note that this guide is not an exhaustive list of all providers that can be integrated via LTI 1.3.

Connecting with MoodleCloud via LTI 1.3

This configuration is divided into three sections as follows:

1. LTI Tool Registration and Configuration.
2. Deep Linking Moodle Content into Absorb Online Courses.
3. Learner Experience.

LTI Tool Registration and Configuration

The first section involves exchanging key configuration values between Moodle and Absorb to establish a secure connection. It is recommended that you open Moodle in one window or tab, and Absorb's Admin Experience in another.

To complete this process, follow the steps below:

1. Access the Admin Experience.
2. Navigate to Client Settings.
3. If LTI Consumer Mode has been enabled for your Portal, you'll see a Tile labelled LTI Registration.
   • If you do not see this Tile, reach out to Support to have the feature activated.
     
      
4. Click Manage. This will open a window where all your registered LTI Tools are listed. From here, you can configure existing tools or add new ones.
5. Click Add LTI Tool.
   
    
6. Fill out the six required fields in the Settings section, using information provided from Moodle.

To gather these values, first, you must enable 'Publish as LTI tool' in Moodle:

As a Moodle administrator,

1. Go to Site administration > Plugins > Authentication > Manage authentication and enable LTI by clicking on the eye icon under the Enable column.
2. Then, go to Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Manage enrol plugins and enable Publish as LTI tool by clicking the eye icon under the Enable column.
3. Then, enable Allow frame embedding by going to Site Administration > Security > HTTP security so that tools can be displayed within a frame rather than in a new window.
   
    

Next, you must manually register the connection between Moodle and Absorb:

There are two parts to the manual registration process. First, some information must be copied from Moodle into Absorb, and second, some information needs to be copied from Absorb into Moodle to complete the process.

 

Starting in Moodle:

1. As an administrator, go to Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Publish as LTI tool > Tool registration.
2. Click the Register a platform button to create a new platform registration.
3. Enter a name you will recognize as your Absorb portal, and click Continue.
4. You'll see a Tool details tab. Leave this browser window open as you will need values from this page for the next step in Absorb.

Now, head back to Absorb:

Return to your LTI registration settings in Absorb and refer to the table below to populate each field in the first column with the corresponding value from Moodle, listed in the second column. For any Absorb fields that don't have a matching value in Moodle, refer to the third column for what to enter instead.

Ensure the status and name of the registration are also modified as needed, and then click Save. Other fields on this modal can be left blank.

Table 1 - Absorb LMS Fields and Moodle Fields

Now, back in Moodle:

1. Click the 'Platform details' tab. If not, from the registration table, click the 'View platform details' action. You'll see a table listing the various platform endpoints and identifiers.
2. Click 'Edit platform details'
3. Fill the following form fields in Moodle with their respective values:

Table 2 - Registration Field and Values for Moodle

4. Save.
5. Next, select the Deployments tab
6. Click Add a deployment.
7. Copy the Deployment ID from the Absorb configuration into the Deployment ID field.

Table 3 - Deployment Configuration

8. Save the deployment.

The registration process is now complete. Click the Back button or navigate to Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Publish as LTI tool > Tool registration, where you will now see the registration listed as Active.

You're now ready to begin adding Moodle-hosted content to your Absorb Online Courses. You can either create a new Online Course or edit an existing one.

Deep linking LTI 1.3 content from Moodle into Absorb Online Courses

First, in Moodle:

1. As an administrator, go to the My courses tab at the top of the screen, and click into one of your courses. From the More dropdown, select Published as LTI tools.
   
    
2. Under the LTI Advantage tab (this is selected by default) click the Add button.
3. In Tool to be published select the course or activity to be shared, and enable grade sync for the resource, if required.
   
    
4. Click the Add method button at the bottom of the page.

The published activity or course is now ready for deep linking into Absorb.

Next, in Absorb:

To add Moodle-hosted content into your Online Course via LTI, follow the steps below:

1. In the Admin Experience, select the Course you wish to add Moodle content to and click Edit.
2. In the Course Editor, scroll down to the Syllabus section and click Add Learning Object. If you have an LTI tool properly registered, you will see a new option for LTI Learning Objects.
3. Select the LTI and click Next.
   
    
4. Under LTI Provider, select Moodle (or the name you gave this provider during registration).
5. Click Add Content.
   
    
6. A new window will appear, where you will have to search/filter content from Moodle. You can select and add one piece of content (such as a course or video) per LTI Learning Object in Absorb.
   
    
7. Once you've made your selection, click Add content.
8. Name your Learning Object.
9. Click Save. To include more content from an LTI provider, you can add additional Learning Objects and repeat the selection process.
10. Once your Course is ready, set it to Active and click Publish.

You can now enroll Learners in the Course.

Learner Experience

Learners can now access Moodle content as part of your Absorb Online Courses, as long as they are enrolled in the corresponding Moodle course. Just like any other lesson type, LTI is fully compatible with mixed-format Courses. You can combine it with videos, SCORM Courses, Assessments, and more.

For the best Learner experience, we recommend using Sidebar or Compact view.

Connecting with LinkedIn Learning via LTI 1.3

This configuration is divided into three sections as follows:

1. LTI Tool Registration and Configuration.
2. Deep Linking LinkedIn Learning Content into Absorb Online Courses.
3. Learner Experience.

LTI Tool Registration and Configuration

The first section involves exchanging key configuration values between LinkedIn Learning and Absorb to establish a secure connection.

To complete this process, follow the steps below:

1. Access the Admin Experience.
2. Navigate to Client Settings.
3. If LTI Consumer Mode has been enabled for your Portal, you'll see a Tile labelled LTI Registration.
   • If you do not see this Tile, reach out to Support to have the feature activated.
     
      
4. Click Manage. This will open a window where all your registered LTI Tools are listed. From here, you can configure existing tools or add new ones.
5. Click Add LTI Tool.
   
    
6. Fill out the six required fields in the Settings section, using information provided from LinkedIn Learning.
7. To gather these values, open LinkedIn Learning in a separate tab or window.
8. Navigate to the Admin Center in LinkedIn Learning.
9. In the top-right corner, click your user icon.
10. Select Authenticate from the drop-down. This will take you to a new page.
    
     
11. Click Add new SSO.
    
     
12. Select LTI 1.3.
13. In the Basics tab, give the connection a name you'll recognize.
    
     
14. Click Next to continue.
15. This brings you to the Configuration tab, where you'll find the values required to complete the LTI registration in your Absorb Portal.
    
     
16. Return to your LTI Registration Settings in Absorb and refer to Table 4 to populate each field in the first column with the corresponding value from LinkedIn Learning, listed in the second column.
17. Assign a name to your LTI Registration in Absorb. 
18. Set its status to Active. This will make the tool available as soon as setup is complete.
19. Click Save.
20. Return to your LinkedIn Learning tab. From the Configuration tab in LinkedIn Learning, click Next to proceed to the Registration tab. This is where you'll enter specific values from Absorb to finalize the handshake between the two systems.
    
     
21. Refer to Table 5 to see which values to enter in each Registration field. It is essential that you enter the value exactly as specified or follow the instructions to retrieve it. Ensure that:
    • No URLs include a trailing slash.
    • All values are case-sensitive.
    • Treat these fields as plain text strings, not dynamic URLs.
22. Click Next. This will open the LTI Advantage tab.
    
     
23. Modify values on this tab as outlined in Table 6.
24. Click Save. To activate the LTI 1.3 connection between Absorb and LinkedIn Learning, ensure the dropdown next to your new SSO connection is set to Active.
    

You can now add LinkedIn Learning content to your Absorb Online Courses. You can either create a new Online Course or edit an existing one. You can read more about Online Course creation here. 

Reference Tables

Table 4 - Absorb LMS Fields and LinkedIn Learning Fields

The table below shows how the fields in your Absorb LTI Tool Registration correspond to those in LinkedIn Learning. For any Absorb fields that don't have a matching value in LinkedIn Learning, refer to the third column for what to enter instead.

Table 5 - Registration Field and Values

This table shows the LinkedIn Learning Registration fields and their corresponding values. 

Table 6 - LTI Advantage Tab

This table shows the LTI Advantage fields and their corresponding values. 

Deep linking LTI 1.3 content from LinkedIn Learning into Absorb Online Courses

To add LinkedIn Learning content into your Online Course via LTI, follow the steps below:

1. In the Admin Experience, select the Course you wish to add LinkedIn Learning content to and click Edit.
2. In the Course Editor, scroll down to the Syllabus section and click Add Learning Object. If you have an LTI tool properly registered, you will see a new option for LTI Learning Objects.
3. Select the LTI and click Next.
   
    
4. Under LTI Provider, select LinkedIn (or the name you gave this provider during registration).
5. Click Add Content.
   
    
6. A new window will appear, where you will have to search/filter content from LinkedIn Learning. You can select and add one piece of content (such as a course or video) per LTI Learning Object in Absorb.
7. Once you've made your selection, click Add.
    
8. Click Confirm.
9. Name your Learning Object.
10. Click Save. To include more content from an LTI provider, you can add additional Learning Objects and repeat the selection process.
11. Once your Course is ready, set it to Active and click Publish.

You can now enroll Learners in the Course.

Learner Experience

Learners can now access LinkedIn Learning content as part of your Absorb Online Courses. Just like any other lesson type, LTI is fully compatible with mixed-format Courses. You can combine it with videos, SCORM Courses, Assessments, and more.

For the best Learner experience, we recommend using Sidebar or Compact view. Keep in mind that the Contents bar from LinkedIn Learning can be collapsed for a cleaner, more focused interface. We've included a comparison of the two views below.

Sidebar view with the LinkedIn Learning Contents:

Compact view with the LinkedIn Learning Contents bar hidden:

Conclusion

With LTI 1.3 Consumer Mode now available in Absorb, integrating trusted content providers like LinkedIn Learning and MoodleCloud has never been easier. This setup not only expands your Course offerings, but also simplifies access, centralizes Learner data, and maintains a seamless User experience across platforms.

Whether you're enriching your content library or streamlining your delivery process, LTI 1.3 gives you the flexibility to do both – efficiently and at scale.

If you have any questions during setup or want to explore additional use cases, don't hesitate to contact your Client Success Manager.