Science Interactive Instructor Help Guides

What is LTI and why should I use it?

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What is LTI?

LTI is the way SI Cloud connects to your institution's LMS to allow for automatic data transfers and account set up. LTI creates a seamless experience for you and your students to use your Science Interactive lab course alongside your LMS course.

Science Interactive currently uses LTI 1.3.

Terms and Definitions
  • LTI: Learning Tools Interoperability
  • LMS: Learning Management System (such as Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Sakai, etc.)
  • SI Cloud: The award-winning learning platform used by Science Interactive to offer your distance lab courses. The SI Cloud was created by scientists specifically for distance science instruction.
  • External/Virtual Learning Tools: External learning tools or virtual learning tools are what some LMS's call LTI tools like the SI Cloud.

Why should I choose LTI for my Science Interactive courses?

  • Single-Sign On: When you use LTI, students don't have to manually enroll in the SI Cloud course. Instead, they are automatically enrolled when they access the Cloud course from your LMS.
  • Automatic grade transfer: When you use LTI, all student grades in the SI Cloud transfer automatically to the gradebook in your LMS, so you don't have to manually transfer grades or require students to submit PDFs of their lessons.
  • Streamlined set up every semester: After establishing your LTI integration, making copies of your course is fast and easy.
    • For every semester or section after the first one, you can create new SI Cloud sections right from your LMS and all the lessons will be integrated automatically. 
    • This means you don't have to worry about updating enrollment links every semester or focus on anything but what you do best: teaching lab science.

Ready to get started?

We know LTI might sound complicated at first, but trust us: it's really a simple process! We have written easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions specific to all the major LMSs to walk you through the set up process.

Next Article How to find the LTI Credentials for your course