In Schoology, External Tools are third-party applications connected via the Learning Tools Interoperability(LTI) standard. When you install an external tool at the district level, you're configuring an LTI tool provider — centralizing credentials so they distribute automatically to all schools in your organization.
The External Tools feature supports LTI v1.0 and v1.1 only. For LTI v1.3 content, install via App Center instead.
There is no automated way to confirm whether a publisher supports LTI. Check the IMS Conformance Certification website for a registration number, or contact the publisher directly.
Before you begin
Before installing an external tool provider, gather the following information from the content publisher (tool provider):
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Which LTI version does the tool support? Schoology supports LTI 1.0 and LTI 1.1.
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Does the tool require a Consumer Key, Shared Secret, or both? If so, obtain the required values.
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How is the tool configured?
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Website-based: Obtain the tool URL or domain.
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URL/XML-based: Obtain the URL or XML configuration code.
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What user information must be shared when the tool launches?
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Are any custom parameters required? If so, obtain the parameter names and values.
Install a tool provider
District-level installation is the recommended approach. It gives you full control over credentials and ensures consistent access across all schools.
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Select Tools and choose School Management.
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Choose Integration.
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Select External Tools.
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Select Add External Tool Provider.
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Complete the form. Refer to the Form tool provider form details table for more information.
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Click Submit.
External tool provider form details
|
Field |
Details |
|---|---|
|
Tool Name |
The display name educators see when adding external tools to their courses. |
|
Consumer Key |
Credentials provided by the content publisher as an added layer of security. Enter exactly as given. |
|
Shared Secret |
Credentials provided by the content publisher as an added layer of security. Enter exactly as given. |
|
Privacy |
Controls what user information Schoology sends to the tool provider at launch. |
|
Configuration Type |
Choose how the provider is set up. |
|
Match by (For manual configuration type) |
Choose Domain if the URL used to add the tool to a course contains this provider's domain. Credentials populate automatically. Choose URL when instructors select the provider from the list. The URL field auto-fills. |
|
Donain/URL (For manual configuration type) |
Enter the provider's domain or URL based on your Match By selection. |
|
Custom Parameters (For manual configuration type) |
Enter any required parameters, one per line, formatted as name=value. |
|
URL/XML (For URL/SML configuration type) |
Provide a URL pointing to the XML file, or paste the XML directly. |