Lecture Tools Integration

Moving from Lecture Tools to Echo360

A full guide on the process of moving from Lecture Tools to the Echo360 active learning platform is located here: Moving from Lecture Tools to Echo360.

Overview

Echo360 integration with Lecture Tools allows instructors and students to utilize the presentation and polling capabilities of the Lecture Tools product directly through EchoCenter.

Instructors can access Lecture Tools through their course EchoCenters and prepare lecture materials, such as polls, quizzes or other interactive instructional items, and have those items be linked to each course or section. Once prepared and published, Students can access these materials, allowing them to become more integrated with the classroom even if they are not physically present.

Integration of Lecture Tools into EchoSystem requires the following configurations:

• Addition of Lecture Tools as a Hosted Service on the EchoSystem Server (ESS)
  Use of the Collaboration and Statistics Service (also referred to as HEMS) 
• Sections must require user authentication for EchoCenter access, in order to identify instructors and students.

Furthermore, Instructors should be instructed to access LectureTools through the course EchoCenter (and not independently through a direct LectureTools link). The informational flow, seamless authorization, and connection between courses in EchoSystem and LectureTools is currently "one way". The only way EchoCenter knows that an Echo is linked with a LectureTools Lecture is to create the LectureTools lecture from the EchoCenter link. 

The below sections of this page cover administrative configuration for use of Lecture Tools with EchoCenter.

Additional user-directed information for instructors is located in Using Lecture Tools with EchoCenter, and for students on the Seeing Lecture Tools Materials in EchoPlayer section of the Guided Tour of an EchoCenter Page.

Add Lecture Tools as a Hosted Service

To add Lecture Tools integration to EchoSystem, you must add Lecture Tools as a Hosted Service, which configures authentication between the ESS and the Lecture Tools service.

If you have a Lecture Tools license, you should have received an email containing some configuration properties related to your Lecture Tools service. If you have NOT received this email, contact your Lecture Tools support representative. You cannot continue without this information.

Once you have the Lecture Tools configuration information use the following steps to add Lecture Tools as a Hosted Service.

1. On the ESS, navigate to System > Hosted Services. You should already see a Collaboration and Statistics service listed there. If you do not, contact Echo360 Customer Support.
2. Click Add. The Hosted Service Information page appears, as shown in the below figure.
   
3. Enter a Label that clearly identifies this as the Lecture Tools service. This is the text you will see in the list of Hosted Systems.
4. Complete the Consumer Key, API Secret, and API Host URL fields using the email you received, discussed above, with these configuration properties.
5. When finished, click Save.

Configure User Authentication on Course Sections

Lecture Tools needs to know who is attempting to access its information, and the EchoCenter needs to know how to present links and information to the user (depending on whether it is a student or instructor). In order to do this, each section to be integrated with Lecture Tools needs to have the Security Settings configured to require user authentication to access the EchoCenter.

Use the Security Settings section of the Edit Section page to make this selection. It may be easier for you to set the default Security Settings for the Organization to one that requires authorization. This allows each section configured for the Organization to inherit that security setting, eliminating the need to manually configure each.

You may also need to configure additional Security Modules, or change the settings for existing modules as needed. This is because the Security Settings available for selection are determined by what security modules are configured for the ESS.

Provide Guidance to Academic Staff

You will want to provide course instructors and other presenters with the basic information they will need to use Lecture Tools with their courses. There is information provided in the Academic Staff Guide, in particular on the page devoted to Using Lecture Tools with EchoCenter.

Specifically, you want to be sure that the course instructors are told (and advise their students) to always access the EchoPlayer through the course EchoCenter. The integration and pass-through of information from Lecture Tools is provided through the EchoCenter. Anyone accessing the lecture (including both Echoes and Live webcasts) through a direct link to the EchoPlayer will NOT see the Lecture Tools materials provided.

Furthermore, you will want to advise your staff that EchoCenter does not, at this time, support the use of an Image Quiz from Lecture Tools. All other question formats provided by Lecture Tools can be used through EchoCenter.