Blackboard LTI 1.3 with Advantage - Linking to Pro Certifications

A best practice is to start the LabSim LMS integration in a Sandbox Course (that is a course which is isolated from real teachers, students, etc. that are currently attending live classes). This can be in your development or production environments.

As part of our LMS integration testing, it is recommended that the Sandbox pseudo instructor account and pseudo student account are provided to TestOut for basic testing of the SSO links and score return (if applicable).

Testing as a pseudo instructor and student in the sandbox is the primary way we can confirm the experience will be successful when the LMS courses are live and in session.

Linking to TestOut Pro Certifications

1. Within your Blackboard course, navigate to the desired content folder within which you desire to create assignment links to TestOut Course Resources. Then select TestOut LTI 1.3 (or a name similar to this) from the Build Content menu. 

Note: The process to add course content in the Blackboard Ultra View is similar to the Original View (pictured below) ... with one slight change.  Add content by clicking the + on the Content Page. After clicking the + navigate to the Content Market and search for TestOut.  Upon selecting TestOut you can continue with Step 2 below. 

2. Once the app loads on the page, click Add Pro Certifications. 

3. On the next screen, click on the Select a Certification drop down menu and select the Pro Certification exam for the product that you are using.

4. Next, you can choose to have the exam graded by selected the Graded box and assigning a point value in the Point Value field.  Then click the Create Link button.

5. The link to the Pro Certification exam will then be available within the content section of your Blackboard course.

Important Information:

Automatically Creating a class and Enrolling students

Once you have links from your LMS integrated with LabSim, AS THE INSTRUCTOR: 

Click one of the TestOut assignment links inside of your LMS class. When you click on the link, your class is automatically created in LabSim. Make sure to do this for each class. When you do, a class matching your LMS class's name will be automatically created in your LabSim account. As a best practice, don't rename it, archive it, or create a duplicate of it, at least until after your semester ends.  DO NOT create your class manually in LabSim.  

Note:  It is critical that at least one initial assignment be clicked to establish integration between your LMS and LabSim account, which involves the creation of the automatic class. The End Date of each automatically created class is 12 months from the date of creation. If necessary, the End Date can be extended or shortened within LabSim by choosing Edit Class for each class and adjusting the End Date. The End Date does not expire product licenses and does not impact your ability to create additional course copies within your LMS. 

Regarding Start and End Dates of your TestOut/LabSim class (for LTI 1.3 Advantage, TestOut EduApp, and Plugin integrations):

• If the LMS course start date is known via the integration, this date will be used as the start date for the TestOut/LabSim class. 

• If the LMS course end date is known via the integration, this date will be used as the end date for the LabSim class. The end date shouldn’t exceed 18 months from when a course is first created in LabSim.

• If the LMS course start date is NOT known via the integration, the date when the first initial TestOut assignment link is clicked will be used as the start date for the LabSim class. 

• If the LMS course end date is NOT known via the integration, the LabSim end date will be 12 months from the start date (the start date is based on the standards set above). 

• If the LMS course end date is set to continuous, the LabSim end date will be 12 months from the start date (the start date is based on the standards set above).

INSTRUCT YOUR STUDENTS: 

Click one of the TestOut assignment links inside of your LMS class. When they click the link it will automatically create the student account inside of LabSim, and enroll them in the right class (with their LabSim account being automatically created in the background, and license activated). 

Note:  It is critical that at least one initial assignment be clicked to establish integration between your LMS and LabSim student account. This is how the TestOut system knows that your student exists, and is important for multiple aspects of integration functionality. 

• For students that already have LabSim accounts, you want to make sure that the email address associated with their account is their school email address. This way the integration will be able to find and integrate with the existing student LabSim account. 
• DO NOT create your students' accounts inside LabSim through CSV, individually, or through email. 
• Students DO NOT need to create their accounts through testout.com.