CN Post LTI 1.3 Setup Guide for Canvas

This article is a step-by-step guide for LMS admins to add CN Post to Canvas courses. 

Overview

LTI v1.3 requires that the integration between the LMS and external tools like CourseNetworking(CN) is based on a trust created through OAuth 2.0. This integration process includes the following steps:

Step 1: In the LMS, configure this LTI1.3 tool from the admin page.

Step 2: In the LMS, enable this LTI1.3 tool as an external tool at the root or course level. Then, reach out to your CN account manager or contact person to complete the configuration.

Step 1: Configure LTI 1.3 for Canvas

Note: The following are abbreviated instructions. Instructions complete with screenshots can be found here in the Canvas documentation.

1. log in to Canvas as an administrator.
2. Navigate to Admin → Developer Keys.
3. Click + Developer Key → + LTI Key.

Key Settings

4. Use the following for the required fields:

Key Name: A string that describes the external tool, e.g., “CN Post LTI1.3”.

Redirect URIs: https://www.thecn.com/program/lti1p3/tool_launch/course

5. configure: 

Method: Manual Entry

Title: Any string. Preferably the same as “Key Name”.

Target Link URI: https://www.thecn.com/program/lti1p3/tool_launch/course

OpenID Connect Initiation URL: https://www.thecn.com/program/lti1p3/tool_oidc_init/course

JWK Method: Public JWK URL, https://www.thecn.com/program/lti1p3/tool_jwks

6. LTI Advantage Services: this section determines what LTI services are available to CN Post. Please enable the settings as shown.

7. Additional Settings: Cut/paste the following field mapping into Additional Settings → Custom Fields. This mapping matches Canvas fields to the LTI v1.3 properties.

email=$Person.email.primary

user_id=$User.id

course_id=$Canvas.course.id

last_name=$Person.name.family

first_name=$Person.name.given

section_ids=$Canvas.course.sectionIds

sectionSISSourceIDs=$Canvas.course.sectionSisSourceIds

8. Set Privacy Level to Public.

9. Placements: Placements are a Canvas feature that determines where an LTI link appears in the Canvas interface. Enter the following list:

• Link Selection
• Assignment Selection
• Course Navigation

10. After entering the placements that appear in the form Link Selection and Assignment Selection, select LtiDeepLinkingRequest. (note: if the Account Navigation LtiDeepLinkingRequest is not available, you can disregard it) 
11. Click Save.
12. Note the Client ID that was created. You will need it in the next section.

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Step 2: Enable CN Post LTI1.3

Option 1: Enable CN Post LTI1.3 as an External Tool at the Root Level (Recommended) 

Note: You can follow the steps below to add this LTI1.3 tool at the root/account level of your Canvas. This enables a one-time setup so you won't need to reinstall the app with each new course/semester.

1. log in to Canvas as an admin.
2. Admin → Settings → Apps.
3. Click + Apps.
4. For Configuration Type, select By Client ID.
5. Cut/paste the Client ID that you created in the previous section.
6. Click Submit.
7. If the App is found, click Install when prompted.

Contact CN 

Establishing trust between the LMS and CN Post requires configuration on the CN side as well. After you have completed the steps above, please reach out to your CN account manager or contact person with the following information:

1. Client ID. You can locate the Client ID from Admin -> Developer Keys -> Find CN Post key created -> Find Client ID

2. Deployment ID. You can locate the Deployment ID from Admin -> Settings -> Apps -> Click the setting gear icon and find Deployment ID
3. Canvas platform information. If you are hosted by Canvas using the Canvas default domain, here is the default Canvas platform information: 

If your institution is self-deployed or has a customized domain, please provide us with the following information in the highlighted area: 

Option 2: Enable CN Post LTI1.3 as an External Tool at the Course Level 

Note: You can follow the steps below to add this LTI1.3 tool at the course level. The steps below are for those who prefer to manually install CN Post each time to a new course. If you install CN Post to multiple courses, you will need to provide the different deployment IDs for all courses. 

1. log in to Canvas as an admin.
2. Choose a course→ Settings → Apps.
3. Click + Apps.
4. For Configuration Type, select By Client ID.
5. Cut/paste the Client ID that you created in the previous section.
6. Click Submit.
7. If the App is found, click Install when prompted.

Contact CN 

Establishing trust between the LMS and CN Post requires configuration on the CN side as well. After you have completed the steps above, please reach out to your CN account manager or contact person with the following information:

1. Client ID. You can locate the Client ID from Admin -> Developer Keys -> Find CN Post key created -> Find Client ID
2. Deployment ID. You can locate the Deployment ID by going to the course you installed the app -> Settings -> Apps -> Click the setting gear icon and find Deployment ID

 3. Canvas platform information.

If you are hosted by Canvas using the Canvas default domain, here is the default Canvas platform information: 

If your institution is self-deployed or has a customized domain, please provide us with the following information in the highlighted area: 

Testing and Accessing this LTI1.3 tool

To test this LTI tool,  first, visit a course page, CN Post should appear in the left navigation menu. Clicking this tab will open the corresponding CN course. From there, users can participate in social discussions and earn Anar Seeds after logging in. 

Related Articles:

CN Post Overview

Create an Account through LMS Integration

CN Post Set-up Guide (for Instructors)

After entering a New Course in CN Post (for Students)