Integrating Blackboard with Edfinity (LTI 1.1)

Edfinity supports integration with Blackboard - this enables the following:

1. Students can access Edfinity viaBlackboard via "single sign on" - they do not need to create separate Edfinity accounts.
2. Grades are automatically sent back to theBlackboard grade book.

FromBlackboard, you can link to each Edfinity assignment individually and a grade will be passed back for each assignment. This is the most common configuration. You can also link to an entire Edfinity course as a single Blackboard assignment with an averaged grade.

Step 0: One-time Administrator Setup

This step only needs to be completed before the first term you use Edfinity. If Edfinity has already been already been added by your Blackboard administrator, you can skip to Step 1. 

After you create your course in Edfinity, if you are prompted to set up LMS integration, please ask your Blackboard administrator to contact us at [e-mail]. If you are a Blackboard administrator, detailed instructions for setting up LTI authentication can be found in the administration guide.

Step 1: Indicate your course will be accessed from Blackboard

These steps need to be completed prior to student enrollment in the relevant Edfinity course.

1. Go to your course page on Edfinity and click on the Settings tab.
2. On the Settings tab, open the LMS integration section of the Settings tab.
3. Select From your LMS and then select Blackboard.
4. Select if you are linking assignments individually or using a single course link.

Step 2: Linking to Edfinity assignments

From Blackboard, you can link to Edfinity assignments individually and a grade will be passed back for each assignment. This is the most common configuration. You can also, link to an entire Edfinity course as a single Blackboard assignment with an averaged grade.

Option 1: Linking to individual assignments (multiple grades)

1. From Blackboard, open your course, and select Content.
2. Select Build Content, and then select Edfinity. A new window will open to let you create an LTI link to the assignment.
3. Select assignments and they will be added to your course content.
4. If you do not see Edfinity as an option, please contact your Blackboard administrator in order to configure the correct placement.

Option 2: Linking to an entire course (single grade)

1. Go to your Edfinity course and select the Settings tab. Open the LMS integration section and select Summarized as a single course grade as your pass back option.
   
2. Select the Clipboard icon to copy the external tool URL.
3. From Blackboard open your course, and select Content.
4. Select Build Content, and then Web Link.
5. Enter the copied URL.
6. Check This is a link to a tool provider.
7. Enable evaluation.

Coordinating due dates

Edfinity and your LMS both have a means of setting availability dates and due dates. We recommend using Edfinity to manage the dates and allow unrestricted access to assignments from within your LMS. If this isn't possible, you will need to ensure due dates are manually synchronized in both systems in order to prevent issues with availability.  

Grades are posted from Edfinity to your LMS whenever the student's score on an Edfinity assignment changes (if you are using assignment-level grade linking) or whenever their Edfinity gradebook grade changes (if you are using a single-grade passback for the course).

Advanced: Integrating Blackboard with an Edfinity coordinated course

If you are planning on integrating Blackboard with an Edfinity coordinated, there are additional considerations in order to the integration to work properly. Please consult Integrating an Edfinity coordinated course with Canvas for more information.