The External tool activity module enables students to interact with learning resources and activities on other web sites. For example, an external tool could provide access to a new activity type or learning materials from a publisher.

To create an external tool activity, a tool provider which supports LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) is required. An instructor can create an external tool activity or make use of a tool configured by the site administrator.

External tool activities differ from URL resources in a few ways:

• External tools are context aware i.e. they have access to information about the user who launched the tool, such as institution, course and name
• External tools support reading, updating, and deleting grades associated with the activity instance
• External tool configurations create a trust relationship between your site and the tool provider, allowing secure communication between them

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The Macmillan Content tool is a specific External Tool activity allowing students to interact with Macmillan Achieve activities.

To create a Macmillan Content activity, select the Macmillan Content activity in the course editor.

The first step is to create the Achieve course you want to use with the Moodle integration. Once there are items in your Achieve course you can assign them. There are a few things to note:

• Graded items should be assigned with a due date and points in Achieve before being added to Moodle.
• You can also assign Achieve items as Ungraded if you’d like them to have a due date but not appear in the gradebook.
• If you do not assign an item in Achieve, you will still be able to add it to Moodle as long as it is added to a unit in Achieve.
• Gradebook categories set in Achieve will not transfer to Moodle, but you can set up grade categories in Moodle that correspond to your Achieve gradebook categories.

When editing the settings of your Achieve course, select the option to integrate your Achieve course with your LMS, and then select Moodle as your LMS.

The Macmillan documentation has more on editing your Achieve course settings.

Adding Course Tools

In your Moodle course, you will need to add the student-specific integration tools that they will need to use. They will not have access to the instructor or teacher tools, and they will not have any effect on your integration.

Put your Moodle course into Edit mode, and then add an activity to the section where you would like to include the Course Tools. Add the Macmillan Content activity, and configure the options on the New External Tool page. The 'Select content' button will allow you to set up your Achieve connection to the Course Tools. You may need to enter your name and email address to connect your Macmillan Learning Profile. Note: This email address must be the same email address that was used to create the Achieve course.

Once you've clicked OK your Achieve course is now linked to Moodle, and the Macmillan Course Tools are available.

Adding Achieve content to your Moodle course

Now that Achieve and Moodle are linked you can include e-book links and assignments in your Moodle course.

Adding e-book links

Put your Moodle course into Edit mode and add an activity to the section where you would like to include the links and choose Macmillan Learning LTI 1.3 TOC. The 'Select content' button will allow you to select the links you would like to add.

Adding assignments

Items that have been assigned in your Achieve course with a due date can be added to Moodle. This creates links to those assignments in the Moodle course and syncs their grades with Gradebook. Put your Moodle course into Edit mode and add an activity to the section where you would like to include the assignments and choose Macmillan Learning LTI 1.3 TOC. The 'Select content' button will allow you to select the assignments you would like to add.

Enroling students

Next, open the course for student enrolment. To avoid potential issues with student enrolment, Macmillan says to not invite students to your course using the Invite Students options within Achieve. They also recommend providing this help article to your students.

Grade sync

For a student's grades to sync with the Moodle gradebook, they must have connected their Moodle and Achieve accounts during the enrolment step above.

Grades sync automatically but can take several hours. An instructor can sync the grades manually.

Once a grade has been added to your Achieve gradebook it will be included in the next Moodle sync. If your Achieve gradebook is set to only show grades after a due date, students expecting to be able to see grades for work they've completed will not see their grades, and may be confused.

Due dates, points, and manually entered or edited grades for Achieve items must be set in Achieve, not Moodle. These items set in Moodle will be overwritten by data synching from Achieve. After changing points or grades in the Achieve course, perform a grade refresh to sync the changes to Moodle.

Gradebook calculations, like dropping lowest scores or weighted percentages, must be set in Moodle. Extra credit assignments made in Achieve will not automatically transfer to Moodle, but can be set up following these instructions.

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An IMS content package is a collection of files which are packaged according to an agreed standard so they can be reused in different systems. The IMS content package module enables such content packages to be uploaded as a zip file and added to a course as a resource.

Content is usually displayed over several pages, with navigation between the pages. There are various options for displaying content in a pop-up window, with a navigation menu or buttons etc.

An IMS content package may be used for presenting multimedia content and animations.

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The Lightbox Gallery enables you to upload images to be displayed in a gallery style.

As an instructor, you are able to create a gallery instance and add images individually or by uploading multiple images within a zip file. Thumbnail images will be generated for every vaild image file found.

The thumbnails are then displayed across a number of rows and columns, (depending on configuration). Clicking on a thumbnail opens the larger version within an overlay, and allows one to navigate through the gallery with the on-screen menu options or via keyboard navigation (Arrow keys, N for Next, P for Previous, C or ESC to Close).

If enabled, course members are able to leave comments within the gallery.

With advanced configuration through role overrides, it's also possible to have students or other course members contribute to the gallery as well.

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The Scheduler activity helps you in scheduling appointments with your students.

Instructors specify time slots for meetings, students then choose one of them on Moodle. Instructors in turn can record the outcome of the meeting - and optionally provide a grade - within the scheduler.

Group scheduling is supported; that is, each time slot can accommodate several students, and optionally it is possible to schedule appointments for entire groups at the same time.

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