Learnvelo LTI 1.3 Setup Guide for Blackboard

This guide walks LMS administrators through connecting Learnvelo to Blackboard (Anthology) using LTI 1.3. After completing these steps, instructors will be able to add Learnvelo content directly into their Blackboard courses.

Prerequisites

• Blackboard system administrator access
• A Learnvelo account with the LMS Admin role. If you don't have one, sign up at app.learnvelo.com/signup and select LMS Admin as your role during registration -- no approval from Learnvelo is needed to create an account.

Overview

Blackboard uses a centralized tool registration model. Learnvelo is already registered in the Blackboard developer portal, so setup is straightforward — you enter Learnvelo's Application ID in your Blackboard admin panel, configure the tool, and then enter the resulting Deployment ID in Learnvelo.

1. Register your institution in Learnvelo
2. Create an LTI platform in Learnvelo
3. Register Learnvelo in your Blackboard admin panel using the Application ID
4. Enter the Blackboard-provided configuration values in Learnvelo
5. Add the Deployment ID
6. Test the connection

Step 1: Register Your Institution in Learnvelo

If your institution is not yet registered in Learnvelo, you will need to register it first.

1. Log in to Learnvelo at app.learnvelo.com
2. Navigate to My Institutions from the dashboard menu
3. Click Register Institution
4. Fill in the required fields:
   • Institution Name -- Your institution's official name
   • Website -- Your institution's website URL
   • Primary Contact Name -- The person managing the LTI integration
   • Contact Title -- Their role
5. Click Submit Registration

Note: Your institution will be reviewed by the Learnvelo team. You can proceed with the LTI configuration while the review is in progress, but LTI launches will not work until approval is granted.

Step 2: Create an LTI Platform in Learnvelo

1. From your institution's detail page, go to the Integrations tab
2. Click Add Integration
3. In the dialog, enter:
   • Platform Name -- A descriptive name (e.g., “Blackboard Production”)
   • LMS Type -- Select Blackboard
   • Environment -- Select Production
4. Click Create Integration

You will be redirected to the platform detail page.

Step 3: Register Learnvelo in Blackboard

3a. Open LTI Tool Providers

1. In your Blackboard admin panel, go to Admin Panel > Integrations > LTI Tool Providers
2. Click Register LTI 1.3/Advantage Tool

3b. Enter the Learnvelo Application ID

Enter the following Application ID and click Submit:

5fdb8bb0-b5a8-4c1e-b2e4-e7c5138abe37

Blackboard will retrieve Learnvelo's tool configuration automatically from the developer portal.

3c. Review Tool Details and Set Status

After submitting, Blackboard displays the Accept LTI 1.3 Tool page with Learnvelo's configuration pre-filled (name, description, URLs, and a default Deployment ID). These fields are read-only.

Under Tool Status, select Approved.

3d. Configure Institution Policies

Scroll down to the Institution Policies section and configure the following:

• User Fields to Send -- Enable all three:
  • Role in Course
  • Name
  • Email Address
• Allow grade service access -- Set to Yes (required for grade passback from Learnvelo activities)

Note: Sharing email allows Learnvelo to match LTI users with existing Learnvelo accounts, providing a seamless experience. Sharing name ensures student and instructor names display correctly in Learnvelo.

3e. Submit and Note the Deployment ID

1. Click Submit to save the configuration
2. Learnvelo will appear in the LTI Tool Providers list with status Approved
3. Note the Default Deployment ID shown on the Accept page (e.g., 235d1e88-1cb5-4c38-a296-75c80eafa370) -- you will need this in Learnvelo

3f. Configure Placements

After the tool is registered, you need to create placements to control where Learnvelo appears for instructors:

1. In the LTI Tool Providers list, click the placements count link next to Learnvelo
2. Click Create Placement
3. Create placements for:
   • Deep Linking content tool -- Enables the Learnvelo content picker
   • Course content tool -- Enables adding Learnvelo content in courses

Step 4: Enter Blackboard Configuration in Learnvelo

Switch back to your Learnvelo tab.

1. On the platform detail page, locate the Platform Registration Details section
2. Enter the following values:

Note: For Blackboard SaaS, the Issuer URL is always https://blackboard.com. The Client ID and JWKS URL use Learnvelo's Application ID, which is the same for all institutions.

3. Click Verify JWKS to test the connection
4. Click Save

Tip: The Platform Registration Details form is on the Learnvelo platform detail page. The fields and their values are listed in the table above.

Step 5: Add the Deployment ID

1. In Learnvelo, scroll to the Deployment IDs section on the platform detail page
2. Enter the Deployment ID from Blackboard (Step 3e)
3. Optionally add a label (e.g., “Main Campus”)
4. Click Add

Step 6: Test the Connection

The Getting Started checklist on the platform detail page tracks your progress. Once all four steps are complete, your integration is ready.

To verify the connection end-to-end:

1. In Blackboard, navigate to any course as an instructor
2. Open a content area
3. Click Build Content or Tools > Learnvelo
4. The Learnvelo content picker should load, confirming the connection works

Troubleshooting

“JWKS verification failed”

• Ensure the LMS JWKS URL contains the Blackboard developer JWKS URL with the correct Application ID
• The URL should be: https://developer.blackboard.com/api/v1/management/applications/5fdb8bb0-b5a8-4c1e-b2e4-e7c5138abe37/jwks.json

“Integration Pending Approval”

Your institution must be approved by Learnvelo before LTI launches will work. Contact [email protected] if approval is taking longer than expected.

LTI launch shows a blank page or error

• Verify the Issuer URL is https://blackboard.com (for Blackboard SaaS)
• Verify the tool status is set to Approved in Blackboard
• Ensure placements are configured correctly
• Check that the Deployment ID in Learnvelo matches the one shown in Blackboard

Grade passback is not working

• Verify that the appropriate services are enabled in the Blackboard tool configuration
• Ensure the content was linked using the Learnvelo deep linking tool
• Check that grade passback was enabled during the deep linking content selection

Trademark Notice

Blackboard is a registered trademark of Anthology Inc. Learnvelo is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthology Inc.