In our recent webinar on Integrating E-Resource Tools into Online Courses with Infobase, Lisa Hill, Product Marketing Manager, highlighted a simple tool that allows for instant integration of content from Bloom’s Literature and Films On Demand into online learning platforms such as Canvas, D2L, Blackboard, and others, and explored Credo Reference’s pre-built LibGuides, free to be used and shared by all subscribers.
We received a lot of great questions from the webinar attendees, and here we share our answers. If you didn’t catch the webinar the first time, check out the recording!
Short video walk-through of how to turn on LTI integration in Canvas.
Links vs. Embed Codes
Question: What’s the difference between using embed code and copying the URL?
Answer: You can use either links or embed codes in an LMS or LibGuide. If you use a link, when your student goes to a LibGuide or LMS, they will see a hyperlink. When they click the link, they will leave that LMS or LibGuide and be brought to the database to read the full text. If you use an embed code, your student will see the full text of the article directly on the LibGuide or LMS course page. They will not be taken to the database at all.
Credo’s Mind Map
Question: Can students and faculty input or create their own Mind Maps by clicking into the map and typing terms?
Answer: There is currently no ability for end users to edit the Mind Map tool in this way. The Mind Map is generated by the end users’ search term and can be manipulated only by clicking related terms.
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Question: The Mind Map is dynamic when embedded in LibGuides; does it behave the same way when embedded in an LMS?
Answer: Yes. When using the Mind Map embed code, you will create a dynamic Mind Map in any page you choose. There is no difference between embedding in a LibGuide vs. embedding in an LMS.
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Question: Could you comment on the Mind Map and critical thinking or developing thesis if you have anything to share?
Answer: The Mind Map is a tool that aids exploratory search. It’s a tool to help students uncover related terms that were thus far undiscovered during their research process. Each of our “concepts” is linked to a full page of reference articles offering background information about that concept. For students hoping to build critical-thinking skills, the Mind Map helps students uncover “new” ideas, allowing them to build a 360-degree view of a topic and forcing them to step outside of only those terms and concepts with which they were already familiar.
What Can We Access?
Question: All of your tools shown are ones that our specific college (etc.) must subscribe to in order for us to use them, yes?
Answer: Yes! 🙂 (Read below for details.)
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Question: Credo Reference LibGuides Implementation—must we be a subscriber to both Credo Reference: Academic Core and LibGuides for us to enjoy this mutual benefit?
Answer: You must at a minimum subscribe to Credo Reference. If you do not, all of the links will bring you to a login screen. If you subscribe to LibGuides as well (note: LibGuides is a product provided by Springshare), then you will be able to copy our content into your LibGuides admin and edit and republish our guides as your own. Subscribers will also enjoy the ability to provide remote authentication to the Credo materials.
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Question: Is the Credo LibGuides implementation limited to U.S. mutual customers?
Answer: Yes. Credo’s pre-built LibGuides cannot be copied/shared outside of the United States. This is related to different servers used in different countries.
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Question: Do I have to subscribe to Films On Demand or Bloom’s Literature in order to use the LTI integration in Canvas?
Answer: For the LMS integration, we have enabled the LTI integration (in Canvas and D2L) for Films On Demand, Bloom’s Literature, and about a dozen other Infobase databases (Credo is coming soon!). You can search through the apps in Canvas (and other LMSs) to see what companies or products have allowed this integration—but in order to access any of these tools, you will need a subscription.
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Question: Is there a limit on how many people can view this content? Can an entire class log in to view this content?
Answer: All of the products discussed today allow for unlimited simultaneous usage. Wherever you view our content—be it on LibGuides, within your LMS, or on the individual platforms itself—all content offers unlimited simultaneous usage.
LTI Integration (Enabling That Simple Button in Your LMS Edit Field)
Question: Which LMSs do Infobase products currently integrate with for LTI integration?
Answer: D2L/Brightspace, Canvas, Schoology, and itsLearning. (Films On Demand is supported by Moodle, and Blackboard is pending.)
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Question: Do you have plans to add more?
Answer: Yes! We received a dozen requests for Blackboard from today’s demonstration alone. We will investigate that integration as well as Sakai and Moodle.
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Question: What databases can I add into D2L or Canvas today using this LTI feature?
Answer:
- American History
- American Indian History
- Ancient and Medieval History
- Bloom’s Literature
- Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center
- Health Reference Center
- Issues & Controversies
- Issues & Controversies in American History
- Science Online
- Today’s Science
- World Geography and Culture
- World News Digest
- World Religions
- Feature Films for Education
- Films On Demand
Other Questions
Question: Can you create your own accounts within all Infobase databases to save and group items?
Answer: Credo Reference does not support creating individual accounts. All other databases discussed today do allow you to create individual user accounts.
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Question: In Films On Demand, do you have films in different languages or is it just English?
Answer: Films On Demand does include foreign-language films! These films are offered in their original language with English subtitles for those who need them. We also have a robust Google Translate integration and transcripts for all of our video content. So, you can watch a movie in English while reading a transcript in any language of your choosing.
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Question: Can you take a single poem or paragraph out of Bloom’s Literature and create a link to that?
Answer: Not currently, but this is a good idea! We have segmenting features in our film products, where you can create segments of film and then create unique links for them. We don’t yet have this functionality for our databases.
