Integrating Scorpion with your LMS

Introduction

This article describes how to integrate an LTI compliant LMS with Scorpion. Instructor’s using an LMS that conforms to LTI specifications can deliver secure exams through Scorpion without requiring students to interact with Scorpion’s user management. Scorpion will automatically grade and post results to the LMS grade book. This allows instructors to deliver secure exams as assignments, instead of using insecure and low feature quiz software provided with an LMS. This article assumes you have created a course in your LMS and an exam in Scorpion.

Step 1: Create examinee schema

When creating exams in Scorpion, you need to identify what data you would like to obtain about test takers. Typically this includes personally identifying details. On the settings page of your exam, add the examinee information you wish to pull straight from the LTI launch request. The LTI launch request should contain a test taker’s given name, family name, full name, and email. You may choose to create all or none of these as part of your exam schema.

Step 2: Configure the LMS with Scorpion information

Visit the LMS tab in Scorpion and use the client ID, shared secret, and XML configuration URL to set up Scorpion as an external tool in your LMS. These details are necessary to allow Scorpion and your LMS to communicate securely. You do not need to regenerate your shared secret unless you want to disable access to Scorpion from your LMS.

Step 3: Map LMS test taker information to Scorpion

In step 2, an examinee information schema was created. On the LMS tab in Scorpion, you can map the information from your LMS’s LTI launch request to data stored in Scorpion. If you do not map an LMS field with a required field in Scorpion, default values will be provided.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can easily integrate Scorpion into your LMS to help curb test cheating and theft in order to increase academic integrity and lower the effort needed to maintain exams over multiple class terms. To learn more about creating exams that are secure and less prone to theft, check out http://www.trydomc.com and https://caveon.com