Legacy Blackboard Integration

Introduction

Below you will find our integration guide to assist in the Blackboard LMS integration.

HelioCampus-Blackboard Setup Guide

(v8 – 02/26/2024)

This document covers the requirements for HelioCampus - Blackboard. A Blackboard Administrator working with a HelioCampus integration technician can complete the requirements for the HelioCampus Tool. There may be additional personnel required for unforeseen circumstances such as client network or server restrictions.

Blackboard Integration Data Requirements

Blackboard integration data requirements detail the data required from the client LMS and SIS to relate both within the HelioCampus system.

Blackboard Data

The HelioCampus System expects links from the Blackboard LMS that contain Course IDs. Since the Course ID is specific to Blackboard, the Blackboard Course ID for each course will need to be included in the SIS import data with related course sections.

HelioCampus LTI Tool

The HelioCampus LTI Tool allows students and instructors the ability to view a HelioCampus course syllabus within a related course and complete assessment forms.

Please choose if you are going to use an LTI 1.1 or LTI 1.3 integration with HelioCampus, follow the chosen LTI method’s guide from the links below then return to this guide to complete the REST integration.

• Blackboard LTI 1.1 Integration

• Blackboard LTI 1.3 Integration

Blackboard REST Integration

First,  we request that you create a service account for the integration to function properly, e.g. heliocampus_integration user.

The user should have some specific permission to reach specific endpoints.

• Rubric API requires extra permissions below:

  • course.rubrics.VIEW (since: 3900.46.0)

    • If this permission isn’t given to the system user, our server will receive "User not allowed to execute this request (course.rubrics.VIEW)" response from Blackboard API

The service account will need the following roles:

INSTITUTION ROLES: 

Primary Institution Role: Other

Secondary Institution Roles: None

SYSTEM ROLES:

Primary System Role: Course Administrator

Secondary System Roles: None

Second, you will setup the actual REST API integration:

1. In Blackboard, an administrator should select System Admin, Building Blocks, and REST API Integrations.

2. Click Create Integration

3. Enter the following information and submit:

   1. Application ID: To be provided by HelioCampus

   2. Learn User: Choose the service account that you created above.

   3. Available: Yes

   4. End User Access: Yes

   5. Authorized To Act As User: Yes

4. Click Submit

HelioCampus Submission Integration

The following is required to allow HelioCampus to pull Assignment Submissions from Blackboard. Please note for this integration to work your Blackboard application must be version 3400.6 or higher.

In Blackboard, an administrator should select System Admin, Content Management, Manage Content

1. Open the folder named internal

2. Click the down arrow next to the courses folder

3. Click Permissions

4. Click Select Specific Users

5. Type the username of the account you created above during the REST integration

6. Under Set Permissions choose Read

7. Click Submit

LMS Integration Troubleshooting

This troubleshooting guide aims to assist users in resolving common issues encountered while using LMS-HelioCampus. If you encounter a problem not addressed here, please contact support@heliocampus.com for further assistance.

Blackboard ExternalLmsID → Blackboard Course ID

Why is my HelioCampus section not accessible via the LMS/not pulling assignments?

We receive information about your course sections via your data files. As a part of that, for each section, we receive what’s called the Course ID field from LMS. We map this to our field called “ExternalLMSID.” It is the LMS’s unique key for each section. We need that field to be able to match up information in our platform with information coming to us from your LMS. So when you try to refresh assignments, our platform asks the LMS, “What assignment information do you have with this Course ID?”

Should you be having issues with seeing refreshed/updated LMS Assignments, it is recommended to examine the Course ID (again, that we map to ExternalLMSID) appearing for these course sections. If these values do not match, the Integration cannot connect the LMS and HelioCampus A&C Platform.

As a next step - we’d like you to log into LMS and go to the course sections in question, view the Course ID, and confirm whether or not they appear like the IDs below. The Course ID is on the Course/Co-Curricular Activity Settings page of the HelioCampus A&C Platform. Should you have trouble finding it, someone at your institution who handles LMS should be able to help you if you can’t find it. If these IDs are not the actual Course IDs for these sections in LMS, we need to figure out why they are coming to us via your data file. That may require us to have a discussion with whomever at your institution was responsible for setting up the data files.

Examples:
CHEM 510 A- ExternalLMSID: CHEM510_A_S2024
MATH 202 B- ExternalLMSID: MATH202_B_F2023
MATH 302 A- ExternalLMSID: MATH302_A_F2023