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Creating an Echo360 Course Tool Placement for Left Navigation in Blackboard

Echo360
  • Updated

The main placement for the Echo360 LTI tool is the course content tool, allowing for Blackboard course content linking to Echo360 sections complete with Gradebook integration. The placement described in THIS article is a "Course tool" placement that allows instructors to provide an easy link to Echo360 sections within the left navigation of a course.

Be advised, however, that Course Tool placements do NOT provide for Gradebook integration with Echo360.

TIP: If you are still viewing the LTI Providers list from when you created the tool, or after creating the Course content tool, you can skip to step 4 below.

To create the Echo360 Course tool link (placement)

  1. While logged in as a system administrator, open the Administrator Panel. This is done either from the top menu or the side menu, depending on the version of Blackboard you are working with.
  2. Select LTI Tool Providers from the Integrations section of the admin panel. 
    System Admin panel of Blackboard with LTI Tool Providers option identified for selection as described
  3. Find the Echo360 LTI tool you created, and hover over it to expose the menu arrow (also called a "chevron").
  4. From the menu select Manage Placements.
    LTI provider tool list with menu options showing and Manage Placements identified
  5. Click Create Placement, located at the top of the Placements list.
    Blackboard_CreatePlacementButton_withExistingPlacements.png
  6. In the Placement form that appears, enter a Label that identifies this as a link to Echo360. This is the text that appears in the Add Tool Link list for adding the link to the left navigation. This is required.
  7. Enter a Description that defines the purpose of this placement for this tool. It is optional.
  8. Enter a Handle or text that uniquely identifies this tool placement. This is required.
    BlackboardPlacement_courseTool_topForm.png
  9. Scroll down to the middle portion of the Placement form and ensure Availability is set to Yes. This is the default.
  10. Select Course tool as the tool Type and enable the Allows student access checkbox. 

    Course tool means this selection is available for selection as a tool to add to the left navigation. Allow student access makes that tool link visible for students to use once added to the course. 

    BlackboardPlacement_courseTool_middleFormArrows.png
  11. Enable the Launch in New Window checkbox. This allows Echo to open in a new tab and eliminates issues related to viewing Echo360 content within a browser frame.

    If you do NOT enable this checkbox, you should point users to the browser configuration articles located in the General Requirements topic group of this online help.

  12. Scroll down to the Tool Provider Information section of the form.
    BlackboardPlacement_ToolProviderInfo_URLArrow.png
  13. In the Tool Provider URL field, enter the Host URL from the Blackboard LMS settings in Echo360. Alternately, the Host URL is also visible on the LTI Provider Tools list in Blackboard, and can be copied from there for pasting into the Tool Provider URL field. 
  14. When finished, click Submit.

The Echo360 Course tool link is now available to select when adding a Tool Link to the left navigation of Blackboard courses.