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The Benefits of Integrating with VitalSource Launch

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Brook Mecham
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The Benefits of Integrating with VitalSource Launch

Streamline operations and delivery, provide deep integrated content, and prepare for next-generation learning.

VitalSource Launch Integrations act as a gateway between learning management systems, distribution and authentication platforms, and publisher content. Launch seamlessly handles fulfillment, content access, and communication, all while simplifying admin and setup for everyone.

  • Seamless Access: Compatible with all platforms and delivery models, including Inclusive Access, paywalls, tuition inclusive, and more. Single sign-on (SSO) ensures one-click access.
  • Deep Content Integrations: Deep link to chapters, pages, and assignments (any location) with automatic link placement. Easily make course copies.
  • Roster Integration: Use names and role provisioning to automate assignment links, invoicing, and day-one access. Manage add/drop easily and power dashboards and data.
  • Codeless Courseware: Seamless, one-click access to courseware--no login and no codes. Enables deep linking and grade sync.

Launch Complete

Superior Student Experience + Simple Course Materials Management

Launch Complete combines retail offers from your campus store’s e-commerce system with Inclusive Access titles, allowing students to access, and shop for all their course materials in one place, inside the learning management system.

Student Benefits:

  • Students visit a single, central location inside the LMS to discover 100% of adopted course materials

  • Students’ personalized booklist provides instant access to some materials and fast, transparent comparison shopping for everything else

  • Inclusive Access items are available to access on day one with simple opt-out tools within the LMS

Campus Benefits:

  • Give exposure to both digital and print course materials through use of a central location

  • Create a virtual student shopping experience inside the center of the student ecosystem, the LMS

  • Establish another touch point to maintain HEOA compliance for your institution

  • Streamline processes with one global link installed in the LMS

Instructor Analytics

The VitalSource Instructor Dashboard is a learning analytics dashboard designed to instructors manage students' engagement. Instructors can use the dashboard to ensure that students are reading early and often. The dashboard allows for timely intervention with potential at-risk students and can help lead to improved outcomes and inform content decisions.

Key Features

  • Aggregate data on how long students spend in a study session and how many pages have been read
  • Data availability at student, book, course, or institution level
  • Smart filters for deeper dives where needed

Integrate Your LMS with VitalSource with LTI 1.3

VitalSource is committed to providing clients with the resources they need to provide their customers with world-class security. That is why we are helping institutions upgrade to LTI 1.3.

LTI 1.3 is more secure than earlier LTI versions of custom and non-LTI options - which contained security vulnerabilities. It provides modernized options and industry-best security needed to protect the personally identifiable information (PII) that is shared between platforms and tools [1].

LTI 1.3 offers: 

  • Improved security based on OAuth2 and JSON Web Tokens which makes security updates safer and easier. 
  • Improved documentation and directions for implementation.

Since LTI 1.3 is built on LTI 1.1 it provides an easier upgrade path which allows for simpler adoption and requires a smaller learning curve. 

LTI Advantage

LTI 1.3 improves existing services as it allows new extensions to be layered on the existing launch mechanism. Currently, there are three extensions available in LTI 1.3 and more planned. This bundle of extensions evolves outside the LTI specification and is called LTI Advantage [2].

  • Deep Linking Service makes it easier to provide links to specific content.
  • Name and Role Provisioning makes it easier to obtain a list of course participants and roles and send defined information to the learning tools.
  • Assignment and Grade Service makes it easier to pass grade information between the tool and learning platform.

Click on the links below to learn more about LTI 1.3  

[1] “Trusted Exchange of Student Data: Why Platforms and Tools Should Adopt to LTI 1.3” 

[2] Unicon, Inc. “Get to Know LTI® Advantage.” YouTube video, 8:56, 2019.

VitalSource Rostering: Make the Most of Your Investment in Day-One Access

Making the most of your investment is easy. Simply provide VitalSource with your LMS roster and we’ll take care of the rest. By taking full advantage of your investment in day-one access, your institution will:

  • Decrease support inquiries from students and instructors around course materials access via the LMS
  • Ensure that 100% of students are licensed the correct learning materials before day one of courses
  • Guarantee the best online and offline experience using VitalSource’s industry-leading tools
  • Provide day-one access to students via every delivery method, including online, offline, and native apps on the first day of class

VitalSource is committed to providing students and instructors with the best possible teaching and learning experience while maintaining the highest standards in user data privacy. Today, we integrate with your campus student information system (SIS) to facilitate charging student accounts for course content, and we have completed all security verifications required to access student information.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about Rostering

Q: Why do you need my LMS roster data?

A: At VitalSource, we are committed to helping your institution improve student outcomes while also reducing the cost of course materials. We do this by making it easier for students to learn on day one, and by offering instructors and administrators valuable insights into student engagement. To achieve these goals, we rely on LMS data to match students and instructors to their assigned course content. Providing your LMS data to VitalSource automates manual setup processes and offers valuable insights and functionality for your campus.

Q: What do you do with LMS data?

A: We use LMS data to grant students access to their required learning materials. We also use LMS data to power VitalSource Analytics, which gives instructors and administrators on your campus access to valuable student engagement data to identify and support at-risk students. We do not share student or instructor information with any third party, unless specifically requested by your institution.

Q: I’m already giving you SIS data through Verba Connect. Why do you need LMS roster data as well?

A: When a school is utilizing Verba Connect, SIS data is used for features such as student charging and billing. In order to maintain these features while also delivering content to users via the LMS, VitalSource must match SIS and LMS data. Providing us with your LMS course data will allow us to do this matching quickly and in the most automated way.

Q: How does my institution provide the roster to VitalSource?

A: It’s easy! All you need to do is securely provide VitalSource a key/secret, to your campus LMS to access your course section and roster data. Once you’ve provided us the authorization via that key/secret we do the rest. Contact your customer success manager to get started.

Q: When will VitalSource pull LMS roster data?

A: We use only the LMS data that is required to grant students and instructors access to their required learning materials. Once we know a course is using VitalSource technology, we will refresh the data at least daily during the term to ensure data is up to date across the breadth of VitalSource-powered products used at your institution.

Q: What about data for students not enrolled in courses using VitalSource-powered technology?

A: Any course not using a VitalSource-powered product or service will be ignored and purged after roster ingestion. Learn more about our commitment to privacy at

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