While we’ve talked about eLearning tools in previous articles, including Articulate 360, when it comes to all of the tools out there, Articulate 360 is just one of many. Continuing along in our mini-series discussing the best eLearning tools for education, this week, we’re focusing on CourseArc.
In this article, we’ll talk about CourseArc, including what it is, how it integrates with LTI, and how it can help you take your eLearning environment to the next level.
What Is CourseArc?
Facilitating the collaborative creation of engaging and accessible online learning, CourseArc is a content authoring and management system. CourseArc aims to keep students coming back for more online courses by transforming the learning experience with accessible, interactive, and engaging online courses.
CourseArc is a web-based content authoring tool known for its intuitive features. With the help of CourseArc, you can easily create any of the following types of online content:
Quizzes
Interactive drag and drops
Rich media
And more!
Best of all, CourseArc allows you the option of starting from scratch or embedding engaging activities into existing courses. Regardless of how you are uploading your content, you can rest assured because CourseArc provides accessibility for all learners with content that meets all requirements of WCAG 2.0 AA.
CourseArc Products
In order to facilitate the creation of such highly engaging and accessible online learning modules, CourseArc focuses on three main products, including content creation, education, and learning and development.
Content Creation
Drive students to come back for more learning by embracing industry standards with efficient, engaging, interactive content with the help of CourseArc. Allow control of their organization’s branding and ensure instructional design best practices thanks to CourseArc’s templated design blocks and built-in quality assurance features.
Education
Engaging, interactive, and accessible online courses will expand your audience and provide consistency. CourseArc allows easy creation of engaging, interactive, and accessible online courses as an intuitive, 100% web-based authoring tool. As an added bonus, CourseArc content seamlessly connects with any LMS using LTI, making integration easy too.
Learning and Development
CourseArc allows you to empower your team to deliver digital content using proven learning methodologies. Studies show the best professional learning content is:
Created in an intentional and collaborative process
Informed by educational science
Deep-seated in design best practices
An unparalleled learning experience is always the result of CourseArc’s proven tools and methods – merged with the insights of your needs.
What Is LTI?
LTI is the acronym given to Learning Tools Interoperability. Making it possible to integrate platforms with third-party vendors and tools, the IMS Global Learning Consortium has made LTI a standard publication. Through LTI, platforms like Learning Management Systems or LMS (such as Canvas or Blackboard) can be fully integrated with tools such as CourseArc.
Traditionally, each LMS would require the creation of different integration solutions. Today, LTI enables third-party tools to integrate easily and quickly. It also makes it possible for the integration of third-party tools seamlessly into the LMS - so much so that the student may not even realize that they’re using another tool, making the user experience that much more accelerated.
LTI Integrations
When it comes to determining what kind of integration is possible with LTI, you must look at three primary factors, including grades, information sharing, and authentication.
Grades
You can configure and send back a grade for the LMS grade book with an LTI tool in LTI 1.1. In LTI 2.0, an LTI tool can send back multiple grade book line items rather than just one grade, making the grade book functionality much more advanced.
Information Sharing
LTI requests can be configured to share the user’s information with the third-party tool. Share the user’s name, id, and roles, for example, through LTI request configurations.
Authentication
Send a logged-in user into the third-party tool from the LMS with the help of LTI. Check that the user is valid and allows access to the tool through this authentication process.
LTI 2.0
Only some LMSs and tools currently support the LTI 2.0 specification, which entered the market in early 2014. Some of the enhancements included in LTI 2.0 include:
Gradebook enhancements
Improvements to eliminate issues that occur with copied courses
Much simpler configuration of LTI 2.0 tools, both for the LMS instructors and administrator
LTI and CourseArc
CourseArc currently allows each course module to be embedded via LTI, with the additional functionality of more LTI on its roadmap. To enable staff to update course content easily without a separate login, CourseArc is planning to implement Single Sign-On via LTI in the near future. CourseArc also intends to introduce graded quizzes soon.
ryco.io and CourseArc
Developing eLearning courses and applications accessible to all learners, following WCAG, for businesses and schools worldwide is the primary focus at ryco.io. By seamlessly integrating data and learning analytics [insert a hyperlink to live article], we focus on social and emotional development among students of all learning needs.
We use an authoring tool called CourseArc to build some of the interactives within the ryco.io courses to help move us towards achieving some of our eLearning goals.
In addition to completely transforming how the world learns, CourseArc streamlines the approval process for teams that create content with communication and collaboration tools. Customization tools allow easy branding and multi branding of courses, and metadata tagging and course management features enable efficiency in repurposing content.
Final Thoughts
Making our eLearning courses the most effective form of education out there for both students and educators is the priority there at ryco.io. Identifying some of the best eLearning tools for education out there today is just one of the ways we want to lend a helping hand.
Now that you have a better understanding of CourseArc, which is just one of many incredible eLearning tools out there, you can determine whether or not this tool sounds like something you might be interested in integrating into your eLearning.