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Overview

Veydra supports LTI 1.3 (Learning Tools Interoperability), the industry standard for connecting learning tools to Learning Management Systems. Once configured, students can launch Veydra labs directly from their LMS course — no separate login required.
LTI 1.3 is an IMS Global standard supported by virtually every modern LMS including Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Sakai, Schoology, and Open edX.

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How It Works

When a student clicks a Veydra activity in their LMS:
  1. The LMS sends a secure, signed request to Veydra (OIDC login + JWT)
  2. Veydra verifies the request and identifies the student
  3. A Veydra account is automatically created (or linked) for the student
  4. The student is granted access to the assigned lab with the configured role
  5. The student lands directly in the lab — no additional sign-up needed

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Supported LMS Platforms

Moodle

Full LTI 1.3 support with auto-fill configuration

Canvas

Instructure Canvas with Developer Key integration

Blackboard

Blackboard Learn Ultra with REST API integration

D2L Brightspace

Brightspace with standard LTI Advantage

Sakai

Open-source LMS with LTI 1.3 support

Schoology

PowerSchool Schoology LTI 1.3 apps
Additional platforms: Open edX and OLI Torus are also supported with built-in auto-fill presets.

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Prerequisites

Before configuring LTI:
You have a Veydra account with lab management permissions
You have at least one lab created in Veydra (Account → Manage Labs)
You have administrator access to your LMS
Your LMS supports LTI 1.3 (not the older LTI 1.1)

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Step 1: Get Your Tool Configuration

Every Veydra account has a set of public URLs that you’ll enter into your LMS. These identify Veydra as an external tool provider.
1

Open LTI Integrations

Sign in at app.veydra.io and go to Account → LTI Integrations in the sidebar (under the Labs section).
2

Copy the Tool Configuration URLs

At the top of the page you’ll see the Your Tool Configuration card with four values:
FieldDescriptionExample
Tool URL / Launch URLWhere the LMS sends the launch requesthttps://api.veydra.io/lti/launch
Login Initiation URLWhere the LMS begins the OIDC flowhttps://api.veydra.io/lti/login
Redirect URI(s)Allowed redirect targets after loginhttps://api.veydra.io/lti/launch
Public Keyset URL (JWKS)Veydra’s public keys for signature verificationhttps://api.veydra.io/lti/jwks
Use the Copy button next to each value.
These URLs are the same for every platform registration — you only need to copy them once.

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Step 2: Register Veydra in Your LMS

This step happens inside your LMS admin panel. The exact steps vary by platform — choose your LMS below:
  1. Go to Site administration → Plugins → Activity modules → External tool → Manage tools
  2. Click configure a tool manually
  3. Fill in:
    • Tool name: Veydra (or any name you prefer)
    • Tool URL: paste the Tool URL / Launch URL from Veydra
    • LTI version: select LTI 1.3
    • Public key type: select Keyset URL
    • Public keyset: paste the Public Keyset URL (JWKS) from Veydra
    • Initiate login URL: paste the Login Initiation URL from Veydra
    • Redirection URI(s): paste the Redirect URI(s) from Veydra
  4. Under Tool configuration usage, select Show as preconfigured tool when adding an external tool
  5. Click Save changes
  6. Moodle will display the tool’s configuration details — copy the Client ID (you’ll need it in Step 3)
You can also find the Client ID later by clicking “View configuration details” on the tool’s entry in the Manage tools list.
Do NOT use “Add App → By LTI 2 Registration URL” in Canvas — that uses the deprecated LTI 2.0 protocol. Use the Developer Key method below instead.
Step 1: Create Developer Key
  1. Go to Admin → Developer Keys (at the root account level)
  2. Click + Developer Key → + LTI Key
  3. Choose Enter URL and paste Veydra’s Dynamic Registration URL (shown in Veydra’s LTI Integrations page)
  4. Click Save — Canvas auto-fills most settings from the URL
Step 2: Configure Privacy & User Data (Required)
  1. Click Edit on the newly created key
  2. Expand Additional Settings and configure:
    • Set Privacy Level to Public (enables sharing of user names and email addresses)
    • In the Custom Fields box, paste the following lines to explicitly map user data: 
      email=$Person.email.primary
name=$Person.name.full
given_name=$Person.name.given
family_name=$Person.name.family
  3. Expand LTI Advantage Services and enable:
    • “Can retrieve user data associated with the context the tool is installed in”
    • (Optional for grades) “Can create and view assignment data in the gradebook associated with the tool”
    • (Optional for grades) “Can create and update submission results for assignments associated with the tool”
Veydra requires user email to create accounts. Without the Privacy Level set to Public and Custom Fields configured, students will see an error when launching.
Step 3: Configure Placements (Enable Deep Linking)
  1. Scroll to Placements and add at least one:
    • Link Selection — allows instructors to select Veydra content when adding module items
    • Assignment Selection — allows instructors to select Veydra content when creating assignments
  2. For each placement, set:
    • Target Link URI: https://api.veydra.io/lti/launch
    • Message Type: LtiDeepLinkingRequest
    • (Optional) Icon URL: https://app.veydra.io/favicon.png
  3. Click Save
Step 4: Enable and Install
  1. Toggle the key’s State to ON
  2. Copy the Client ID (long number like 10000000000123)
  3. Go to your Course → Settings → Apps → + App
  4. Select By Client ID, paste the ID, and click Submit
Step 5: Register in Veydra
  1. Return to Veydra’s Account → LTI Integrations page
  2. Click Register Platform, select Canvas, enter your Canvas URL and the Client ID
  3. Click Register Platform
After installation, instructors can add Veydra content by going to Modules → + → External Tool → Veydra or Assignments → + Assignment → External Tool. A content picker will appear showing available activities.
  1. Go to System Admin → Integrations → LTI Tool Providers → Register LTI 1.3 Tool
  2. Enter the Client ID (you may need to register the application first via the Developer Portal to obtain one)
  3. Fill in:
    • Tool Provider URL: paste the Tool URL / Launch URL
    • Login Initiation URL: paste the Login Initiation URL
    • Tool Redirect URL(s): paste the Redirect URI(s)
    • Tool JWKS URL: paste the Public Keyset URL (JWKS)
  4. Set Tool Status to Approved
  5. Copy the Client ID and Deployment ID shown in the confirmation
Blackboard’s exact admin screens differ between Original and Ultra experiences. The steps above follow the Ultra workflow.
  1. Go to Manage Extensibility → LTI Advantage (or External Learning Tools → Manage Tool Providers)
  2. Click New Registration / Register Tool
  3. Fill in:
    • Name: Veydra
    • Domain: api.veydra.io
    • Redirect URLs: paste the Redirect URI(s)
    • OpenID Connect Login URL: paste the Login Initiation URL
    • Keyset URL: paste the Public Keyset URL (JWKS)
    • Target Link URI: paste the Tool URL / Launch URL
  4. Click Register — Brightspace generates a Client ID and Deployment ID. Copy both.
  5. Create a Deployment and link it to the desired org units (courses)
  1. Go to Administration Workspace → External Tools (LTI) or the site’s External Tools page
  2. Click Install LTI 1.x Tool
  3. Fill in:
    • Tool Title: Veydra
    • Launch URL: paste the Tool URL / Launch URL
    • LTI 1.3: check the checkbox
    • OIDC Auth Endpoint: paste the Login Initiation URL
    • OIDC Token Endpoint: (leave blank — Veydra uses key-based validation)
    • OIDC Keyset URL: paste the Public Keyset URL (JWKS)
    • Redirect URL(s): paste the Redirect URI(s)
  4. Click Save — copy the generated Client ID
  1. Go to System Settings → Integration → External Tools → Add External Tool Provider
  2. Set the LTI version to 1.3
  3. Fill in:
    • Tool Name: Veydra
    • Launch URL: paste the Tool URL / Launch URL
    • OpenID Connect Login: paste the Login Initiation URL
    • Redirect URIs: paste the Redirect URI(s)
    • JWKS URL: paste the Public Keyset URL (JWKS)
  4. Save and copy the generated Client ID
  1. Go to Django Admin → LTI 1.3 (via /admin/) or Studio → Advanced Settings
  2. Add a new LtiToolKey with:
    • Name: Veydra
    • Key type: jwk_url
    • JWK URL: paste the Public Keyset URL (JWKS)
  3. Add a new LtiTool and fill in:
    • Tool Name: Veydra
    • Launch URL: paste the Tool URL / Launch URL
    • OIDC Login URL: paste the Login Initiation URL
    • Redirect URIs: paste the Redirect URI(s)
  4. Copy the Client ID from the created tool entry
  1. In Torus admin, go to Institutions → Registration or LTI 1.3 Tool Configuration
  2. Fill in:
    • Tool Name: Veydra
    • Target Link URI: paste the Tool URL / Launch URL
    • OIDC Login Init URL: paste the Login Initiation URL
    • Redirect URIs: paste the Redirect URI(s)
    • JWK Set URL: paste the Public Keyset URL (JWKS)
  3. Save and copy the generated Client ID and Deployment ID

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Step 3: Register the Platform in Veydra

Now go back to Veydra and tell it about your LMS so it can validate incoming launch requests.
1

Click Register Platform

On the LTI Integrations page (Account → LTI Integrations), click the Register Platform button.
2

Select Your LMS Type

Choose your LMS from the LMS Type dropdown. This auto-fills the endpoint URL paths so you only need to enter your LMS base URL.Supported presets: Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard Learn (Ultra), D2L Brightspace, Sakai, Schoology (PowerSchool), Open edX, OLI Torus.
If your LMS is not listed, leave the dropdown empty and fill in the URLs manually. Your LMS admin documentation will have the correct endpoint paths.
3

Fill in Platform Details

FieldRequiredDescription
Platform NameYesA friendly name (e.g. “My University Moodle”)
Issuer (Platform ID)YesYour LMS base URL (e.g. https://moodle.university.edu). When you type this with a preset selected, the endpoint URLs auto-fill.
Client IDYesThe ID your LMS generated in Step 2
Deployment IDNoSome LMS platforms provide this alongside the Client ID
Authentication Login URLYesAuto-filled by preset, or enter manually
Access Token URLYesAuto-filled by preset, or enter manually
Public Keyset URL (JWKS)YesAuto-filled by preset, or enter manually
Default LabNoThe lab that students land on by default when launching from this LMS
Default RoleNoStudent (default), Viewer, or Instructor — the Veydra role assigned to users who launch via LTI
4

Save

Click Register Platform. The platform appears in your Registered Platforms table and is immediately active.
Double-check that the Client ID and Issuer match exactly what your LMS shows. A mismatch will cause launch requests to be rejected.

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Step 4: Add Veydra to a Course

With the platform registered, you can now add Veydra as an activity in your LMS courses.
  1. Go to your course → Turn editing on
  2. Click Add an activity or resource → External tool
  3. Select Veydra from the Preconfigured tool dropdown
  4. Optionally set a custom Activity name (e.g. “System Dynamics Lab — Population Model”)
  5. To send students to a specific lab, expand Tool configuration → Custom parameters and add: 
    lab_slug=your-lab-slug
  6. Click Save and display to test the launch
If you configured Link Selection or Assignment Selection placements with LtiDeepLinkingRequest:
  1. Go to your course → Modules → + → External Tool (or Assignments → + Assignment → External Tool)
  2. Select Veydra from the list
  3. A content picker opens showing content grouped by Project → Model → Activity
  4. Select exactly one activity and click Add Activity to Course
  5. The selected content is embedded as a link - students click it to launch directly into that activity
The content picker shows models belonging to the user who registered the LTI platform in Veydra. To show a different user’s models, edit the platform registration and set the Owner Filter field.
The general process is the same across platforms:
  1. Navigate to your course content area
  2. Add a new External Tool / LTI Link activity
  3. Select the registered Veydra tool
  4. Optionally configure the lab_slug custom parameter to target a specific lab
  5. Save and test the launch as a student
Custom parameters vs Deep Linking: You can target specific content by either:
  • Using the Deep Linking content picker (Canvas, Moodle 4.0+) — visual selection, no URL editing
  • Setting lab_slug, model_id, and (for activity launches) activity_id as custom LTI parameters — works on any LMS

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Deep Linking Content Picker

When configured for Deep Linking, Veydra displays an interactive content picker inside your LMS. This lets instructors visually browse and select which activity to embed.

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How Deep Linking Works

  1. Instructor clicks Add External Tool → Veydra in the LMS
  2. The LMS sends a LtiDeepLinkingRequest to Veydra
  3. Veydra displays a content picker showing available content grouped by Project → Model → Activity
  4. Instructor selects one activity and clicks Add Activity to Course
  5. Veydra sends a signed response back to the LMS with the selected content
  6. The LMS creates a link/assignment pointing to that specific activity

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Selection Rules

  • Exactly one activity can be selected per Deep Linking action.
  • Sandbox entries (for example, Model Playground / Sandbox) are excluded from the picker and cannot be linked.
  • Deep Linking responses include both model_id and activity_id so launches open the selected activity directly.

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Configuring Deep Linking

Deep Linking requires your LMS to be configured with the correct placement and message type:
LMSWhere to ConfigureMessage Type Setting
CanvasDeveloper Key → Placements → Link/Assignment SelectionSet to LtiDeepLinkingRequest
MoodleExternal tool → Content Selection URLAuto-detected from tool config
BlackboardLTI Tool → Deep Linking SettingsEnable “Deep Linking”
BrightspaceLTI Tool → Deployment → Deep LinkingEnable and set return URLs

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Content Visibility

The content picker shows activities belonging to:
  1. The Owner Filter configured on the platform (if set)
  2. Otherwise, the user who registered the LTI platform in Veydra
To change which activities appear, edit your platform registration in Account → LTI Integrations and set the Owner Filter to the desired user ID.

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Deep Linking Custom Parameters

When an instructor selects content through the picker, Veydra returns LTI custom parameters on the placement:
  • model_id: the parent model
  • activity_id: the selected activity (required for activity launch)
  • lab_slug: optional lab context when configured
Veydra prioritizes activity launches when activity_id is present.

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Managing Platforms

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Editing a Registration

From Account → LTI Integrations, click Edit on any registered platform to update its details (name, URLs, default lab, or default role). Changes take effect immediately.

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Deleting a Registration

Click Delete on a platform registration. You’ll be asked to confirm. Once deleted, students will no longer be able to launch from that LMS.
Deleting a platform does not remove the student accounts that were created via LTI. Students who were auto-provisioned can still sign in to app.veydra.io directly.

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Viewing & Changing Default Lab

The Default Lab column in the platforms table shows which lab students land on after launch. To change it, edit the platform and select a different lab from the dropdown. You can also leave it blank and rely on the lab_slug custom parameter per activity.

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User Provisioning

When a student launches Veydra from an LMS for the first time, the system automatically:
  1. Looks for an existing linked account — if the student has launched before, they’re signed in immediately
  2. Checks by email — if the student’s LMS email matches an existing Veydra account that is not yet linked, the user is prompted for a one-time sign-in confirmation before linking
  3. Creates a new account — if no email match is found, a new Veydra account is created automatically using the student’s LMS profile
The student is then granted access to the target lab with the configured role (Student, Viewer, or Instructor).
Instructors in the LMS are mapped to the Veydra role configured on the platform registration (default: Student). To give LMS instructors elevated access, you can change the default role or grant them permissions manually in Account → Manage Labs.

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Roles & Permissions

The role assigned to LTI users determines what they can do inside a lab:
RoleCan View ModelsCan Adjust ParametersCan Edit StructureCan Manage Users
Student✓✓✗✗
Viewer✓✗✗✗
Instructor✓✓✓✓
The default role is set per-platform when you register it. Individual users can be promoted or changed in Account → Manage Labs → [Lab] → Users.

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Automatic Grade Passback

Veydra supports LTI Assignment and Grade Services (AGS) to automatically send grades back to your LMS gradebook when students complete activities.

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How It Works

  1. Student launches a Veydra activity from the LMS
  2. Student works through the model playground (presentation, calibration, experimentation, etc.)
  3. When the student clicks Submit in the embedded LTI top bar, Veydra:
    • Calculates a score based on completed steps
    • Sends the grade directly to the LMS gradebook via AGS
Grades are submitted as a fraction of the maximum score (e.g., completing 3 of 4 steps = 0.75 out of 1.0). The LMS converts this to its own grading scale.

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LMS Configuration for Grade Passback

For grades to sync back, your LMS must be configured to accept them. The exact settings vary by platform:
Site-level settings:
  1. Go to Site administration → Plugins → Activity modules → External tool → Manage tools
  2. Click the gear icon on your Veydra tool → Edit
  3. Under Services, set IMS LTI Assignment and Grade Services to Use this service for grade sync
  4. Under Privacy, set Accept grades from the tool to Always
  5. Save changes
Activity-level settings:
  1. When adding or editing the External tool activity, expand Grade
  2. Set Grade → Type to Point (not “None”)
  3. Set Maximum grade to your desired value (e.g., 100)
  1. When creating the External Tool assignment, check Enable grading
  2. Set the point value for the assignment
  3. Canvas will automatically accept grades from LTI tools configured with AGS scope
Most LMS platforms enable grade passback by default for LTI 1.3 tools. Check your LMS documentation for:
  • Enabling “Accept grades from tool” or “Grade sync” in tool settings
  • Setting the activity/assignment to be gradable (point-based, not pass/fail or ungraded)

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Grade Calculation

Veydra calculates the score based on the number of completed steps in the activity:
Steps CompletedScore
0 of 40%
1 of 425%
2 of 450%
3 of 475%
4 of 4100%
The number of available steps depends on the model’s configured modes (e.g., presentation, calibrate, experiment, decide). Models with fewer modes will have fewer steps to complete.

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Troubleshooting Grade Passback

Check the following:
  • LMS tool settings: Ensure “Accept grades from tool” is enabled
  • Activity grade type: Must be “Point” (not “None” or “Scale”)
  • Console logs: Open browser DevTools and check for [LTI] Grade submitted successfully or error messages
  • Backend logs: Check Cloud Run logs for [LTI AGS] messages showing the grade submission status

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Troubleshooting

The Issuer URL in Veydra doesn’t match what the LMS is sending. Verify:
  • The Issuer field matches your LMS base URL exactly (including https:// and no trailing slash)
  • The Client ID matches the one your LMS generated
The JWT signature couldn’t be verified. Check:
  • The Public Keyset URL (JWKS) on the platform registration points to the correct LMS endpoint
  • Your LMS’s keyset URL is accessible from the internet (not behind a firewall)
  • Check the Default Lab setting on the platform registration
  • Verify the lab_slug custom parameter in the LMS activity configuration
  • Ensure the lab exists and is active in Account → Manage Labs
The student’s account was created but not granted access. This can happen if the lab’s access control changed after the initial launch. Go to Account → Manage Labs → [Lab] → Users and verify the student’s role.
You must be signed in to Veydra to manage platform registrations. The Tool Configuration URLs (JWKS, Login, Launch) are public and don’t require authentication.

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Security

Veydra’s LTI implementation follows IMS Global security best practices:
  • OIDC + JWT: Every launch is authenticated via OpenID Connect with signed JWTs — no shared secrets
  • RSA key pairs: Veydra maintains its own RSA keypair; the public key is served via a standard JWKS endpoint
  • Nonce validation: Each login request includes a one-time nonce that expires after 10 minutes
  • No password storage: LTI users authenticate through their LMS; Veydra never sees or stores LMS passwords
  • Firebase Auth: After JWT validation, users receive a standard Firebase session — the same authentication used by all Veydra users