Publish Anywhere, powered by Buzz, enables publishers to deliver best-in-class courses and learning content to their customers, regardless of the LMS.
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Additional articles
- Publish Anywhere: Admin guide
- Publish Anywhere: How do I set up deep linking for Publish Anywhere?
- Configuring Canvas:
- Publish Anywhere educator/distributor steps: How to import course content
- Publish Anywhere teacher view
- Publish Anywhere student view
- Supported Publish Anywhere activity types
Integrate with Agilix Dawn: How do I deliver Buzz content in Dawn (LTI 1.3)?
Article overview
This article provides of an overview of the:
Publisher steps
As a publisher, your content, learning activities, and assessments are delivered via LTI and Thin Common Cartridge to any compatible system. The magic is in the Publish Anywhere player. It allows our "Better on Buzz" learning experience to be embedded into your customer’s system, without the need for content exports, user and enrollment provisioning (we handle that automatically), or any of the other headaches associated with trying to serve multiple LMS systems.
1. Create content author domain
Buzz allows you to create course content in one author domain and make it available in other domains, making it easy to keep the content updated for all users.
Publishers using Publish Anywhere should follow this same model, and create a content domain.
2. Create customer domains and subscribe them to the content
Each content customer needs their own:
- Domain, so they can each have a unique Key and Secret.
- Subscription to the content author domain or to a course within that domain, so they have the appropriate permissions to the content.
3. Configure the LTI
Publish Anywhere must be configured as an LTI in an LMS for content to be delivered there. It is currently 1EdTech (formerly IMS) certified for:
LTI 1.1: Create a Key and Secret for customer domains
LTI 1.1 security requires you to create a key and secret within each customer domain that you provide to your customers.
- Open Domain Settings for the customer's domain.
- Click Add on the Publish Anywhere credentials card.
- Provide any Name, Key, and Secret you want to. Copy the Key and Secret and distribute them to the customer for importing into another LMS.
- Note: The Key automatically includes the Domain ID in front of it (blurred out in screenshot).
- The Start date and End date determine the period of time for which your content is available through this export.
- Click Done and Save.
LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage: Configure secure handshake
To configure LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage, you need to:
Provide your customer with handshake URLs
- Open Domain Settings for the customer's domain.
- Scroll to the Publish Anywhere platforms card and click Add.
- Copy the following URLs to deliver to your customer, so they can enter them in their configuration:
- Hostname
- OpenID connect login URL
- Tool key set URL
- Tool redirect URL
- Deep-linking redirect URL (if you're using deep links)
- Click Cancel and exit Domain settings.
Note: The handshake IDs and URLs copied above are used in configuring the customer LMS. Here's a guide for configuring with Canvas: How do I configure Canvas to integrate with Publish Anywhere (LTI 1.3)?
Enter handshake IDs and URLs from your customer
Ask your customer to provide you with the follow IDs and URLs from their LMS:
- Issuer
- Client ID
- Deployment ID
- Platform key set URL
- OpendID connect auth URL
- 0Auth2 access token URL
When you've accessed them:
- Open Domain Settings for the customer's domain.
- Scroll to the Publish Anywhere platforms card and click Add.
- Provide the Name you want associated with the customer (e.g., LMS Name and School District).
- Provide a Short name (ID) for the customer. This value appears as a prefix on certain IDs in Publish Anywhere to help you identify which customer users and other data they are associated with (this cannot exceed 15 characters and is case-sensitive).
- Provide Start and End dates to determine the period of time for which your content is available through this export.
- Provide the IDs and URLs as provided by your customer:
- Issuer
- Client ID
- Deployment ID
- Platform key set URL
- OpendID connect auth URL
- 0Auth2 access token URL
- Click Done and Save.
4. Export courses
Now, you can export course packages with the Teacher app.
To export a Buzz course for Publish Anywhere:
- Open the Editor in the course.
- Open the Tools menu in the toolbar and click Export 1EdTech (formerly IMS) package.
- Note: This option appears only if you've enabled the Publish Anywhere Add-on.
- Provide the Export file name you want.
- In the Destination learning system (LMS), you can select:
- Canvas to automatically create a package with gradable activities in it when publishing into Canvas.
- Moodle to export in the Common Cartridge version that Moodle supports (1.1). You will have to manually make activities gradable after importing them.
- Other to export for any other system. You will have to manually make activities gradable after importing them.
Note: If you choose Canvas or Moodle, the package can be used in those systems only; if you don't choose them, the package can be used in any other compatible LMS. If a customer uses more than one LMS, make sure you export and deliver a package for each system (anywhere from 1-3 packages).
- Make a note of LTI tool name. It will be [YOUR BUZZ DOMAIN].api.agilixbuzz.com. The exported package contains links to it, and anyone who imports the package must configure a tool using this name.
- Review the Compatibility status report to see which features in the course are not compatible with other LMSs and how Buzz handles them.
- Note: You may want to create a derivative course that you can modify to decrease the number of issues reported in this step.
- Click Export to download the package as an .imscc file.
5. Deliver content to customers
Deliver the following content and information to customers:
- The LTI/Common Cartridge export package. You can send the same exported package to all of your customers.
Note: If you export for Canvas or Moodle, the package can be used in those systems only; if you don't choose them, the package can be used in any other compatible LMS. If a customer uses more than one LMS, make sure you export and deliver a package for each system (anywhere from 1-3 packages).
- The LTI Tool Name (domain name) you copied from the export screen in step five of the Export courses section. It is formatted as: [YOUR BUZZ DOMAIN].api.agilixbuzz.com.
- If using LTI 1.1, the Key and Secret created in step five and are unique for each customer.
- These instructions that show your customers (educators and distributors) how to import the package into their LMS: Publish Anywhere educator/distributor steps: How to import course content
Compatibility and Publish Anywhere
Not all features in Buzz are available in or compatible with other LMSs. Publish Anywhere runs a Compatibility status report for every course you export, makes necessary changes to the exported course (leaving the original course as-is), and lets you know which features are not compatible and how they have changed.
| Compatibility status message |
How does this impact the exported course? | Where is this managed in Buzz? |
|---|---|---|
| Convert course type from continuous to range |
In continuous courses, Buzz automatically generates suggested activity due dates. Publish Anywhere course due dates are set by the host LMS, so Buzz removes the generated dates. |
How do I set up a continuous enrollment course? |
| Convert formative assessments to regular assessments |
Buzz's formative assessments help identify and provide personalized opportunities to learn based on performance on the assessment. This functionality is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I create formative assessments? |
| Convert group activities to individual activities |
Group activity features are removed from Publish Anywhere courses, and students can complete the activity on their own. |
How do I create and grade group assignments? |
| Convert multi-outcome scoring to traditional scoring |
The Multi-Outcome Scoring gradebook allows course authors to create multiple desired outcomes for students, align them to activities with varied weights, and track performance against them. In Publish Anywhere courses, this gradebook is replaced with a traditional gradebook. |
How do I set up Multi-Outcome Scoring in my domain? |
| Convert other assessment grading rules to the last-attempt rule |
Buzz allows you to choose which of the following Scored attempt types you want recorded: Last, First, Highest, or an Average. Publish Anywhere courses are all changed to use the last scored attempt. |
Assessment activity editor |
| Convert password-secured assessments to un-secured |
Buzz allows you to require students to provide a password every time they start, continue, or retake the assessment (usually used for proctored assessments). Publish Anywhere courses do not retain this requirement. |
Assessment activity editor |
| Convert remediation assessments to regular assessments |
Buzz's remediation assessments help identify and provide personalized opportunities to learn based on performance on the assessment. This functionality is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I create remediation assessments? |
| Display folders with content as simple folders |
Buzz allows you to add metadata to folders as well as create student choice folders, which enable students to review approved activities and choose to complete the ones that best align with their interests and goals. These features are not retained in Publish Anywhere courses. Note: If you export a course with student choice folders, the folder transfers without content. To avoid this, change choice folders to regular folders with the desired activities. |
How do I manage course folders? How do I enable and manage student choice activities? |
| Display lessons as simple folders |
Lesson features are disabled in Publish Anywhere courses; the lesson is exported as a folder in the Publish Anywhere course. |
How do I manage course folders? |
| Display projects as simple folders |
The project wizard in Buzz allows you to create the robust project activities necessary for effective project-based learning (PBL). The project is exported as a simple folder in the Publish Anywhere course, and the other project settings are not retained. |
How do I use the project wizard? |
| Remove activity due dates |
Due dates are stripped from Publish Anywhere courses, so the new LMS dates can be applied. |
How do I use activity editors? |
| Remove activity grade-release dates |
In Buzz, this feature determines when students can see their grades based on dates. This option is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Visibility and access card |
| Remove activity passwords |
Buzz allows you to require students to enter a password once to access an activity. This option is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Visibility and access card |
| Remove activity-gating restrictions |
Buzz allows you to restrict access to an activity based on certain variables. These restrictions are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Visibility and access card |
| Remove activity-mastery restrictions |
Buzz allows you to restrict access to an activity based on concept mastery. This option is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Visibility and access card |
| Remove allow-grade-drop settings |
Buzz allows you to set up parameters for dropping certain scores from students’ overall grades. This option is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Advanced gradebook options card |
| Remove assessment-specific passwords |
Buzz allows you to require students to provide a password every time they start, continue, or retake an assessment (usually used for proctored assessments). Publish Anywhere courses do not retain this requirement. |
Assessment activity editor > Advanced assessment options card |
| Remove availability-date restrictions |
Buzz allows you to restrict access to an activity based on certain variables. These restrictions are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Visibility and access card |
| Remove blog activities |
Blog activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Blog activity editor |
| Remove course auto-completion rules |
Buzz allows you to define specific conditions that trigger course completion. This feature is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Advanced activity options card |
| Remove course tasks |
Buzz allows you to create course-wide tasks with the Clipboard. These tasks are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I create Clipboard Tasks? |
| Remove exam-review-after-due-date restrictions |
Buzz allows you to let students review an assessment after its due date. This is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Assessment activity editor > Assessment review card |
| Remove exam-review-after-grade-release-date restrictions |
Buzz allows you to let students review assessments after grades are released. This is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Assessment activity editor > Assessment review card |
| Remove exclude-from-final-grade settings |
Buzz allows you to exclude specific activities from inclusion in the final grade. This is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Advanced gradebook options card |
| Remove extra-credit settings |
Extra credit options are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Advanced gradebook options card |
| Remove force-sequential restrictions |
Buzz allows you to restrict access to an activity based on certain variables. These restrictions are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Visibility and access card |
| Remove journal activities |
Journal activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Journal activity editor |
| Remove learning-objective-mastery restrictions |
Buzz allows you to restrict access to an activity based on showing mastery of specific objectives. This is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Visibility and access card |
| Remove non-publishable activities |
Buzz allows you to make certain activities non-publishable in derivative courses using the xLi API. These activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
|
| Remove passing-score-required grade settings |
Buzz allows you to require a passing score on specific activities in order for students to get course credit. This is removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Advanced gradebook options card |
| Remove peer-assessment activities |
Peer-assessment activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Peer assessment activity editor |
| Remove practice-question activities |
Practice-question activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Practice questions activity editor |
| Remove RSS-feed activities |
RSS-feed activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Note: These are no longer supported in Buzz. |
| Remove supplemental activity tools |
Buzz allows teacher to link tools to help students complete activities as Course links in course settings. These links are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
How do I manage Course Settings? |
| Remove survey activities |
Survey activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Survey activity editor |
| Remove top-level activities that are not in a folder |
Some LMSs (including Canvas) do not allow activities to exist at the top level of a course structure. Publish Anywhere activities that are not in a folder will be lost when imported into these systems. Note: Before exporting a course, place all top-level activities into a folder named after the activity. |
How do I set up my course structure? |
| Remove wiki activities |
Wiki activities are removed from Publish Anywhere courses. |
Wiki activity editor |
| Remove zero-unscored grade settings |
When the Treat as zero in gradebook until this activity is scored box is checked in Buzz, all ungraded activities are calculated as zeros until graded. This option is disabled in exported courses. |
How do I use activity editors? > Advanced gradebook options card |
Activity links are disabled with Publish Anywhere.
Buzz allows you to create links in an activity that take the student to an activity in the same course. These links are displayed in Publish Anywhere courses, but no longer link to anything when clicked.
Activities set to be hidden from students are not exported with Publish Anywhere.
Buzz's Visibility and access settings allow teachers to make activities visible only to specific audiences (Students, teachers and observers (default setting), Teachers and observers, or Teachers only.
Unfortunately, the 1EdTech (formerly IMS) Common Cartridge (IMSCC) standard doesn't allow for us to flag activities as being hidden from a student, so, to reduce the security risk of exposing this information, we have opted to not export hidden activities.
If an activity should be included in the IMSCC package, it should be made visible to the student prior to exporting the IMSCC package.