Using Turnitin's LTI integration

Your Turnitin license is designed around empowering your organization to take control of plagiarism. You have access to an intuitive Similarity Report, providing text matches and an indicative similarity score. Using our LTI integration, your Turnitin license can easily be incorporated into your institutions academic integrity strategy.

We support the latest and one previous version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

Generating a key and secret

You must create a separate scope and key for every integration you create. If you have various environments in your organization, such as a development or sandbox environment, create an API key for each of them.

Give each scope a unique name to easily identify it at a later date i.e. 'University of Turnitin Sandbox'.

To set up your LTI integration, you will need to generate your key and secret. If your LMS uses terms other than "key" and "secret" for LTI configurations, see the table below with equivalent terms. Then, check out the quick steps for how to generate your keys and secrets.

Turnitin terms Blackboard terms Brightspace (D2L) terms Canvas terms Moodle terms Sakai terms Schoology terms
Key Tool Provider Key Account ID Consumer Key Consumer Key Remote Tool Key Consumer Key
Secret Tool Provider Secret Shared Key Shared Secret Consumer Key Remote Tool Secret Shared Secret

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  1. From the administrator area, select the Integrations tab. In this area, you'll find all of the current integrations active on the account.
  2. On the Integrations page, select the Generate LTI Scope button in the top right. A Generate new LTI Scope modal will pop up.
  3. In the modal, type the name you'd like to use to identify the Turnitin LTI tool in the Administrator settings page. Then, click Next. A Create API Key modal will appear.

    Please note that the LTI scope and key names you pick in Steps 4 and 5 will only appear on your Administrator settings page, so you can use different names to identify the Turnitin LTI tool in your LMS, if you'd like.

  4. In the Create API Key modal, type the name you'd like to use to identify your Turnitin LTI tool key in the Administrator settings page. Then, click Create and View. Another modal will appear containing your new key and secret.

    For your security, the secret will only be shown once. Be sure to copy and save your secret in a safe location!

  5. Now, with your new key and secret in-hand, log in to your LMS to finish configuring your Turnitin LTI tool.

 

Managing existing setups

You can create multiple keys for your scope. To create more keys, select Create New Key to the right of your scope.

Once your scope has a key or keys, you can view them by selecting the arrow to the left of your scope.

You can change the status of your key using the switch.

If you turn the status of your key to ‘Off’, then you will no longer be able to set up an integration with this key. Any existing integrations using this key will no longer work while this key remains disabled.

Select the trash can to permanently delete a key.

Once you have deleted your key you cannot restore it. Any integrations you have set up using this key will no longer work.

Setting up in (D2L) Brightspace

  1. Log in to D2L (Brightspace) as an administrator.
  2. Click the gear icon to get to your Admin Tools.
  3. In your Admin Tools, select Remote Plugins. This will take you to the Manage Remote Plugins page.
  4. On the Manage Remote Plugins page, click the New Remote Plugin button. This will take you to Create a new Remote Plugin page.
  5. On the Create a new Remote Plugin page, select “Quicklink (CIM)” from the Plugin Type dropdown.
  6. In the Name field, type the name for this tool that you would like displayed to users.
  7. Next, In the Launch Point section, enter the following URL: https://{your-tenant}.turnitin.com/lti/launch/inbox
    Be sure to replace the text in the brackets with your institution's tenant. See the tip below if you're unsure of your tenant.

    In the custom URL your institution uses to log in to the Turnitin, your tenant is the text that is after the "https://" and before ".turnitin.com." For instance, if your URL is https://southwestern-place-university.turnitin.com, your tenant is southwestern-place-university. Then, your Launch Point URL would be https://southwestern-place-university.turnitin.com/lti/launch/inbox.

  8. In the LTI Key and LTI Secret fields, enter the key and secret that you created in Turnitin.
  9. For OAuth Signature Method, select "HMAC-SHA1" from the dropdown.

  10. (OPTIONAL) Below that, you can add descriptions and/or icons for the tool if you'd like.

  11. Under Make available to: make sure to select the box(es) next to all relevant Org units or click the Add Org Units button to add more.
  12. When you're happy with all your selections, click Save.
  13. Your LTI tool has been added as a remote plugin quicklink. Now, continue on to the next section of this guide to set up the tool as an activity that instructors or other admins can use when they create assignments.

 

Adding the LTI tool as an activity

Make sure you've completed all the steps above to add the LTI tool to your LMS before starting the steps below.

  1. Click the gear icon to get to your Admin Tools.
  2. In your Admin Tools, click External Learning Tools. This will take you to a table of external tool links at your institution.
  3. Above the list, select Manage Tool Providers. This will switch you to a table of tool providers at your institution.
  4. Find the tool provider for the Turnitin LTI tool in the left column. Select the downward arrow next to it to reveal a dropdown. From the dropdown, select Edit Tool Provider. This will take you to the Edit Tool Provider page.
  5. On the Edit Tool Provider page under Security Settings, check the boxes next to “Send LTI user ID and LTI role list to tool provider” and “Send context information to tool provider."

  6. Under Make tool provider available to: make sure all relevant Org units are selected or click the Add Org Units button to add more.

  7. When you're happy with all your selections, click Save and Close.
  8. That's it! Your Turnitin LTI tool is now visible as an Existing Activity for instructors or admins to use when creating assignments.

Setting up in Blackboard

  1. Log in as a Blackboard administrator the same way you normally do.
  2. Navigate to your Administrator Panel.
  3. Select LTI Tool Providers in the Integrations section. This will take you to your available LTI tool providers page.
  4. Select Register Provider Domain.

  5. Under Provider Domain Status, use this as the Provider Domain: https://{your-tenant}.turnitin.com
    Be sure to replace the text in the brackets with your institution's tenant. See the tip below if you're unsure of your tenant.

    In the custom URL your institution uses to log in to Turnitin, your tenant is the text that is after the "https://" and before ".turnitin.com." For instance, if your URL is https://southwestern-place-university.turnitin.com, your tenant is southwestern-place-university.

  6. For the Provider Domain Status, make sure "Approved" is selected.

  7. No Secondary Hostnames are needed, so you can leave that box blank.

  8. For the Default Configuration, select "Set globally."
  9. Next, type the Key and Secret that you or another admin at your institution generated in Turnitin.
  10. Then, no custom parameters are required, so you can leave that box blank.
  11. For Send User Data, select "Send user data over any connection."
  12. For User Fields to Send, tick all the boxes (role in course, name, and email address).
  13. For Allow Membership Service Access, select "Yes."
  14. Select Submit. Ta-da! Your Turnitin LTI tool has now been added.
  15. Continue to the next section of this guide to complete your LTI configuration.

 

Managing your LTI placement

Make sure you've completed all the steps above to add the Turnitin LTI tool to your LMS before starting the steps below.

  1. As a Blackboard admin, navigate to your list of available LTI Tool Providers.
    • If you just completed the steps in the guides section above, you are most likely still on the available LTI Tool Providers page.
    • If you navigated away, here's how to get back: Admininstrator panel > Integrations > LTI Tool Providers
  2. From the LTI Tool Providers page, tick the box next to the Turnitin LTI tool you created. A downward arrow will appear.
  3. Click the downward arrow to reveal the tool's menu.

  4. From the tool's menu, select Manage Placement. This will take you to the Manage Placements page.

  5. On this page, click the Create Placement link.
  6. In the Label field, please type whatever name you would like your instructors and students to see (e.g., Turnitin).
  7. Add a description for the tool if you'd like.
  8. Type a handle to help identify the placement (e.g., turnitin-Turnitin or turnitin-similarity).
  9. For Availability, select "Yes."
  10. For Type, select "Deep Linking content tool." Leave the box for "Allow student access" unticked.

    Selecting "Deep Linking content tool" allows instructors and course builders to launch the LTI tool and add content from the tool provider, rather than adding content through the Blackboard Learn interface. If the tool provider is configured so that the instructor can select multiple pieces of content in a single import, this tool can save time and simplify the workflow.

  11. For Tool Provider Information, use this as the Tool Provider URL: https://{your-tenant}.turnitin.com/lti/launch/inbox
    Be sure to replace the text in the brackets with your institution's tenant. See the tip below if you're unsure of your tenant.

    In the custom URL your institution uses to log in to Turnitin, your tenant is the text that is after the "https://" and before ".turnitin.com." For instance, if your URL is https://southwestern-place-university.turnitin.com, your tenant is southwestern-place-university. Then, your Tool Provider URL would be https://southwestern-place-university.turnitin.com/lti/launch/inbox.

  12. Your Tool Provider Key and Tool Provider Secret should be filled in already, if you added them while adding the Turnitin LTI tool. If they aren't filled in, you can add them here now.
  13. No custom parameters are needed, so you can leave that box blank.
  14. Click the Submit button. That's it! Now, you're ready to create a course for your instructors and students.

Setting up in Schoology

  1. Log into Schoology as an administrator

  2. From the top menu bar, select Tools and then School Management.

  3. From the left-hand side menu, select Integration.

  4. Select External Tool from tabs at the top of the Integration page.

  5. An Add External Tool Provider button will appear which will allow you to begin your configuration!

    1. Enter a name for your external app. (for example, Turnitin, Turnitin LTI Inbox, etc.).

    2. Enter your Consumer Key. This is the Key that was created within Turnitin and can be copied by clicking the key icon shown in the Integrations section of the Admin Console.

    3. Enter your Shared Secret. This is the Secret that was generated for you within Turnitin.

      Ensure there are no blank spaces at the beginning or end of this field as this may be counted as a character and will cause the configuration to fail.

    4. Leave the Privacy setting on the default option Send Name and Email/Username of user who launches the tool. This setting is required to ensure that Schoology and Turnitin users are mapped correctly.

    5. Leave the Configuration Type on the default option Manual.

    6. Select URL in the Match By dropdown options.

    7. Enter your enter the following URL:

      https://{your-tenant}.turnitin.com/lti/launch/inbox

      Be sure to replace the text in the brackets with your institution's tenant. See the tip below if you're unsure of your tenant.

    In the custom URL your institution uses to log in to Turnitin, your tenant is the text that is after the "https://" and before ".turnitin.com." For instance, if your URL is https://southwestern-place-university.turnitin.com, your tenant is southwestern-place-university.

  6. You’re done! There are no Custom Parameters required for this configuration so this box can be left blank. Select Submit to save the configuration.