Moodle: Activities & Resources: Add an External Tool

Many websites, such as publishers and academic technology services, provide material and interactive learning opportunities complementary to what is offered within Moodle. The external tool allows instructors and students to access these activities from within their Moodle courses and, for some tools, have grades automatically sync with the Moodle gradebook. Students only need to log in to their Moodle courses and access the tool there.

Important Note: Because the external tool activity links your Moodle course to an external website, troubleshooting most issues encountered in the tool should be done through the tool's customer support. The LSU Faculty Technology Center can assist with the Moodle connection and can work with their support on gradebook sync concerns.

Learning Tools available in LSU Moodle

• LSU Libraries Research Guides
• TurningPoint Registration
• Zoom
• Sage Vantage
• VoiceThread
• McGraw-Hill Campus
• SmarterProctoring (Testing Center only)
• Cengage
• Panopto Video
• zyBooks
• Pearson
• Wiley Assignments
• Wiley Resources
• Wiley Course Resources
• Gradescope
• Macmillan LTI Tools
• Macmillan Content
• Packback 1.3
• Perusall 1.3

To Add an External Tool to a Moodle Course:

1. Log in to Moodle and select a course.
    
2. Click Create Learning Activity.
   
   
    
3. Choose External Tool from the Activities tab.
   
   
    
4. Fill in the Activity name field and use the Preconfigured tool dropdown to select the desired tool. Some tools will update the activity name to match the content.
   
   
    
5. Click "Show more..." to see additional options. You can include a description of the activity or instructional language that displays on the front page by typing in the editor and selecting a display option. The "Launch container" is set for each tool at the site level but it can be changed here if desired (i.e., to "new window" to maximize the tool view area).
   
   
    
6. Some tools will have the Select Content button available. Follow your vendor’s instructions or the tool's GROK article to see if this is an option for you.
   
   
    
7. Set Visibility to reflect how the tool is displayed. See Common Activity Settings: Visibility for more information about the choices.
    
8. Adjust the Privacy settings if you have specific instructions from the vendor. Most tools will retain the default settings.
    
9. Some tools will need you to choose the Grade Type. Ask for the correct setting if this is a vendor tool. For more information about grade settings, see Common Activity Settings: Grade.
    
10. Set Restrict access settings to allow the activity to be restricted by configuring any of the available restrictions. See Common Activity Settings: Restrict Access for more information about the choices.
     
11. Set Activity completion to set if or how an activity is marked as complete. See Common Activity Settings: Activity Completion for more information about the choices.
     
12. Add tags to aid in searching across the Moodle site. See Common Activity Settings: Tags for more information.
     
13. Save and return to course.