C4E Blackboard LTI Integration - Accessibility, Adoption, Support, and Data & Security Information
Accessibility
- Does the Connect For Education LTI integration have accessibility compliance documentation?
C4E Accessibility Statement: “Connect For Education, Inc. is committed to making its courses and learning platforms accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities. Through a dedicated company-wide task force and feedback from our users, Connect For Education continuously seeks to identify and evaluate opportunities for improving the usability and accessibility of our products in accordance with the AA level of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, the EN 301 549 Standards, and Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act.
Compliance to Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, and EN 301 549 Standards is measured by the Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). To request a copy of our latest ACR, please contact Connect For Education Support. (https://connect4education.com/accessibility-statement/)
Please see current VPAT compliance details here.
- Are Connect For Education's online support materials or videos Section 508 accessible?
Most of the Connect For Education (C4E) course videos have close captioning (CC). Course videos that do not meet Section 508 standards are supplemental and, if needed, their inclusion in the text can be suppressed without compromising the academic integrity of the materials. Audio files are labeled with title, composer, and time stamp information, but do not include transcripts for lyrics. However, lyrics are included in the text when they are essential to the understanding of the music content. We do not use live video and audio feeds in our online course titles.
Currently, C4E course tools are partially 508 compliant. We are working diligently to bring these supplementary tools to full compliance. When requested, C4E is glad to provide 508-compliant pdf documents and supplementary documents containing accessible essential course resources enabling students to access the “Listen To Lecture” component of the course pages and other valuable tools.
In terms of end user technical support materials, C4E is close to being fully compliant. We are actively addressing the few issues that remain (e.g., color contrast) to reach full compliance in this area.
Adoption
- Have any other schools used Blackboard integrated Connect For Education integration?
Yes, several of our customers currently use Blackboard integrated Connect For Education integration. As LTI integration becomes more common, we are seeing more and more schools transition from a C4E-hosted solution to a Blackboard LTI solution.
- By what date would the faculty need to begin using the Connect For Education integration to build their new courses?
Ideally, we suggest two weeks’ notice for course builds with LTI integration. This provides our support team adequate time to set up and customize the course based on instructor requirements, and for you to coordinate the Blackboard LTI integration with your school's Blackboard Support team.
- Is there a campus license for the Connect For Education integration, or cost to each student?
Connect For Education does not require a campus license, and there is no cost to the college/university or to the students to use this integration. The cost to students is only the purchase of the access code that unlocks the course content. Access codes can be purchased from the campus bookstore or directly from the Connect For Education online store (http://store.connect4education.com/).
Support
- Is there online support contacts or tutorials for students and instructors to use with the new Connect For Education integration?
Connect For Education offers an extensive database of support materials for both instructors and students, which includes video tutorials, step by step guides, and FAQs with corresponding answers. C4E help site is available at https://c4e.zendesk.com/hc/en-us. Additionally, this help site (along with a link to contact our support team) is accessible via the ‘Help’ button in every course page.
- What are the hours of availability for support, response time, and holidays?
The Connect For Education support team is available from 9 am – 6 pm EST Monday through Friday. C4E is closed on weekends and most major holidays. Outside of business hours, C4E IT and Support teams continue to monitor all systems to detect/resolve any issues and ensure that courses remain functional and available 24/7 to end users. During business hours, most support inquiries are answered within 1 hour. Most issues, if not resolved immediately, are resolved within the same day depending on the nature of the support request.
- Does administrator documentation exist for the Connect For Education integration?
Connect For Education provides comprehensive and detailed LTI documentation to school administrators. Documentation includes step-by-step guidance on how to create and configure the LTI integration within the Blackboard systeml. Examples are provided below. Additional guidance/support/documentation can be provided as needed.
Data & Security
- What version of LTI is used?
LTI version 1.1 is currently used. Our application is recognized by IMS Global as complying with LTI v1.0. More information is available at https://www.imsglobal.org/compliance/c4elink.
- Is a developer key or access token needed to make API calls?
For Blackboard deep link we leverage the API calls via REST API Integrations. Our application is registered with Blackboard developer group. This allows us to provide a Application key to be used to create the integration.
- Would a 3rd party middleware provider or billing service be involved as an intermediary between our Blackboard system and Connect For Education servers?
No third-party middleware provider or billing service needs to be involved as intermediary between your school's Blackboard system and C4E servers. When students access C4E content in Blackboard for the first time, they are required to provide a previously purchased course registration code. This registration is not handled by a third party.
- Is HTTPS being used to transmit data between Black board and the Connect For Education integration?
Yes, all LTI integrations are transmitted via https.
- What data is being passed between Blackboard and Connect For Education's servers? ( what user info, grades, etc.)
The following User fields are sent:
Role in Course
Name (Full Name)
Email Address
- What data is stored by Connect For Education? ( e.g. what user info, grades, activity )
The following data is stored by Connect For Education:
- First name
- Last name
- Email
- Grades
- Activity
- What piece of user information ties a user’s Blackboard account to records in the Connect For Education integration? ( e.g. email address, numeric ID )
Based upon privacy settings in the LTI setup, a unique username is generated when the user first enters via LTI. The user’s email address along with their userID and Full Name help connect the user accounts in both platforms.
- How is data stored by the vendor being protected and secured? (FERPA is being complied with, data is being removed when no longer needed, etc. )
"FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students." Connect For Education serves higher education, where students are largely above the age of 18. In any case, all academic information of students taking Connect For Education courses is governed by the FERPA rules published at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html and FERPA implementation of those rules at the school where the student is taking the Connect For Education published course. Our FERPA policy is part of our Privacy Policy published at https://connect4education.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Website_PrivacyPolicy.pdf
- Is the vendor willing to add/modify Terms of Service/EULA amendments to ensure practices acceptable to our school?
Yes, Connect For Education is willing to add/modify Terms of Service/EULA amendments to ensure practices acceptable to your school.
- Does the Connect For Education integration use other IMS Global standards? ( e.g. Common Cartridge, Caliper, QTI, APIP )
Our application is recognized by IMS Global as complying with LTI v1.0.
See: https://www.imsglobal.org/compliance/c4elink.
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