To begin the integration process with Classter first log in to your Administrator Classter account and search for the Advanced Configurations from the Configuration section.
Then, click on the Third-Party Integrations tab, and you will find Moodle (Figure 6).
A new window will pop up, and you will see some important fields that you must customize with some settings for everything to work properly.
Figure 6
Understanding the Basics
Starting at the top with the Use Moodle field:
We, at Classter, suggest for your convenience to have a new or an empty Moodle account, so you can select Enable Full Moodle Integration and enjoy the automatic process of merging Classter with Moodle (Figure 7).
Figure 7
Next, we are going to explain in detail what exactly each field you see is (Figure 7):
URL
Input your whole Moodle page URL that you want to integrate with.
(Example https://moodle.classter.com/)
Moodle Version
Here you select the version of the Moodle that you are using, we at Classter suggest you use the latest version available from the dropdown list, if your Moodle version is a higher version than the one available please contact support@classter.com.
Token
This field is generated after you install the Classter Plugin at your Moodle account.
(More details further down)
Keep Previous Subjects
This check box is if you want to keep your previous Subjects or to delete them.
Plugin
This button downloads the Classter Plugin that is required if you want to merge Classter and Moodle together successfully.
Downloading and installing the Classter Plugin
When you press the Download Classter Plugin button, a file named classterauth.zip will be downloaded automatically to your Downloads folder.
After downloading it, go to your Moodle account page and log in as an Administrator and follow the instructions below. (Figure 8)
Note: You need to have the administrator account for your institution’s Moodle account.
Tip: If you encounter any problems with the Integration, feel free to contact our support team at any time!
Figure 8
After clicking on the Install Plugins button, a new window will come up with some steps to follow to correctly install the Classter Plugin (Figure 8).
At the new window, click to Choose a File and a small new window will pop up with some options to choose from (see Figure 9).
Figure 9
Here you can find and click on the Upload a File option, then the Choose File button and a small new window will pop up, so you can find and select the .zip file that you downloaded before with name classterauth.zip. (Figure 10).
Figure 10
Having followed the steps up to here and if everything went correctly, you should be able to find and select and upload the file to Moodle, so the integration can continue. Select the zip file (classterauth.zip) as seen in Figure 11.
Figure 11
Make sure you selected the correct file and press Upload File.
The upload should be almost instantaneous, but it always depends on your internet speed connection. (Figure 12).
Figure 12
After clicking on the Install plugin from the ZIP file, a new window with many details will come up, do not worry, none of that is what we will discuss today. (Figure 13)
Tip: To learn more about the fields that came up with installing this new plugin, contact our support team!
Figure 13
After scrolling to the bottom of the page, you must find and click on the Continue button (Figure 14).
Figure 14
When the new window comes up, press Upgrade Moodle database now (Figure 15).
Tip: To learn more about plugin updates, contact our support team!
Figure 15
Many more settings will come up, all these settings are very important to you if you want to have a customized plugin experience.
Tip: To learn more about the settings that came up with installing this new plugin, contact our support team!
If you like the default settings, just press Save Settings (Figure 16).
Figure 16
If everything went well so far, you should be redirected to the Dashboard of your Moodle Page.
Setting up the plugin correctly
After that go again at Site Administration, Plugins, and then Plugins overview. (Figure 17).
Figure 17
Here, search for Classter Authentication at the Authentication methods section and click Settings (Figure 18).
Figure 18
This step is crucial and if you skip it, you will never be able to connect Moodle and Classter together.
First, change the Enabled checkbox to active.
Then at this stage, you must create a ticket and ask our support team (support@classter.com) to send you the corresponding App ID and App Secret of your Classter.
You should also include your Moodle Domain and your Classter Domain in your ticket to our support team to get your App ID and App Secret without delay!
Tip: Remember, the correct form to send our support team your Domain names is like this:
https://your-classter-domain-name.classter.com/
https://moodle.your-moodle-domain-name.com/
When you get your codes, put them in the appropriate fields and press Save Changes. (Figure 19)
Figure 19
Moving on with the authentication, follow the path: Plugins / Authentication / Manage Authentication
Figure 19a
Make sure that Classter authentication is enabled as shown below.
Figure 19b
After completing all the above steps successfully, navigate back to Site Administration to the Plugins Tab and find Web services and click it (Figure 20).
Figure 20
In Web Services window, you will encounter 10 steps for setting up the Integration.
We at Classter recommend you use the default settings, so that means you only need to complete 5 of 10 steps. (Figure 21)
Tip: Steps 3, 4 and 7 are optional, these steps configure specific users with specific services for specific Moodle scenarios.
Figure 21
Starting from the top, click on Enable web services and in the new window find Enable Web Services check box tick to enable it and click Save Changes (Figure 22).
Figure 22
Second from the top, you need to find Enable Protocols and click on it. There you will see 3 Protocols with an Enable field that has an eye icon as a checkbox. Tick the REST protocol eye check box to enable it.
The other two checkboxes will not be needed at the moment, so leave them disabled (Figure 23).
Figure 23
After completing step 1 and step 2, find the field named Select a service and click on it. There you will see a small blue button named Add at the bottom left.
After clicking on the Add button (Figure 24) you will be redirected to the External Service window where you will create a new Service, so you can use all Classter functions that are required for the Integration and Synchronization to work correctly.
Figure 24
To create the new Service, simply choose a name, check the Enabled checkbox, and click Add Service (Figure 25).
Figure 25
After correctly following the 3 previous steps, it’s time to add some Functions to your newly created Service (Figure 26).
Figure 26
At the new window that you see, click the Add functions button (Figure 26) and a new window will come up (Figure 27).
At the search, field press left click one time and start typing all the following Functions, once all are typed in and shown above with blue boxes, press Add Functions to save them (Figure 27).
Figure 27
Functions necessary to add
- core_course_create_categories
- core_course_create_courses
- core_course_delete_categories
- core_course_delete_courses
- core_course_duplicate_course
- core_course_get_categories
- core_course_get_courses
- core_course_import_course
- core_course_search_courses
- core_course_update_categories
- core_course_update_courses
- core_enrol_get_users_courses
- core_group_add_group_members
- core_group_add_members
- core_group_assign_grouping
- core_group_create_groupings
- core_group_create_groups
- core_group_delete_group_members
- core_group_delete_groupings
- core_group_delete_groups
- core_group_get_activity_allowed_groups
- core_group_get_activity_groupmode
- core_group_get_course_groupings
- core_group_get_course_groups
- core_group_get_course_user_groups
- core_group_get_group_members
- core_group_get_groupings
- core_group_get_groups
- core_group_unassign_grouping
- core_group_update_groupings
- core_group_update_groups
- core_user_create_users
- core_user_delete_users
- core_user_get_users
- core_user_update_users
- enrol_manual_enrol_users
- enrol_manual_unenrol_users
- mod_assign_get_assignments
- mod_assign_get_submissions
- mod_assign_get_grades
If you followed everything correctly this far you can continue with the last step of the Integration which is the following:
Head to Site Administration one more time, then at the Plugins Tab, once there, search for Web services and click on it. At the new window, click on the Create a token for a user field.
A new window will come up that has some fields with some requirements you need to fill in (Figure 28).
At the Username / User ID field, type your user’s name, probably something like e.g. admin.
At the Service field, select the service you created in the previous steps.
In the IP restriction field it is recommended not to change any settings, and the same for the Valid Until field.
Last click Save Changes to save (Figure 28).
Figure 28
Once you click on Save changes, you will be redirected to the Manage Tokens window (Figure 29), the only thing you need to do is to copy the corresponding Token of the Service that you created in the previous steps and paste it at your Classter Page in the Moodle Token field (Figure 30).
Figure 29
Back at Classter
Classter Platform Path: Dashboard –> Configuration –> Advanced Configuration –> Third Party Integrations Tab –> Moodle button (Figure 30).
Figure 30
Tip: Your Moodle Token is uniquely generated and is very sensitive information.
We at Classter suggest, for your own safety, that you do not share the Token with third party services or people that are not relevant with your Institute.
The final look of your Moodle Settings Page must look something like this (Figure 31):
Figure 31
Tip: Some of the settings you see in the picture may vary slightly from the ones that you have on your platform; it always depends on the date that you read this Manual.
Click on the Save button when you feel that everything is set correctly (Figure 31).