LMS and Gradebook Sync Setup Guide for Moodle 1.3

Packback is compatible for integration with most Learning Management System (LMS) platforms, including Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, and Moodle. This article lays out how to go about setting up your Learning Management System with Packback and our Gradebook Sync feature.

This article will cover the entire setup flow across the following steps: 

• Adding the Packback Tool/Link To Your Learning Management System
• Connecting Your Learning Management System Course to Packback
• Turning on Gradebook Sync
• Setting Up Gradebook Sync for Moodle 1.3

Follow along with instructions below to learn how you can go about enabling the Packback integration in Moodle. 

Step-by-Step Instructions for How to Add Packback to Moodle Home Page

1. Navigate to the top right of your Moodle course page and ensure Edit Mode is toggled on.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the home page and click Add an activity or resource.
   
3. Select the Packback Tool
     - If visible, choose Packback directly.
     - If not, select External Tool from the All Activities tab.
   
4. Name the activity (Ex."Packback").

5. Depending on your previous selection:
       - If you chose "Packback" in Step 3, click Save.
       - If you selected "External Tools" in Step 3, expand the Pre-Configured Tool dropdown. Select Packback, and then click Save.

   Note: If neither Packback nor External Tools appear, please follow the steps below to enable the tool to be available in the activity chooser. 

   1. Navigate to More > LTI External Tools on your course page.
      
   2. On the LTI External Tools page, locate Packback and toggle it on.
      
   3. Follow Steps 1 through 4 above.
       
6. Click on the newly created Packback tool link to begin the community connection process.

Connecting Your Learning Management System Course to Packback

From here, you'll now be able to connect your LMS to a Packback community. If you haven’t added Packback as a tool in your Learning Management System quite yet, you’ll need to do that first in order to complete the connection process. 

Already have a Packback community created?

1. Once you've clicked on the newly created Packback tool in your course, you will see the Learning Management System Setup Wizard.
2. Click Connect next to the community you’d like to connect your LMS course to. 
   
3. To complete the LMS setup process, simply verify that the connection information is correct and Confirm Connection.
4. Your course is now connected to its Packback community!

For more information on enabling Gradebook Sync and setting up assignments, please refer to Turning On Gradebook Sync and Adding Assignments in Packback

Already created a Packback community but don’t see it? It’s possible you created the community under a different email address than is logged into your Learning Management System. In this case, please reach out to our Support team for assistance. You can contact us via email at help@packback.co. 

Still need to create a Packback community to connect to?

1. Click on the newly created Packback link that’s been added to your LMS course. This will initiate the Learning Management System Setup Wizard. 
2. On this page, click Create a New Community and fill out the community details. 
3. Select Save and Continue at the bottom of the page. 

Your course is now connected to its Packback community! 

Turning On Gradebook Sync

If you are hoping to have Packback sync to the gradebook built within Moodle for LTI 1.3, here are the step-by-step instructions for how to accomplish that!

1. Click on "Gradebook Sync" in Packback underneath Professor Tools
2. Confirm your deadlines and posting requirements
3. Turn on Gradebook Sync

Gradebook Sync is now active and you can proceed to create your assignments!

Step-By-Step Instructions for Setting Up Gradebook Sync

1. Before you can set up Gradebook Sync, you'll want to make sure you've added Packback as a tool in your Learning Management System. You can follow along with the instructions above to do so!
2. In your LMS, click the newly created Packback link to access your community.
3. Before you can initiate Gradebook Sync, make sure to confirm that you have your community posting deadlines and grading requirements are set up. If you still need to do so, you can follow our instructions for setting up your grading requirements here
4. Once you’ve confirmed that, you’re ready to setup Gradebook Sync! On the left hand side panel of your community, click Gradebook Sync.
   
5. Here you’ll be asked to confirm your assignment deadlines and posting requirements. Take a moment to scroll through to make sure everything
6. You’ll be asked to set your preferences:
   • Auto = Packback will do the work for you by automatically syncing your gradebook to your LMS after each deadline you’ve set up has passed
   • Manual = You will have the autonomy to send your Packback grades to your LMS at your discretion! 
7. After setting your Gradebook Sync preferences, confirm that everything looks good and click Save Changes.

How does Packback create a grade in my LMS gradebook?

Auto Gradebook Sync

Packback does the work for you! When a deadline passes, our system pushes the grades from your Packback community gradebook into a new column in your LMS gradebook. It’s as simple as that! 

Manual Gradebook Sync

Whenever you’re ready to sync gradebooks, go to your Packback community gradebook by clicking View Gradebook button on the left-hand side panel.

At the top of your gradebook you'll see a Sync Grades button. Click that to initiate the sync. This will create columns for each grading period in your LMS gradebook and will keep everything up-to-date.

Will a student’s grade still sync if they don’t access Packback through the LMS?

Students should only access their community through their LMS. If they are doing so externally (directly through the Packback site), the LMS will be unable to recognize the work they've done.

As long as they are doing that and staying up-to-date with Packback assignments, their grades should be reflected in your LMS gradebook the same way they do in the Packback gradebook when a sync is initiated. 

Having trouble?

If you are running into issues with the above instructions or just have a question, please reach out to our Support Team at help@packback.co.