.. _introduction:

Introduction
============

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What is Blocks by Aulasneo?
---------------------------

**Blocks by Aulasneo** is a hosted *LTI Advantage tool platform*. It lets you add rich,
interactive learning activities — AI tutors, AI expert chats, graded multiple-choice and
free-text assignments, and more — to any LMS that supports the LTI 1.3 standard, including
Moodle, Open edX, Canvas, Blackboard, and D2L.

Instead of building and hosting your own LTI tool, you connect your LMS to Blocks once and then
add as many activities as you need. Instructors select and author activities from inside their
LMS course, and learners launch them seamlessly without leaving the course.

Why LTI 1.3?
------------

`LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) <https://www.imsglobal.org/activity/learning-tools-interoperability>`_
is the standard that lets an LMS securely embed external tools. LTI 1.3 / LTI Advantage adds:

* **Secure launches** — cryptographically signed, OIDC-based handshakes between your LMS and
  Blocks, so learner identity and course context arrive safely.
* **Deep Linking** — instructors pick and configure a Blocks activity from within the LMS, and
  the LMS stores a link back to it.
* **Assignment & Grade Services (AGS)** and **Names & Role Provisioning (NRPS)** — the
  foundation for grade passback and roster awareness.

Blocks implements this foundation once, so every activity you add inherits secure launches and
Deep Linking without extra configuration.

Key Concepts
------------

The following concepts are central to working with Blocks.

**Workspace**
   Your team's home in Blocks. Everything you create — platform connections, knowledge bases,
   billing, and team members — belongs to a workspace (also called a *tenant*). See
   :ref:`workspace_overview`.

**Platform**
   A registered connection to one LMS (for example, your Moodle or Open edX site). A platform
   holds the trust configuration that lets that LMS launch Blocks activities. See
   :ref:`integrations`.

**Deployment**
   A specific instance of your tool within a platform. Some LMSs issue one deployment per site;
   others issue several. See :ref:`integrations`.

**Tool**
   A type of activity Blocks can present — for example *AI Tutor*, *Multiple Choice*, or
   *Free Text*. See :ref:`tools_overview`.

**Tool Instance**
   A single configured activity created when an instructor uses Deep Linking. It stores the
   activity's content and settings and is reused every time learners launch that LMS link. See
   :ref:`deep_linking`.

**Knowledge Base**
   A collection of source documents that AI tools can draw on to answer questions, generate
   content, or grade submissions. See :ref:`knowledge_bases`.

**Credits**
   The unit Blocks uses to meter AI usage. Your subscription plan includes a monthly credit
   allowance, and you can buy additional one-time credit packs. See :ref:`billing`.

The Roles Involved
------------------

A typical Blocks deployment involves several people:

* **Workspace owner / admin** — registers LMS platforms, manages the team, configures knowledge
  bases, and handles billing from the Blocks workspace.
* **Instructor** — works inside the LMS. Adds Blocks activities to courses via Deep Linking,
  authors their content, and reviews learner submissions.
* **Learner** — launches and completes activities from inside their LMS course.
* **LMS administrator** — performs the one-time trust setup that connects the LMS to Blocks.

How It Fits Together
--------------------

1. A workspace **admin** registers an LMS platform in Blocks and completes the trust setup in
   the LMS (see :ref:`integrations`).
2. An **instructor** adds a Blocks activity to a course using **Deep Linking**, choosing the tool
   type and authoring its content (see :ref:`deep_linking`).
3. **Learners** launch the activity from the course and interact with it; graded tools record
   results and AI usage is metered against your **credits**.
4. The instructor reviews submissions and grades, and the admin monitors usage and billing from
   the workspace.

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