Linking Your Reading List to the VLE (Moodle & MyWBS)

Talis Aspire can integrate with multiple different Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) such as Moodle and Blackboard (on which MyWBS is built) to make it easier for students to access all the resources needed for their modules.

In order for either integration to work, your reading list on Talis Aspire must be published and with the correct module code and the correct time period assigned to it.
The academic year and module code should be displayed in the details under the list title.

Moodle Integration

There are two different ways that you can integrate your Talis Aspire reading list into your Moodle space for your module: by embedding the list/sections, and by using the Reading List Block feature. The integrations can be used individually or jointly, as preferred.

Reading List Block

When enabled, the Reading List Block feature resides in the right-hand block drawer of the Moodle space. It pulls through the title of the reading list and the direct link to it, as well as the number of items on the list and when it was last updated. Clicking on the link will leave the Moodle space and take users directly to the reading list on Talis Aspire in the same browser tab.

To set up the reading list block on your Moodle space:

Turn on Edit mode and press the button “+ Add a block” as it appears in the right-hand block drawer.

A screen grab indicating to switch Moodle to editing mode before choosing at Add a block

From the resulting 'Add a block' window, select “Reading List (Talis Aspire)”.

A screen grab showing which Moodle bock option to select for Reading Lists

The block should appear instantly and pull through your reading list link along with the other list details described above, provided that your list has been Published on Talis Aspire.

A screen grab showing the reading list block successfully added to the right-hand drawer of the Moodle space.

Embedding your List or List Sections

In addition to the Reading List Block, you can embed your whole reading list or a specific section of it into any section of your Moodle space. Clicking on the resource link will open the embedded list within the Moodle interface itself, rather than taking users out of Moodle and onto the Talis platform.

From the 24/25 cycle, Moodle@Warwick will be running Talis Aspire's Learning Tool Interoperability 1.3 (aka LTI 1.3) which uses Deep Links to embed your whole list or sections of your list into the corresponding Moodle space.

If you have used the embedding feature in the past (pre-24/25 cycle), there is a slight chance you may need to set fresh links for some sections. However you should only need to reset these manually once as the Deep Links will follow the rollover path or maintain the existing links.

This means that once reset, the links to embedded sections should rollover along with the rest of the Moodle space and the Talis Aspire reading list, requiring little to no relinking on your part!

Structure your Moodle space as desired with different sections so that a table of contents appears in the left-hand column. It will be easiest to embed specific sections of your reading list into specific sections of the Moodle space if you structure the two in a similar fashion.

Once you have even a basic structure set up within the Moodle space, you can start to embed the Talis reading list:

Turn on ‘Edit’ mode so that you can make changes to the Moodle space.
From the left-hand column (which acts like a table of contents), click on the title of the section where you would like to embed the whole list or part of the list.

A screen grab showing how to turn on editing mode and select the appropriate section of the Moodle space from the table of contents.

The chosen section will now open and you should see the "+" button appear. Click this button and then select “Activity or resource” to launch a menu of activities and resources you can embed.

A screen grab showing how to add an activity of resource to the Moodle centre pane of a particular section.

From the menu, under the 'All' tab, select "Reading List" which features the teal Talis Aspire logo and looks just like the symbol for the bookmarking extension button.

A screen grab showing the Reading Lists activity which can be embeded.

Next press the “Select Content” button and search for your module by code or name.

A screen grab showing the Select Content button for selecting which reading list to embed.

Select whether you would like to embed a specific section or the whole list.

A screen grab showing the button options to embed part or all of your reading list.

If you choose to embed a specific section, you will be presented with a page showing the different sections and subsections on your Talis reading list. Press the Embed Section button next to the section you would like to embed.

A screen grab showing the different sections of a selected Talis Aspire reading list that can be embedded into the Moodle space.

You’ll be taken back to the previous screen where your activity name will b pre-populated with reading list section name.
Click Save and return to course at the bottom of the page.

A screen grab showing a confirmation of the reading list section to be embedded into the Moodle space.

Your reading list section will now appear embedded in the relevant Moodle section.

A screen grab showing the newly embedded reading list section within the Moodle space.

Please remember to click the toggle to turn off 'Editing' mode in Moodle when you are done with your changes.

My.WBS Integration

Similarly to Moodle, you can easily integrate your Talis Aspire reading list into your My.WBS page for your module.

Embedding you reading list onto your My.WBS module page:

In your browser of choice, open two tabs: your Talis Aspire reading list and your My.WBS page for the module
Copy the URL for your Talis list from the browser address bar of that tab. It should look something like https://rl.talis.com/3/warwick/lists/9D47879F-075E-7BFB-9C18-494056562723.htmlLink opens in a new window, which is the link to the list used for the screen grabs for this guide, as an example.

A screen grab showing where to copy the Talis Aspire reading list URL from.

You can now close the Talis reading list browser tab as you will not need it in the steps to follow.
Now on the My.WBS module page, navigate to the 'Module information' section and select "Edit".

A screen grab showing the edit button in a MyWBS space.

Next select the ‘Reading List’ tab.

A screen grab showing he Reading List tab within the MyWBS modue space.

Scroll to the bottom of this tab and paste in the copied URL of your Talis reading list into the ‘Talis Reading list’ subsection.

Click on the blue tick to save your changes.

A screen grab showing where to paste the Talis reading list URL into MyWBS.

The list will then be embedded on your module page. It is visible to students in two locations:

via the ‘Reading List’ tab in the 'Module Information' section

A screen grab showing the Reading List tab in MyWBS where students can view the embedded list.

from the ‘Reading List’ menu found under the 'Resources' tab at the top of the module page

A screen grab showing the Reading List section within the Resources menu in MyWBS where students can view the embedded list.

As with Moodle, please note that embedded lists and their content will only pull through to My.WBS for students to view once the list itself is published on the Talis Aspire reading list platform. This is because draft lists are hidden from public view until published.