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First, make sure you have a compatible web server on which to install the LTK. For help setting up a compatible web server, consult our web server setup guide.

Then, download the latest version of the LTK software and the LTK Administrator Guide from the LTK's download site:

The LTK Administrator Guide  will help you perform the installation.

ATTENTION

If this is your first upgrade since March 2013, February 2010, or August 2009 then please read and understand the notices near the end of this section before upgrading.

System Requirements

Please ensure that your version of MySQL is greater than 4.1 and that your PHP is at least version 5.2.17 before upgrading.

How to Upgrade

This document is for users who are upgrading from a previous version of the LTK. If this is your first time installing you don't need this document. If you are trying to upgrade from ePEARL version 2.0, read the file: ReadMe-How to upgrade from ePEARL version 2

No Data will be Lost

When you update ePEARL or the LTK student portfolios *will not* be lost or changed. All data that was present before the update will be present after the update.

Please be aware that users who change ePearl levels *will not* lose their work but they can only access artifacts that they have presented/archived from previous levels.

Backup Before Upgrading

Follow the steps found in How do I backup my LTK installation? to make a backup of your installation.

Upgrading (Step by Step)
0. Assumptions

The following assumptions are made in these instructions. If your situation differs from these assumptions, you should modify the steps accordingly.

  • A complete backup of the installation has been performed before proceeding with these steps.
  • The installation folder containing the package files is called 'ltk'.
  • PHP and MySQL versions meet the LTK required minimums (PHP 5.2.17+, MySQL 4.1+)
1. Download the latest version of the LTK from here:

http://grover.concordia.ca/ltk/download-site/

*NOTE: LTK upgrades happen regularly. Only download the latest version right before you update. If you've downloaded it earlier, please make sure it is still the most recent.

2. Prepare the LTK installation package folder.
  1. Rename the current 'ltk' folder to 'ltk_old' and create a new (empty) folder 'ltk'.
  2. Alternatively, you can *create* the folder 'ltk_old' instead, and *move* all the contents from 'ltk' into 'ltk_old'.
  3. Even if you have a complete backup already, we are not deleting the old package files yet because we'll be needing the config file.
  4. The 'ltk' folder should now be empty, while the 'ltk_old' folder should now contain the old package files.
3. Unzip the latest version and *replace* the 'ltk' folder.
  • Make sure all the files and folders are under "ltk/" and NOT under "ltk/ltk/".
4. Copy the following file from 'ltk_old' into 'ltk'.
  • config.php
  • NOTE: Make sure you put it in the right folder! (i.e. copy "ltk_old/config.php" into "ltk/config.php")
  • NOTE: Do not copy any other files!
  • NOTE: Yes, you want to overwrite the old file that has the same name.
  • NOTE: You no longer need to copy portal_config.php or your schoolboard logo (see "ATTENTION" below)
5. Open the LTK in a browser.

Open a browser and navigate to the ltk. It will probably be at 'http://mysever.com/ltk/'.

If database changes are needed, you will be taken to LTK Setup. At the bottom of the page you will see a purple box with an "Upgrade Now" button. Click the button to upgrade. After the upgrade is complete, click "Welcome to the LTK" to return to the login screen. You should log in as the admin user to confirm that everything still works as expected. You're done!

If no database changes are included in the upgrade then you will be taken to the login screen. You should log in as the admin user to confirm that everything still works as expected. That's it!

It is now safe to delete the 'ltk_old' folder. However, if you created a complete backup before upgrading, it is recommended to keep that in an archive somewhere.

ATTENTION: First Upgrade Since March 2013?

If this is your first upgrade since March of 2013, if secondary schools in your district have been using Level 3 of ePEARL, please inform these students and teachers that they should send their old artifacts to the Presentation folder if they wish to keep them.

If students have already created new artifacts in the current school term, this upgrade can be done once the school term is over.

ATTENTION: First Upgrade Since February 2010?

If this is your first upgrade since February 15th of 2010, you have might have two more steps to do after upgrading.

  1. If you had installed a custom schoolboard logo: 
    From the Main Menu of the Admin environment, choose the LTK Settings section and then click the "Your Logo" tab. Upload your schoolboard logo into this section.
  2. If some of your users are logging in from a portal: 
    From the Main Menu of the Admin environment, choose the LTK Settings section, and then click the "Portal Login" tab. Activate portal login links and customize the settings. Once complete, copy the link shown under "Here is your code" and update the link used to connect from your portal.
ATTENTION: First Upgrade Since August 2009?

If this is the first time you are upgrading since August or January of 2009, you will also have to recopy your connection information from your old config file into the new one after upgrading.

  1. Open the files ltk/config.php and ltk/xtras/config.default.php
  2. Copy the contents of config.default.php and overwrite the contents of config.php.
  3. Open config.php from your old installation ltk_old/config.php
  4. Manually copy the mysql login inforamation from ltk_old/config.php to ltk/config.php
  5. Close ltk_old/config.php and save ltk/config.php.
  6. Log in as the admin user to confirm that everything is working.
Troubleshooting

If you have any questions, email help.ltk@concordia.ca.

A complete backup includes the package files, the filestore files, and the database.

Step 1 - Setting up the Archive:
  1. Make a new folder on your desktop called "ltk_archive"
Step 2 - Archiving the Database:

To backup the database, the recommended method is to use the mysqldump command line tool as follows:
mysqldump -u root -p [database_name] > filename.sql
e.g. to backup a database named epearl into a file called epearl.sql, enter the command as follows:
mysqldump -u root -p epearl > epearl.sql

Move the database backup into the archive folder on your desktop.

Step 3 - Archiving Files:

The filestore files are where attachments and such are stored. If you aren't sure where your filestore is located, you can check through the LTK admin interface: 'LTK Settings' -> 'Filestores'

  1. Find the filestore folder
  2. Copy this folder into the archive folder on your desktop (Be careful to copy it and not to move it!)
  3. This will take several minutes.
Step 4 - Archiving the LTK Application:

The package files are the LTK application files within your webroot (most likely in a folder called 'ltk')

  1. Find the folder which is the root of the LTK.
  2. Copy this folder into the archive folder on your desktop (Be careful to copy it and not to move it!)
  3. This will take several minutes.
Step 5 - Date-stamping the Archive:

Make sure the ltk_archive contains 3 items:

  1. The exported database file
  2. The filestore fodler
  3. The LTK code folder

Add the current date to the beginning of the folder name using this format "YYYY MM DD".
Your folder should now be named something like "2011 07 12 ltk_archive"
If you wish, compress the archive - note that may take a long time.

Once per year, CSLP researchers require that our research partners provide an archived copy of their LTK/ePEARL student data for the twelve. The procedure to archive and send us this data is below. We hope to receive research data ASAP after it has been requested as we will need prepare research reports for our funders shortly thereafter.

Note that even though the complete database will be copied, only student portfolios for which we have parental consent will be accessed. Researchers will have a separate installation for every client who sends us their data.

Researchers will then be able to go into the installation of their choice, log in as any student for which they have received consent and consult their portfolio.

Archiving Research Data
Step 1. Setting up the Archive:
  1. Make a new folder on your desktop called "NNNN_ltk_research_YYYY"
  2. Replace "NNNN" with the acronym or short-name of your organization
  3. Replace "YYYY" with the current four-digit year.
  4. Your folder name should end up looking like: "cslp_ltk_research_2014"
Step 2. Backing up your installation into the archive folder:
  1. Follow the steps to make a backup of your installation: How do I backup my LTK installation?
  2. Use the folder you already created in step 1 to store backup files in.
Step 3. Compressing the Archive from Step 2.

Make sure the ltk_archive contains 3 items:

  1. The exported database file
  2. The filestore fodler
  3. The LTK code folder

Then Zip the whole archive by right-clicking (cntrl-click on mac) and selecting "send to > compressed folder" ("Create Archive" on mac)

Step 4. Make you data archive available for download, and tell us where it is.

Place your data archive somewhere that can be accessed from the web: 
(ex. http://mydown.com/cslp_ltk_research_2014.zip)

Email the URL of the file to help.ltk@concordia.ca so we can download it.

Step 1. Make sure you've installed the "Full Version" of the LTK

Make sure you've installed the "Full Version" of the LTK, and not the "LTK-Lite Version". If you are using the wrong version, download the latest version of the LTK ("Full Version") and upgrade your installation.

The latest version of the LTK is always available on the LTK Download Site, here: http://grover.concordia.ca/ltk/download-site/

Step 2. Turn on the ABRA application for the LTK.
  1. Log in to the LTK as the "admin" user.
  2. Click on the "LTK Settings" section.
  3. Click on the "LTK Applications" tab.
  4. Click the "Install ABRA" button and then follow instructions. 
    (note: you will be instructed to create an empty database using phpMyAdmin or the command line)
  5. After installation is complete, return to the "LTK Applications" tab and click the "Turn ABRA On" button, if needed.
Step 3. Give some schools the permission to use ABRA.
  1. ABRA is now turned on for the LTK, but it still needs to be turned on for specific schools.
  2. Using the "admin" user click on the "Schools, Classes, Students, Teachers" section.
  3. From the list of schools, click the edit pencil icon for one of the schools you would like to have use ABRA access.
  4. Check the "School can use ABRA" checkbox and then click the "Save & Close" button.
  5. Repeat for any other schools that will be using ABRA.

Login as the administrator and proceed to LTK Settings -> Portal Login

Follow the instructions on the page to enable portal login links.

As of LTK version 2.02, the Admin password can be reset using a setting in the LTK configuration file. If you are using version LTK 2.01 or earlier, please upgrade first. If you are using LTK 2.02 or newer, follow these steps:

  1. Open the LTK configuration file in a text editor (ltk/config.php)
  2. Add this new setting: 'admin_password' => 'newpassword',
  3. Make sure that all settings end with a comma. (The comma after the last setting is optional.)
  4. Save the configuration file and then log in as admin with your new admin password. (Your admin password has now been reset).
  5. Re-open the LTK configuration file and remove the setting for 'admin_password'.

The minimum server and client requirements for hosting an LTK installation can be found in the LTK Administrator guide. This guide can be downloaded from the LTK Download Site here: 
http://grover.concordia.ca/ltk/download-site/

If you require assistance setting up a compatible web server, consult our web server setup guide.

The latest version of the LTK software and it's guides are always available on the LTK Download Site.

If you have additional questions of any nature, please send and email to: 
help.ltk@concordia.ca

Please follow to normal LTK upgrade instructions: How do I upgrade the LTK?

Note: File path names will be slightly different. Instead of your existing installation being in a "ltk" folder it will be in an "epearl" folder.

Be sure to follow the additional upgrade instructions:

  • "ATTENTION: First Upgrade Since February 2010?"
  • "ATTENTION: First Upgrade Since August 2009?"
Troubleshooting

If you have any questions, email help.ltk@concordia.ca.

We recommend a memory limit of 128M for LTK installations. We also recommend memory limit of 512M for users performing a GPI import. GPI users can turn the memory limit back to 128M after they completed their import.

You must edit the php.ini file in order to increase your memory limit. This file can be located in different places depending on your OS and how you installed PHP. The following assumes you have followed the server guide (http://grover.concordia.ca/ltk/download-site/server_guide/)

Windows
  1. Open php.ini for editing located at
    C:\PHP\php.ini

  2. Make the following changes:
    Search for: memory_limit
    Change this line to: memory_limit = ???M
    where ??? is the number in MB that you want to change the memory limit
MacOS
  1. Open php.ini for editing located at
    /private/etc/php.ini

  2. Make the following changes:
    Search for: memory_limit
    Change this line to: memory_limit = ???M
    where ??? is the number in MB that you want to change the memory limit
Linux
  1. Find the location of your php.ini using the following command from the command line php -i | grep 'php.ini'
    And open the file for editing

  2. Make the following changes:
    Search for: memory_limit
    Change this line to: memory_limit = ???M
    where ??? is the number in MB that you want to change the memory limit
Troubleshooting

If you have any questions, email help.ltk@concordia.ca.

Please note that while the LTK tools can be used on Flash-compatible tablets, they have not yet been adapted or optimized for this medium. Purchasing and installing the Puffin browser ($3.99) makes ABRACADABRA and more of ePEARL functional on iPad and android tablets.

We highly recommend installing the LTK on a server if you want to serve multiple users on the same machine (see the server guide). If however you want to install the LTK on a machine for local use only, you can follow these steps:

Windows
  1. Download and install WampServer: http://www.wampserver.com/en/
  2. Download the LTK from: http://grover.concordia.ca/ltk/download-site/
  3. Extract the contents of the LTK zip folder into your webroot (most likely C:\wamp\www) and rename the folder "ltk".
  4. Visit http://localhost/ltk on the machine with WampServer running and follow the LTK installation instructions.
Mac OS

Before begining, make sure that you have admin privileges on the computer you will be installing the LTK on (required for MAMP).

  1. Download MAMP:
    1. Visit: www.mamp.info/en/downloads
    2. Click Download for "MAMP & MAMP PRO 3.0.5"
    3. Note that this includes both the free version MAMP and a trail version of the paid version of MAMP. You will only need to use the free version.
    4. Save the package (.pkg) to your computer (this may take some time)

  2. Install the MAMP package:
    1. Double click on the downloaded .pkg file
    2. Click "Continue"
    3. Click "Continue"
    4. Click "Continue" and click "Agree" on the popup
    5. Make sure "Install for all users of this computer" is selected and click "Continue"
    6. Click "Install" and enter your authentication
    7. After the installer is complete, clicl "Close"

  3. Start MAMP automatically:
    1. Open "System Preferences"
    2. Click on "Users & Groups"
    3. Click on "Login Items"
    4. Click the "+" to add and item
    5. Search for and select the MAMP Application (be sure not to select the "MAMP PRO").
    6. Click "Add"

  4. Adjust MAMP settings:
    1. In spotlight search for "MAMP" and open the Application 
      (Optional) pin MAMP to your dock. To do so, right click on the MAMP icon in the dock -> options -> Keep in Dock 
    2. Deselected "Check for MAMP PRO when starting MAMP" and click "Launch MAMP"
    3. Click on "Preferences"
    4. Click on "Ports" from the menu
      • Click on "Set Apache & MySQL ports to 80 & 3306"
    5. Click on "Start/Stop" from the menu
      • Check "Start Servers when starting MAMP"
      • Check "Stop Servers when quitting MAMP"
      • Uncheck "Check for MAMP PRO when starting MAMP"
      • Check "At startup open" and edit the value to be "/ltk/"
    6. Click "OK"

  5. Restart the computer. 

  6. Install the LTK:
    1. Download the LTK from http://grover.concordia.ca/ltk/download-site/
    2. Extract the folder into "/Applications/MAMP/htdocs/" and rename the folder "ltk"
    3. Visit “localhost/ltk” in a browser to start the LTK installer. Follow steps provided.
      • Note: you will need to create a MySQL database.
        1. Visit "localhost/ltk/phpmyadmin" in a browser.
        2. Login using username "root" and password "root"
        3. Click on "Databases"
        4. Enter "epearl" into the "Create Database" field and click "Create"
      • Note: you will need to modify the config.php file located in the "ltk" folder
        1. Open "Applications/MAMP/htdocs/ltk/config.php" in a text editor
        2. Modify both the username and password to be "root"
      • Note: you will need to create a folder for the filestore.
        1. Create a new folder from finder named "epearl_files" in the "Applications/MAMP/" folder
      • Note: You will be prompted to move "crossdomain.xml" to your webroot. You can do this automatically by clicking "do this automatically"

  7. With the admin user, create student and teacher accounts.
Troubleshooting

If you have any questions, email help.ltk@concordia.ca.

This happens because the LTK is unable to delete your last image. The admin should make sure that web user (or all users) have full permission to modify the epearl_files folder.

This is likely cause by a permission problem on your temporary directory. If you are using windows, modify the permissions on C:/Windows/Temp so that user Everyone has Full Control. Then try uploading again.

You may see “A server error occurred (error 502), please try again in few seconds” while trying to perform a lengthly action, such as importing data from a GPI database. This error usually occurs on Window 2003 servers running the IIS 6 web-server. IIS has a built in "cgi timeout" of 300 seconds (5 minutes). You should be able to eliminate 502 errors by increasing this timeout.

Here's how you how you increase the timeout to 900 seconds (15 minutes):

  1. Open the command prompt (Start Menu > Run > cmd > Enter)
  2. Type: cscript.exe c:/inetpub/adminscripts/adsutil.vbs set w3svc/cgitimeout 900
  3. Hit Enter.

If your web root folder is not is it's default location (c:/inetpub/), you will need to modify step 2 to point to the right location. Furthermore, if you are importing more than 12,000 students, or importing from more than 3 different databases, you may need to increase the time out to more than 15 minutes.

Sometimes, installing connecting to MySQL from PHP, you will see this error:
#1251 - Client does not support authentication protocol requested by server; consider upgrading MySQL client

This error occurs when you are using are using MySQL 4.1+ with an older version of PHP. Thankfully, you don't have to upgrade anything :). Here's how to fix the problem:

  1. Open the command line
  2. run: mysql -u root -p
  3. Hit enter, type your password, hit enter again
  4. run: SET PASSWORD FOR root@localhost = OLD_PASSWORD('mypassword'); (replace mypassword with your root password)
  5. Hit enter. Try again.

This is because the admin has not give your subadmin access to any schools. Get the admin to give you access to at least one school.

Non Research Sites

Technical support: The CSLP software is available at no cost to any school wishing to use it. Users will have access to all the technical CSLP support material and will be placed on a distribution list and notified when revisions to the software have been made. Note, however, that the CSLP cannot provide free technical support to non-research sites.

Our rates for technical support are: 

  • Up to 1 hour (help with basic installation) = $50
  • One-half day (1-3 hours) = $125
  • Per day (three to six hours) = $250

And in the event an on-site visit is required, please add:

  • Travel time (round trip) = $200 half day; $300 day
  • Travel costs = airfare or kilometers, ground costs, accommodations, meals, etc.
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