Skip to main content

Cadmium Elevate LMS Integration Guide

Patrick O'Toole
  • Updated

Connecting your Rhythm instance to your Cadmium Elevate Learning Management System (Elevate LMS) allows your association to use the power of Rhythm’s AMS with the robust course hosting capabilities of Elevate LMS. The integration offers a Single sign-on (SSO) allowing users to have one login for both systems.

Below is a step-by-step guide to set up and test your integration so you have confidence when you go live. Before you begin, please contact a Rhythm team member and your Cadmium point of contact to get started.


What integration options does Cadmium Elevate LMS offer?

Single Sign-On (SSO)
In combination with User Login In integration, this allows Users who are currently logged in on a site belonging to Customer to be logged in on Elevate LMS, and to have their user information updated. Through this integration, Customer’s Users can be recognized by type, which controls specific viewing, pricing, and accessibility options Customer sets. 

Registration API 
Instead of using Elevate LMS’s storefront where Users search, browse, and purchase products on the LMS, this Registration API tool allows the Customer to handle all product descriptions, prices, purchases, and registration confirmations in Rhythm. Registrations can then be pushed from Rhythm into Elevate LMS in real-time. 

Custom Data Push
This integration sends information from Elevate LMS to Rhythm in real-time when a user earns a credit in Elevate.

 

We recommend the SSO and Registration API options to achieve synergy between Rhythm and Elevate LMS.  The Registration API is required to allow course registrations to be shared between Rhythm and Elevate.  You will also need the Custom Data Push integration if you require credit writebacks.  Please work with your Cadmium point of contact to ensure your integration project includes the appropriate options.


What information is needed before setup?

From Rhythm

Before setting up the integration please reach out to your point of contact at Rhythm to ensure the integration has been turned on for your tenant. 

 

From Cadmium

  • API Key
  • Host URL
  • Auth0 Callback URL
    • Developer Site URL (if you are already using Elevate LMS)**, or
    • Production Site URL (if you are setting up Elevate for the first time)
  • Auth0 Logout URL
    • Where users are taken when they log out, this is often the Rhythm Member Portal login page or the Elevate LMS logout page. 

 

What needs to be configured?

The Elevate LMS Registration API must be enabled and the following must be complete to share course registrations information between Rhythm and Elevate. 


Basic Setup in Rhythm

API Keys

The API Keys are needed for Cadmium to establish the SSO between Rhythm and Cadmium. Once this step is complete the link will contain the credentials for Cadmium to establish the connection. After you have sent the information to your Cadmium contact, please add the appropriate Callback and Logout URLs to the API Key. 

 

Note: Rhythm currently uses OAuth2.0 authorization through Auth0 to access the Rhythm API. Your Elevate point of contact can give you information on how to connect with Rhythm through SSO. Please look over our SSO/Authentication guides here: https://docs.api.rhythmsoftware.com/developer-portal/authentication/. 

  1. Go to the Security and Settings app
  2. Click API keys
  3. Click Create API Keys
  4. Enter a name for the API Key
  5. Enter a description of what the key is for
  6. Select the Web SSO option
  7. Click Save Changes
  8. Copy the link that appears and send to your Cadmium point of contact for SSO configuration

Helpful Hint: The Auth0 Callback URL needs to be changed from the Developer Site URL to the Production Site URL upon go-live.  This can be done in the API Key for the integration.

Integration Setup

In Rhythm go to the Security and Settings app, click Integrations, scroll down to the Learning Management section, click the Cadmium icon, and enter the following information provided by Cadmium:

  1. Host URL
    • If initially using a Development Site URL, it needs to be replaced with the Production Site URL upon go-live.
  2. API Key

 

Course Setup in Rhythm

If your Courses were imported into Rhythm, review the course types, courses, and course offerings that were imported to ensure they are correct. 

  1. Go to the Certifications app
  2. In the left toolbar, click Setup, click Training, click Course Types
  3. Ensure the Course Types you expected to be there are present
  4. In the left toolbar, Click Courses
  5. Click on the hyperlink text for a course that also exists in Elevate LMS
    • If you need assistance creating the product in Elevate, please work with your Cadmium point of contact.
  6. Click Edit Course
    • Ensure the Course Type is correct
    • Ensure that the “Publish this course to the Portal” is checked
    • If nothing needs to be changed, click Cancel. Otherwise, click Save Changes.
  7. Click the Fees tab on the Course, and edit a fee to ensure the fields are correct 
  8. Click “go back” to exit Certifications Setup and return to the Certifications App home page
  9. In the left toolbar, click Courses and then Offerings.
  10. Find a Course Offering for the Course you edited in the previous steps. 
    • If you do not see the Course Offering but expect these to be imported, please reach out to your Rhythm point of contact.
    • If you are creating Course Offerings, please refer to this Knowledge Base article. 
    • Note: if your data import is still in progress, please consult with your Rhythm point of contact before completing this step to ensure no information is lost upon reimport.
  11. Add the Rhythm Course Offering ID as the Remote Product ID on the product in Elevate LMS 
    • For instructions on how to do this in Elevate, reach out to your Cadmium point of contact.

If you are creating Courses directly in Rhythm, follow these steps. 

  1. Set up your Courses in Rhythm following this Knowledge Base article. Please click on the Training link in the table of contents to get started. 
  2. Once your courses are set up, set up your Course Offerings using this Knowledge Base article.

After you have created your course offering, copy the ID of the course offering that is set by clicking Offering Options and ‘Copy ID to Clipboard’. Add the Rhythm Course Offering ID as the Remote Product ID on the product in Elevate LMS.

 

Course Catalog Setup

You can choose to have users browse your course catalog in Rhythm or Elevate LMS.  

Browse Courses in Rhythm

If you want users to browse and select courses in the Rhythm portal, follow these steps to set up the course catalog:

  1. Access the Portals and Microsites
  2. Ensure your site is set to your Member Portal
  3. Click Features on the left side
  4. Click Install a Portal Feature
  5. Select the Browse Training Offering feature
  6. Click Next
  7. Click Install the feature
  8. Click Menus on the left
  9. Edit your main menu
  10. Place the View Course Offering page into your desired menu option
  11. Click Pages
  12. Ensure the View Course Offering page has a status of published

Browse Courses in Elevate 

If you want users to browse and select courses in Elevate LMS, work with your Elevate LMS representative to redirect each course’s “Register Now” button to the corresponding course registration page in Rhythm. 

Two important notes:

  1. If you choose to Browse Courses in Elevate, any user not logged into Elevate when browsing the course catalog will be prompted to log in after clicking “Register Now.”  
  2.  Regardless of where they browse courses, users must purchase their course registrations in Rhythm for the registration to appear in both Rhythm and Elevate LMS.   The integration cannot send a course registration from Elevate LMS back to Rhythm.

 

Credit Setup

If you are recording continuing education (CE) credits from Elevate LMS to Rhythm, ensure that your Cadmium agreement includes the Custom Data Push integration, and follow these steps:

  1. In Elevate, create credit/certificate components in your products with Credits defined
    • Once the credit is created, copy the ID of that credit
    • This ID will be added to the Credit Type in Rhythm
  2. In Rhythm, go to the Certifications app
  3. In the left toolbar, click Setup, click Credits, click Types, click Create Type
    • Enter in a Name for the Credit Type
    • Paste the ID of the credit you made in Elevate LMS
  4. In the left toolbar, click Training, then click Courses
  5. Click the edit icon on the course you want to assign credits to
    • Turn on Automatically Assign Student Certification Credits
    • Enter the Quantity to Assign for your desired credit
    • Click Save Changes
  6. If a particular course offering has more/fewer than the default credits assigned to the course, you can override the credits on the Course Offering
    • From the Certification Overview screen, click Courses, then click Offerings
    • Search for the specific course offering you want to override the credit assignment
    • Click edit on that course offering
    • Turn on Override Certification Credit Assignments
    • Specify how many credits should be assigned

When a user earns credits in Elevate, Elevate will push the following information to Rhythm:

  • User info
    • First name, last name, email, member type, remote user ID
  • Product name
  • Credit Type
  • Number of Credits Earned
  • Date and Time

The credits will appear on the contacts’ Certification 360 screen in Rhythm.  Each credit type defined in Elevate must match a credit type in Rhythm. 

 

Final Setup in Rhythm

Security and Settings

  1. Go to the Security and Settings app, click Integrations, scroll down to the Learning Management section, click the Cadmium icon

  2. Enter the Course Types that should be sent to Rhythm

  3. Save Changes

Portals and Microsites

Confirm that the necessary Portals and Microsites App features are installed.

  1. Go to the Portals and Microsites app
  2. Ensure the Site on the top right says “Member Portal”
  3. In the left toolbar, click Features
  4. Confirm that the Credits, Training & Courses, and Training Provider Administration features are installed

If these features are not installed, follow these steps:

  1. Click the ‘Install a Portal Feature’ button
  2. Select the Target Menu and the Template for these pages
  3. Scroll down to Certifications
  4. Select the Credits, Training & Courses, and Training Provider Administration features
  5. Click Next
  6. Click Install Features

After the installation is complete:

  1. In the left toolbar, click Pages
  2. Ensure that all Pages have a “Published” status

 

How do we test the integration?

Testing Single sign-on

  1. Elevate LMS will provide the "secret" SSO login URL to allow your staff to test and walk through the steps to test with you.
  2. Validate that the SSO works correctly
    • A successful SSO test will link the Rhythm portal login with their existing Elevate LMS user record.  
    • It should not create a new user in Elevate if one already exists
    • It should not create a new contact in Rhythm.  
    • You can confirm this by checking the test users' contact IDs; if they are correct, the test was successful.  If the IDs are incorrect, adjustments are needed before enabling SSO logins. 
  3. Before launching SSO, Elevate may need a spreadsheet of all contacts with their Rhythm Contact ID.  They will use this to update their Remote User ID field to match the Contact ID in Rhythm. 
    • Note: Your Cadmium point of contact will advise if this step applies to your integration.

 

Testing Course Offering Catalog

  1. Select a contact you want to impersonate in the Rhythm portal
  2. From their CRM 360 screen click the login to portal button
  3. Click the View Course Offering menu item
  4. Ensure that the Course Offering you expect appear

 

Testing Course Registration

Before testing, confirm that the Registration API is enabled and the Elevate remote product IDs link to course offerings in Rhythm.

If users are browsing the course catalog in Rhythm, follow these steps:

  1. In Rhythm, access the Certifications App
  2. Click Courses
  3. Click Course Registrations
  4. Click Register for Course
  5. Select a user you have Elevate LMS login credentials for 
  6. Complete the course registration
  7. Log into Elevate LMS and confirm the user has the appropriate course registration

If users are browsing the course catalog in Elevate LMS, follow these steps:

  1. Log into Elevate
  2. Search the course catalog in Elevate to locate a course 
  3. Click the "Register Now" button which will direct them to the course offering in  Rhythm
    • If this does not work as expected, confirm the Elevate remote registration URL is the registration URL link in Rhythm
  4. Register for the course in Rhythm
  5. Verify the course registration was successful in Rhythm
  6. Verify the user can access the course content in Elevate
  7. Complete the course in Elevate

If you allow users to browse the course catalog in Elevate without logging in, repeat the steps above without logging into Elevate to confirm that experience.

 

Testing Course Credit Write Backs

If you want to track course credits earned in Elevate LMS on the users’ record in Rhythm, confirm the Data Push integration is enabled and follow these steps:

  1. Log into Elevate LMS as a test user who has a contact record in Rhythm
  2. As the test user, complete a product that includes a credit component
  3. Now that credits have been earned in Elevate, log into Rhythm
  4. Access the test user’s Certification 360 screen 
  5. Click on the Credits tab to see the Credit Type and the number of credits earned from completing the course/exam

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will the courses I create in Elevate LMS automatically appear in Rhythm?
A: No.  You must create the Course and the Course Offering in Rhythm. Creating a course (product) in Elevate will not auto-create it in Rhythm. They must be connected through a Remote Product ID.  Your project scope may include an initial data import of courses into Rhythm.

Q: How do I connect a course in Rhythm to an Elevate LMS product?

A: When you create a new product to sell in Elevate, you can specify a “Remote Product ID”. By filling this field with the ID of any Course Offering you have created in Rhythm, the course in Rhythm will be linked to the product in Elevate LMS.   Now, when Elevate receives the course registration from Rhythm, it knows which product in Elevate the user should receive.

 

Q: What’s the difference between a Course and a Course Offering in Rhythm?  Why do we need both?

A:  Rhythm’s course feature was built to handle virtual and in-person courses with multiple offerings.  For example, an "Accounting 101" course could have various offerings: 

  • Accounting 101 at 9 am Monday, and
  • Accounting 101 at 1 pm Tuesday   

Course offerings allow you to track registration for each time slot.   However, many organizations have only one time for a course.  In this case, you still need to create one course offering.

 

Q: Can we purchase courses in Elevate instead of in Rhythm?

A:  If you would like course registrations to appear in Rhythm and Elevate, courses must be purchased in Rhythm. Users can browse for the course in Elevate and be redirected to Rhythm to purchase, or users can browse for the course and buy the course in Rhythm.  In both scenarios, users will go to Elevate to access course content.

 

Q: What happens when a user registers for a course in Rhythm?

A: Once a member has registered for a course and completed the payment requirements for registration fulfillment in the Rhythm Member Portal, the registration information is automatically sent to Elevate.  Since the user will be logging in using their Rhythm credentials in Elevate, they will have access to the LMS content. Please note that this only applies when using the Cadmium Registration API integration option.

 

Q: What if a course someone purchased in Rhythm does not appear in Elevate LMS?

A: First, confirm that the Cadmium Registration API option is enabled.  Second, ensure the Course Type is defined in the Security and Settings app. Third, ensure that the course offering in Rhythm is also in Elevate LMS. Finally, check that the Course Offering ID in Rhythm and Remote Product ID in Elevate LMS match.

 

Q: Why are users directed to the Rhythm course catalog instead of the course registration page in Rhythm, when they’ve already selected the course they need in Elevate?

A: If users browse courses in Elevate LMS, ensure the Elevate “Register Now” button is configured correctly.  If users do not sign in before selecting the course they want to register for in Elevate, ensure the Rhythm URL redirect after login is working properly.

 

Q: What happens if the order is canceled in Rhythm?

A: When an order that contains linked course fees is canceled in Rhythm, the user is automatically unregistered for the corresponding product in Elevate. If the member logs into Elevate, they can no longer access the related LMS content.

 

Q: Why do users see a strange page or get an error page after logging out of Elevate LMS?

A:  If users are not redirected to the appropriate page upon logout, verify your Auth0 Logout URL with your Rhythm point of contact.

 

Q: Do I need a course fee in Rhythm if the course is free?

A: Yes, a course fee in Rhythm is required.

 

Q: How can my staff log in to Elevate once the SSO is in place?

A: Once the Elevate SSO is in place, you need to create new Rhythm portal logins for your staff.  Then, they can log into Elevate with those credentials via SSO.  A staff member with Admin permissions in Elevate can then assign the other staff Admin permissions.

 

Q: Are credits earned in Elevate written back to Rhythm?

A: Optionally, yes. In Elevate you can define the credits a user can earn by completing a product. If the Credit Type you define in Elevate matches the ID of an existing Credit Type you created in Rhythm, then new credit records are created in Rhythm when the user is awarded the credit in Elevate.  Please note that this only applies when using the Cadmium Custom Data Push integration option.

Related articles

Comments

0 comments

Article is closed for comments.