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BlueSky eLearn Path LMS Integration Guide

Patrick O'Toole
  • Updated

Connecting your Rhythm instance to your Blue Sky eLearn Path Learning Management System (Path LMS) allows your association to use the power of Rhythm’s AMS with the robust course hosting capabilities of Path LMS. The integration offers a Single sign-on (SSO) allowing users to have one login for both systems along with a Registration API and Credit Write backs.

 

What integration options does Path 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 Path 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 Path 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 Path LMS in real-time. 

Activity Write backs
This integration sends information from PathLMS to Rhythm in real-time when a user earns a credit in BlueSky. Please reach out to your Blue Sky eLearn point of contact to ensure this is set up in your instance. 

 

We recommend the SSO and Registration API options to achieve synergy between Rhythm and Path LMS.  The Registration API is required to allow course registrations to be shared between Rhythm and Path LMS.  

 

What information is needed before setup?

From Rhythm

Before setting up the integration please reach out to your Rhythm point of contact to ensure the integration has been enabled.

From Blue Sky eLearn

Before setting up the integration, you will need to create an account with Blue Sky eLearn. You will also need the following information:

  • Allowed Callback URL
    • Before going live this will include “staging” in the URL
    • When you go live, you will need to provide Rhythm with the live URL
  • Allowed Logout URL
    • This is the URL you want your members to be sent to when they log out of Rhythm.

Note: The Auth0 Callback URL needs to be changed from the Developer Site URL to the Production Site URL upon go-live. This can be changed in the API Key you create in the following step.

What needs to be configured?

Basic Set Up in Rhythm

API Keys

The API Keys are needed for BlueSky to establish the SSO between Rhythm and BlueSky. 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 BlueSky 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 BlueSky 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.

 

Certification Program Set Up in Rhythm

If you want Rhythm to create a certification for a contact who completes a course in Path LMS, please follow these steps:

  1. In Certifications, click Setup
  2. Click Programs
  3. Click Catalog
  4. Click Create Program
  5. Enter a Name for this Program
  6. Set this Program to be visible in the portal
  7. Optionally, you can set a Program Logo and Program Description that are displayed in the portal
  8. Optionally, you can turn on Grandfathered Certifications which tells the system to renew any Program’s Certifications selected at no additional cost when this program’s application is renewed
  9. Certificate settings allow you to provide a certificate to your certification holders 
  10. Layouts and 360 screens allow you to set what is displayed when editing a Certification or Application in the portal. The 360 screens allow you to set what is displayed in the console for a certification and an application. These options can be set up under the Certification and Applications tab, respectively. 
  11. If you want a customized Display of Applications in the portal, such as what fields appear when someone views their application, that can be created here. 

Course Set Up 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 Path LMS
    • If you need assistance creating the product in Path LMS, please work with your Blue Sky eLearn 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
    • This will need to be the Fee you plan to put or have put on the course offering that should be sent to BlueSky. 
  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.

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.

The Course Offering Fee ID, for the course offering will need to be put into the External Product ID field on the corresponding course in Path LMS for Rhythm to send Path LMS course registration records. 

Training Provider Set Up

Training Providers are the Organizations that administer the training to your members. The Path LMS integration has the option to automatically create courses in Rhythm on your behalf. To do so, a Training Provider will need to be set on the integration setup. Please access this knowledge base article under the “Training” section to set up your Training Providers. 

Course Catalog Set Up

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

Credit Set Up

If you are recording continuing education (CE) credits from Path LMS to Rhythm, ensure that you have opted into the Blue Sky eLearn Activity Write backs feature, and follow these steps:

  1. In Rhythm, go to the Certifications app
  2. 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 Path LMS
  3. In the left toolbar, click Training, then click Courses
  4. 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
  5. 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

To ensure that credits are appropriately linked between the two systems, please ensure that the ID’s of the credits match in both systems. 

When a user earns credits in Path LMS, Path LMS will send Rhythm a URL to a PDF that places the following information on the Contact Certifications 360 screen:

  • 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 Path LMS must match a credit type in Rhythm. 

Final Set Up in Rhythm

Security and Settings

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

  2. If you only want specific Course Types to be visible in BlueSky, please select those here

    1. Please note that if this is not set all course types will appear
  3. If you want Rhythm to create a certification automatically when a course is completed, please select that program here
  4. If you want Rhythm to create a course in Rhythm that does not exist yet please select the Course Type and Default Training Provider
  5. Save Changes

Basic Set Up in Path LMS

For information on setting up courses in BlueSky, please reach out to your BlueSky point of contact. 

How do we test the integration?

Testing Single sign-on

  1. Validate that the SSO works correctly
    • A successful SSO test will link the Rhythm portal login with their existing Path LMS user record.  
    • It should not create a new user in Path LMS 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. 
  2. Before launching SSO, Path LMS may need a spreadsheet of all contacts with their Rhythm Contact ID.  They will use this to update their User ID field to match the Contact ID in Rhythm. 
    • Note: Your Blue Sky eLearn 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 Offerings you expect appear

Testing Course Registration

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 Path LMS login credentials for 
  6. Complete the course registration
  7. Log into Path LMS and confirm the user has the appropriate course registration

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

  1. Log into Path LMS
  2. Search the course catalog in Path LMS to locate a course 
  3. Click the "Register Now" button which will direct them to the course offering 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 Path LMS

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

Testing Course Completion and Credit Write Backs

If you want to track course completion on the users’ record in Rhythm, follow these steps:

  1. Log into Path LMS as a test user who has a contact record and course registration in Rhythm
  2. As the test user, complete a course in Path LMS
  3. Log into Rhythm
  4. Access the test user’s record to confirm the course shows as complete
  5. If there is a certificate URL configured on the course in Path LMS,  confirm that the course completion certificate also appears in Rhythm

If you want to track course credits earned in Path LMS on the users’ record in Rhythm, follow these steps:

  1. Log into Path LMS as a test user who has a contact record and course registration in Rhythm
  2. As the test user, complete a course that includes a credit component
  3. Now that credits have been earned in Path LMS, 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

Testing Course Creation

If you want courses to be created in Rhythm that exist in Path LMS, please follow these steps to ensure courses are created.

  1. Log into Path LMS 
  2. Register for a course that does not exist in Rhythm
  3. Complete the course in Path LMS
  4. Once completed, please go to the Certifications application in Rhythm and go to setup
  5. Click Training
  6. Click Courses
  7. Verify the course is there
  8. Go to the Certifications application home screen
  9. Click Courses
  10. Click Course Offerings
  11. Search for the Course Offering just completed in Path LMS
  12. Check to ensure the contact in Path LMS is registered for the course and the contact has the expected information

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will the courses I create in Path LMS automatically appear in Rhythm?
A: No.  You must create the Course and the Course Offering in Rhythm. Creating a course (product) in Path LMS will not auto-create it in Rhythm. They must be connected through the External 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 a Path LMS product?

A: When you create a new product to sell in Path LMS, you can specify an “External 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 Path LMS.   Now, when Path LMS receives the course registration from Rhythm, it knows which product in Path LMS 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 Path LMS instead of in Rhythm?

A:  If you would like course registrations to appear in Rhythm and Path LMS, courses must be purchased in Rhythm. Users can browse for the course in Path LMS 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 Path LMS 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 Path LMS.  Since the user will be logging in using their Rhythm credentials in Path LMS, they will have access to the LMS content. 

 

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

A: First, ensure the Course Type is defined in the Security and Settings app. Second, ensure that the course offering in Rhythm is also in Path LMS. Finally, check that the Course Offering ID in Rhythm and External Product ID in Path 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 Path LMS?

A: If users browse courses in Path LMS, ensure the Path LMS “Register Now” button is configured correctly.  If users do not sign in before selecting the course they want to register for in Path LMS, 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 Path LMS. If the member logs into Path LMS, 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 Path LMS?

A:  If users are not redirected to the appropriate page upon logout, verify your Auth0 Logout URL within your API Key you created. Path LMS is also able to set a URL on their end to mitigate this issue. 

 

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 Path LMS once the SSO is in place?

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

 

Q: Are credits earned in Path LMS written back to Rhythm?

A: Optionally, yes. In Path LMS you can define the credits a user can earn by completing a product. If the Credit Type you define in Path LMS 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 Path LMS. 

 

To add to this, credits are defined by a certificate on Path LMS. The certificate itself contains “course items” that each have their own credit value and credit type definition. When a user completes the items linked to a certificate, they earn the collective value of the course items. In other words, if we have:

Course ABC

  • Presentation (Credit Type: CME Credit Value: 2.0)
  • Assessment (Credit Type: CME Credit Value: 1.0)
  • Certificate (Total Credits => 3.0 CME)

Course items may also have multiple credit types and multiple credit values. Path LMS “Groups” also have an impact on what credits a user is eligible to earn.

 

Q: What happens if a user completes a course in Path LMS that doesn’t have a course offering in Rhythm?
A: We currently check to see if the course offering contains an “External Product ID”. We will first check to see if the external product ID is present at the certificate level, if it is not present at the certificate level we will check the course level to see if it is present there. If Path LMS is not able to locate an external product ID within the course, the writeback will not be triggered. This is to avoid writing data to an item that may not exist. If the client has a request to push data regardless of an external product ID existing on the course, we can add logic to bypass the requirement of the external product ID.

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