Rhythm + Canvas LMS Integration

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What do I need to use the Rhythm + Canvas LMS Integration?

To use the Rhythm + Canvas LMS integration, you will need an active account with both Rhythm and Canvas LMS. You will also need Admin permissions in Canvas LMS to create a new Data Stream.

Q: Is the Rhythm + Canvas LMS Integration available to everyone? 

The Rhythm + Canvas LMS integration is currently in Preview for a limited number of associations.

Q: How do I get access to the Rhythm + Canvas LMS Integration?

By submitting a ZenDesk ticket, Rhythm support will consider your application to the Rhythm + Canvas LMS Integration Preview. If approved for the Preview, Rhythm support will assist in setting up the connection between Rhythm and your Canvas LMS account.

Q: How do I link a course offering in Rhythm to a Canvas LMS course?

Start by creating a new course in Canvas LMS, either as a stand-alone course, or from a blueprint. When viewing the new course, make a note of the course ID in your browser’s address bar. For example, in the following URL the course ID is 4216562: https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/4216562

Now that you have your Canvas LMS course ID, create or edit a new course offering in Rhythm. In the Other Information section, set the External ID to the Canvas LMS course ID you noted earlier.

Q: What happens when a learner is registered for a course offering in Rhythm?

When a registration is created for a linked course offering, Canvas LMS is checked for an existing user for the Rhythm contact and user information is updated or created as needed.

The user in Canvas LMS is then enrolled for the linked course in Canvas LMS. This enrollment status will be set as Invited in Canvas LMS.

This enrollment process happens if the registration in Rhythm is created manually, or through order fulfillment from the Rhythm console or member portal.

Q: What profile information is copied from Rhythm when a new user is automatically created in Canvas LMS?

The Full Name, First Name, Sort Name, and Email Address fields from the contact record in Rhythm are copied to the new user in Canvas LMS.

Q: What login information is used when a new user is automatically created in Canvas LMS?

The new user will be created in Canvas LMS with a login ID matching their contact ID in Rhythm. Their initial password will be randomized, so users will need to complete the reset password flow in Canvas LMS to set their own password.

Q: If a user in Canvas LMS already exists, will any information be updated?

Yes, whenever a contact is registered for a course offering in Rhythm, the corresponding user in Canvas LMS is updated with any change to the fields copied from Rhythm.

Q: Will a new user receive an email when their user is created in Canvas LMS?

No, a new user will not receive a user creation email from Canvas LMS. However, they will receive an enrollment confirmation email from Canvas LMS.

Q: Will the user receive an email that they have been enrolled in the course in Canvas LMS?

Yes, the user will receive an email from Canvas LMS with their enrollment confirmation.

Q: Can I automatically assign a section in Canvas LMS during enrollment for each contact’s related organization?

Yes. When configuring the Canvas LMS integration in Rhythm, you have an option to specify which course types you would like organization sections created for in Canvas LMS.

Whenever a registration is created in Rhythm for a course offering for one of these course types, Canvas LMS is checked for an existing section matching the name of the contact’s related organization. If no section is found, a new section is created, and the user is enrolled for that section in Canvas LMS.

Q: What happens if a contact without a related organization is registered for a course type that should assign organization sections?

In this case, the contact will be registered for the course without a section assigned.
 

Q: If a member registers for a second course, will a new user be created in Canvas LMS?

No, once a user has been created in Canvas LMS for a particular contact from Rhythm, that user will be used to register for any additional courses.

Q: What happens when a user completes a course module in Canvas LMS?

Whenever a user completes a course module in Canvas LMS, their related course registration record in Rhythm is automatically updated. 

The registration status will be changed to In Progress and the Completion Percentage field will be updated based on their progress. 

For instance, if a course has 5 modules and a user completes the second module, the Completion Percentage field will be updated to the value 20.

Q: What happens when a member completes a course in Canvas LMS?

Whenever a user fully completes a course in Canvas LMS, their related course registration record in Rhythm is automatically updated. 

The registration status will be changed to Completed and the Completion Percentage field will be updated to 100.

Q: What happens if the external ID I set on a course offering in Rhythm does not match the ID of any course in Canvas LMS?

In this case, the course registration will be processed as normal in Rhythm, but the member will not be automatically registered for the course in Canvas LMS. Also, course completion will not be automatically pushed back to Rhythm.

Q: What happens if I cancel an order with course registration?

If you cancel any order with course registration, the user enrollment will be deleted from the course in Canvas LMS.

Q: Can I query on learner progress and completion in Rhythm?

Yes. Since the Status and Completion Percentage fields are automatically updated in Rhythm as the learner progresses through a course in Canvas LMS, you can define a query for course registrations in Rhythm that filters based on these values.

Configuring the Integration

In Canvas LMS

1. To configure the Rhythm + Canvas LMS integration, start by logging in to your Canvas LMS instance. Make a note of the URL you see in your browser. It will be a value like canvas.instructure.com and we will need this later to set the Host value in Rhythm.
   
   
2. In Canvas LMS, navigate to Account > Settings. Scroll down to the Approved Integration section and click the New Access Token button. For Purpose enter Rhythm AMS, and do not set an Expires value. Make a note of your Access Token, we will need to set this value in Rhythm.

In Rhythm

1. Next, log in to Rhythm and navigate to Security & Settings > Integrations > Canvas.
   
   
2. Enter the Host and Access Token values you made a note of previously in Canvas LMS.
   
   
3. You may optionally enter an account ID. If you do not specify one, the primary account for your Canvas LMS user will be used.
   
   
4. Enter a friendly name to help you identify this account in the future.
   
   
5. You can optionally instruct Rhythm to assign learners to sections in Canvas LMS based on their linked organization in Rhythm. You can enable this option for certain courses by specifying Course Types. Every course and course offering which use one of the course types you specify here will automatically assign organization sections on enrollment in Canvas LMS.
   
   Helpful hint: If you have not yet created course types, you can save these settings, create the course types, then return and update these settings at any time.
   
   
   

Using the Integration

Helpful hint: To use the Rhythm + Canvas integration, you will be linking a Course Offering in Rhythm to a Course in Canvas. This is typically done with a virtual (on-demand) course offering in Rhythm.

In Canvas LMS

1. Start by creating and configuring your course in Canvas LMS. You can configure as much about the course as your would like before linking this new course to a course offering in Rhythm, however invitations will not be sent from Canvas until the course is Published.
   
   
2. Make a note of your Canvas LMS course ID. This ID can be found in your web browser's address bar when you are looking at the Home page of the course as in the screenshot below:

In Rhythm

1. Now that you have the Canvas course ID, you can create or edit any course offering in Rhythm. You will notice a field called External ID where you can paste the Canvas course ID. When you save the course offering, it will be linked to your Canvas course.
   
   
   
2. You can now register any contact for this course offering. This may be through a registration process in the Rhythm console, manually creating a course registration, or allowing members to register themselves in the Rhythm Member Portal.
   
   
   
3. When looking at the new course registration, you will note the status is Registered and no Progress has been recorded.
   

As a Learner in Canvas LMS

1. As soon as the registration is created, a new user is created and enrolled in the course in Canvas. This enrollment can be seen as an Invited user in the course administrator view.
   
   Helpful hint: At this time the learner will receive an email confirming their course enrollment with their login ID.
   
   
2. When the learner logs into Canvas LMS, they will be prompted to accept the new course invitation.
   
   
   
3. The learner can now interact with the materials in the course in Canvas LMS.

In Rhythm

1. As the learner progresses through Modules in the course in Canvas LMS, their Registration is updated in Rhythm. Note the status of the registration is now In Progress and the Progress field has been updated to indicate the learner has completed 33% (1 of 3) of the course modules.
   
   
   
2. Once the learner has completed all the modules in the Canvas LMS course, the Registration is automatically updated to have a status of Completed and the Progress field shows 100% course completion.
   
   
   
   
3. If you want to view the progress of all your learners, you can create a new Course Registration query. You can view or filter on the course, course offering, registration status, or completion percentage to understand the current status of your learners.