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Adding Echo360 to Canvas as a Course Navigation App

Echo360
  • Updated

Echo360 provides the following different types of interoperability with Canvas;

Echo360 strongly recommends creating separate Apps in Canvas for EACH of the available features, because:

  • The XML you paste into Canvas can have ONE AND ONLY ONE "course_navigation" block. The course linking and the library both create "course navigation" placements for the tools. Keeping the tools separate avoids any issues surrounding this limitation.
  • You cannot edit or replace the XML for an existing app via the UI. This means that to update a combined tool for future improvements, or to delete a tool you don't want anymore, you need to delete the existing combined one and re-add it. If the tools are separate, this can be done without affecting any other functionality. 

While you can add the Echo360 App at the Course level, we strongly recommend adding it at the Account level. Adding the app to the Account automatically makes it available for every course configured for the account. It can be removed from individual course navigation if necessary.

These procedures must be performed by a user who is both a Canvas and an Echo360 Administrator. The first step is to log into Echo360 as an Admin and generate XML for the Canvas LMS configuration that will identify the Echo360 app for course navigation.

To generate an XML cartridge that will create an app for course navigation to Echo360

      1. Log into Echo360 as an Administrator.
      2. Select the Settings icon in upper-right of the screen.
      3. From the Settings menu, select Configurations.
        The LMS configurations tab, selected from the left, appears by default as shown in the below figure.
      4. On the right side of the LMS Configurations page, select Configurations as shown below.
        LMS Configurations page with settings menu navigation and LMS configurations page navigation identified
      5. Find your existing Canvas LMS configuration.
        If you do not have one yet, click Add Configuration then select Canvas from the drop-down list, and click SAVE. See also Configuring Echo360 with your LMS.
      6. Select the LTI Config tab as shown in the below figure.
        LMSConfigs_Canvas_LTIConfig_CourseNavarrows.png
      7. Enable ONLY the Course navigation slider.

        Warning: The XML you paste into Canvas can have ONE and ONLY ONE "course_navigation" placement block. Course navigation and My Echo360 library sliders both create "course_navigation" blocks in the XML.

      8. Click SAVE.
        Clicking Save with the toggle enabled updates the XML cartridge available to select and paste into Canvas. 
      9. Click the XML tab.
        LMS Configurations page in Echo with Canvas XML tab shown with options for steps as described
         
      10. Click COPY XML. The XML cartridge text is copied to your clipboard.
      11. In a new tab or window, log into Canvas as an administrator and follow the procedure below.
        Leave the Echo360 tab/window open, as you will need to return to the LMS configuration page to also copy the Key and Secret values from the LTI tab in Echo into Canvas.

To create an Echo360 course navigation app in Canvas

        1. Log in to Canvas as an administrator.
        2. Click Admin from the navigation on the left, then select the main Account for your institution. In the figure below, the main account for Canvas is named Echo360.
          Canvas Admin options with Account link identified for steps as described
           
        3. The Courses list appears by default. Select Settings from the bottom of the list of links on the left.
        4. From the Settings page, shown in the below figure, click the Apps tab.
          Canvas Account Settings with the Apps tab selected and shown as described
           
        5. Click View App Configurations.
        6. From the External Apps page, click + App (the add app button), as shown in the below figure.
          External Apps page in Canvas with Add App button identified for steps as described
           
        7. In the Add App dialog box, select Paste XML from the ​Configuration Type drop-down list.
          Canvas Add App dialog box with Paste XML selected and available fields shown for steps as described
           
        8. Enter a Name for the App. You can name it anything you like but the name should clearly identify this as the External App tool to use to link to Echo360 sections.  
        9. Click into the XML Configuration section of the dialog box and press Ctrl+V or Command+V to paste the copied XML from Echo360.
        10. Go back to the Echo360 window and copy the Consumer Key value from Echo360, then paste it into the Consumer Key field in Canvas. Click the LTI tab for the Canvas configuration if necessary, as shown in the below figure. 
          (Tip: Click into the field, type Ctrl+A/Command+A to select all, then Ctrl+C/Command+C to copy; use Ctrl+V/Command+V to paste into Canvas.)
        11. From the Echo360 window, copy the Shared Secret value from Echo360 and paste it into the Shared Secret field in Canvas. (See above Tip for select/copy/paste.)
          Canvas LMS configuration in Echo360 with LTI tab showing containing Consumer Key and Shared Secret fields for steps as described
        12. When finished, click Submit.

You should now see your Echo360 course navigation app in your Canvas app configuration list. The Echo360 app will also appear in the left navigation for all courses in the account. Whether you leave this link as is, or remove it in favor of using Assignments page links into Echo360 is up to you. But please review the information contained in Adding an Echo360 Link to a Canvas Course as well as Linking LMS Courses to Echo360 Sections.

If you click the Info button on the right side of the newly created Echo360 app entry in the list, and check Placements, the new app one should show Course Navigation as the placement. 

Echo360 app placement in Canvas showing Course Navigation as described