Chat with us, powered by LiveChat Skip to main content
Echo360 Status: 

EchoVideo: Adding a REST API Integration with Canvas

Echo360
  • Updated

EchoVideo's REST API integration essentially provides EchoVideo with an LMS / VLE course lookup capability by instructor. This integration provides two features:

  1. The ability for EchoVideo admins or schedulers to create both EchoVideo sections and connect capture schedules directly to LMS Courses. This is described in Linking an EchoVideo Capture Schedule to an LMS Course.
  2. The ability for instructors to see and use the consolidated Analytics tab from within EchoVideo, which provides viewing and polling response data in one place for all of their LMS-course-related EchoVideo media.

The basic process for API integration is:

  1. Create a Developer Key in Canvas.
  2. Copy the ID and Secret values from Canvas to EchoVideo.
  3. Authorize the configuration.
  4. Test the configuration.
  5. Optionally, set Scope restrictions to the Canvas Developer Key.

As with most LMS-to-EchoVideo configurations, you must be logged in to both EchoVideo and the LMS as an administrator and have both programs open in separate browser windows. You will copy and paste values from one to the other.

Best Practices for Application User Access: The API integration requires a user's Email address. It can be a specific person's email address or an application user account you create for this purpose. The account must have administrator rights in Canvas. This user will lock down the integration if your institution wishes to do so at any point. For this reason, we recommend using an application user instead of an actual user.

To configure API integration between EchoVideo and Canvas

  1. Log in to Canvas as an administrator and click Admin from the left navigation, then select the main Account level.
  2. From the left side of the page, select Developer Keys, as shown in the figure below.
  3. Click + Developer Key from the top right of the page, and select API Key from the options given.
    Administrator navigation in Canvas with Developer Keys page showing and Add Developer Key button identified as described
  4. Enter a Key Name that identifies its purpose.
  5. Enter the Owner Email, identifying who created the key.

    Admins can designate themselves as the owner by entering their email address, or use support@echo360.com if a shared or support-level ownership is preferred.

  6. Enter the Icon URL
    https://echo360.org/assets/images/0a11772a218c58bd62b8c46ab5bf90dc-favicon.png
  7. In the Redirect URIs field, enter the following, also shown in the following figure:
    https://echo360.org/lms/api/oauth2/complete
    Developer Key settings page shown with fields completed as described

    As with most tooling, replace the base domain with your region-specific EchoVideo domain as necessary.

  8. Be sure Canvas is selected as the Client Credentials Audience at the bottom of the left side of the form. It is the default setting.
  9. Turn on Enforce Scopes, as shown in the figure below. Canvas Key Settings with Enforce Scopes turned on as described
  10. Turn on the following required API scopes:
    • Under Accounts, turn on
      • url:GET|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/courses
    • Under Courses, turn on
      • url:GET|/api/v1/users/:user_id/courses
    • Under Enrollments, turn on
      • url:GET|/api/v1/courses/:course_id/enrollments
    • Under Users, turn on
      • url:GET|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/users
      • url:GET|/api/v1/users/:id

        This list will change as we expand the use of API integration. For future features, enabling additional scopes may be required.

  11. Click Save.
    When the list of Developer Keys appears, your new key is listed at the top.
  12. On the right side of the new key row, toggle the key ON to use it. It is OFF by default.
    Developer Keys page in canvas after new key is added and on off toggle identified for steps as described
  13. If you have not already done so, open a new browser tab or window for EchoVideo and log in as an administrator.
  14. Click Settings from the upper-right corner of the screen.
  15. From the Settings menu, select Institution Settings.

    General settings appears and Basic Info is selected by default.

  16. Click Integrations.
  17. From the middle panel, select LMS / VLE.

    The LTI 1.3 tab is selected by default.

  18. Select the API tab.
    EchoVideo LMS configurations page with navigation to page and API tab shown as described
  19. Optionally, toggle on Full Course Roster. When on, it provides the full course roster for Consolidated Analytics. This allows Instructors to see who has not yet watched a piece of media or engaged with polling questions in their LMS course, rather than displaying only those users who have.
  20. Click Add Configuration as shown in the figure above.
  21. In the form that appears, shown below, enter a Name for the configuration.
  22. Enter your Canvas Domain (base URL of your Canvas instance).
    Add LMS configuration dialog box with Canvas selected and fields for completion shown for steps as described
  23. Return to the Canvas window with the Developer Keys list still showing, and select and copy (Ctrl + C / Cmd + C) the number shown in the Details column for the key you just created, as identified in the figure below.
    Canvas developer keys page with Client ID value to copy and paste into Echo360 identified for steps as described
  24. Return to EchoVideo and paste the value (Ctrl + V / Cmd + V) into the LMS API Client ID field of the API Configuration modal.
  25. Return to Canvas and click Show Key to reveal the Key secret. Then select and copy it.
  26. Return to EchoVideo and paste the key secret value into the LMS API Client Secret field of the API Configuration modal.
  27. Click Save.
  28. In the API tab that appears with your new configuration, click Authorize as shown in the figure below.
    LMS API page in EchoVideo with new API configuration showing including Authorize button for steps as described

    In the pop-up that appears, you may need to log in to Canvas as an administrator unless you are already logged in through this browser.

  29. When prompted, click Authorize in the Canvas window to allow the key to access your Canvas account.
    After authorization, the pop-up closes, and the API tab reappears.
  30. Click Test to ensure the configuration and communication work properly.
    LMS API page in EchoVideo with new API configuration showing including Test button for steps as described
  31. In the pop-up that appears, enter an email address for a Canvas instructor known to have courses, then click Search.

    If the instructor is enrolled in a Canvas course via the UI, they must actively accept the invitation to the course before it appears in the search results. If using an SIS or other integration tool, the accept step is not necessary. Refer to the Canvas Community Forum for additional information.

If the configuration is successful, the bottom section of the test modal is populated with a list of that instructor's Canvas courses, as shown in the figure below. You can close the dialog box by clicking the X in the top-right corner.

You are done! You can now link your EchoVideo capture schedules to LMS courses. Your instructors will now see an Analytics tab in their main menu navigation, allowing them to access their LMS-course-related media data.

Test API configuration modal with email address entered and successful result set listing Canvas courses in which the user is enrolled

If you have problems or questions, contact your customer success representative or email support@echo360.com.

Related to