Canvas Integration

What Canvas Does

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The Canvas Integration connects Canvas and Schoolbox, allowing schools to synchronise assessment information and provide a seamless learning experience across both platforms.

The integration supports:

  • Assessment Synchronisation from Canvas.
  • Quiz Synchronisation using Canvas Data 2.
  • Grade Synchronisation from Canvas.
  • Canvas News Synchronisation into Schoolbox News.
  • Canvas Redirects from Schoolbox assessments and homepages.

Each capability can be configured independently to suit your school's requirements.

How the Canvas Integration Works

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The Canvas Integration consists of three parts.

  • Canvas Data 2 synchronises assessments, quizzes, and grades into Schoolbox.
  • Canvas API imports Canvas announcements into Schoolbox News.
  • Canvas Redirects optionally redirect users from Schoolbox to the corresponding content in Canvas.

Each feature can be enabled independently from the Canvas Connector.

Assessment, Quiz, and Grade Synchronisation

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The Canvas Connector imports learning information into Schoolbox to reduce duplicate data entry and keep assessment information up to date.

  • Assessments are imported into Schoolbox with their titles, descriptions, dates, and submission settings.
  • Quizzes can be imported as Schoolbox assessments.
  • Grades can be synchronised from Canvas into Schoolbox.
  • Feedback entered in Canvas can also be synchronised.

Schools can choose which import types to enable.

What Users Can Do with Canvas Data

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Once configured, Canvas data can be used throughout Schoolbox.

  • View imported assessments and quizzes.
  • View synchronised grades and feedback.
  • Access Canvas announcements from Schoolbox News.
  • Open assessments directly in Canvas using redirects.
  • Open Canvas course homepages directly from Schoolbox.

Canvas Integration Help Navigation

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Important Notes

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The Canvas Connector uses separate authentication methods depending on the feature being used.

  • Assessment, quiz, and grade synchronisation require both the Canvas Data 2 Client ID and Canvas Data 2 Secret.
  • Canvas announcements require a valid Canvas Bearer Token.
  • Redirects are optional and do not affect synchronisation.
  • Course matching is based on the configured SIS Source ID Template.

Changes made in Canvas are reflected in Schoolbox during the next synchronisation.

We map assessment items to Schoolbox assessments, bringing across the following details:

  • Title

  • Work Type (Where assignment group in Canvas matches to existing work type in Schoolbox, no match = NULL worktype)

  • Weight is always defined as 1

  • Dates

  • Submitted Online

  • Accept Multiple Submissions

We can then map Student Feedback:

  • Marker

  • Comment

  • Human Readable Mark

  • Normalised Mark

  • Created At/Published At/Updated At

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This guide is for Schoolbox administrators and technical staff who manage learning systems. This page helps you, as a Superuser, set up Canvas to work with Schoolbox. 

You’ll find here the steps, recommended settings, and tips to help Canvas run smoothly in Schoolbox. Following this guide will help your school give staff and students reliable access to courses and a consistent learning experience.

Note: Canvas setup in Schoolbox requires API credentials generated from the Canvas Data Credential Portal.

To configure Canvas in Schoolbox:

  1. Go to Administration > System Settings > Canvas Connector.
    This opens the Canvas System Settings page for you.
    Note: This setting is visible only to schools using Canvas.
     
  2. Enter the Canvas URL.
    This ensures Schoolbox knows which Canvas instance to connect to and where to send users.
    Note: Use your school’s Canvas base URL. Do not include specific course or page paths.
     
  3. Enter the Canvas Bearer Token.
    This ensures you can securely connect to Canvas and make authorised requests on your behalf. 
    This is required only for Canvas announcement synchronisation and the Canvas dashboard component.
    Note: This token is generated in Canvas and should be kept secure. Do not share real bearer tokens publicly.
     
  4. Enter the Canvas Data 2 Secret.
    This ensures you can securely access Canvas Data 2. This authorises Schoolbox to download assessment and course data from Canvas.

    Important: Successful sync requires both the Canvas Data 2 Secret and the Canvas Data 2 Client ID.

    Note: This value is provided by Canvas when you configure Canvas Data 2 access.
     

  5. Enter the Canvas Data 2 Client ID.
    This authorises Schoolbox to download assessment and course data from Canvas. Canvas uses this ID to recognise which application is requesting access to assessments and courses (participation and feedback, if enabled).

    Important: Successful sync requires both the Canvas Data 2 Secret and the Canvas Data 2 Client ID.

    Note: This value is provided by Canvas when you set up Canvas Data 2 access.
     

  6. Toggle to ON the ‘Import Basic Quiz Data from Canvas’.
    This allows Schoolbox to import basic quiz information from Canvas, such as quiz titles and availability. This helps keep quiz data in Schoolbox in sync with Canvas.
     
  7. In Imported Quiz Default Work Type, enter the work type you want Schoolbox to assign to quizzes imported from Canvas. This helps Schoolbox categorise the quizzes correctly in your school’s workflow.
     
  8. Toggle to ON ‘Import Grades from Canvas’, to allow Schoolbox to automatically bring in student grades from Canvas. This ensures that marks entered in Canvas appear correctly in Schoolbox without manual entry.
     
  9. In Schoolbox Grade Group That Canvas Letter Grades Are Mapped To, choose which Schoolbox grade group should receive letter grades imported from Canvas. This ensures grades are organised correctly in your school’s gradebook. 
    For example, (A-E letter grade). This is the group ID, not the title.
     
  10. In SIS Source ID Templates, enter the template that Schoolbox will use to match Canvas data to your school’s student information system (SIS). This helps ensure the correct students, courses, and enrollments are synced.
    The default entry is {parentCode} {folderCode}.
    For example:
    • Sis_source_id - `2025 9SCA 02`
    • Template - {parentCode} {folderCode}`
      parent code `2025`
      folder code `9SCA 02`
       
  11. Toggle to ON ‘Sync News’ to enable this to automatically import news posts from Canvas into Schoolbox, keeping announcements in both systems up to date.
    This sync runs every 15 minutes, but only after a successful main sync at 7 am.
    Note: You must have the bearer token set for this to work. A news topic and owner must also be configured.
     
  12. In Schoolbox News Topic, enter the ID of the topic in Schoolbox where Canvas news posts should appear. This organises imported announcements in the correct section.
    For example, Announcements ID such as 3.
     
  13. In Schoolbox News Owner, enter the Schoolbox user ID of the person who will be listed as the owner or publisher of imported Canvas news posts.
    For example, Admin User ID such as 1.
     
  14. Toggle to ON ‘Redirect from Assessments’ to enable this setting so that when users select an assessment in Schoolbox, they are automatically redirected to the corresponding page in Canvas.
     
  15. Toggle to ON ‘Redirect from Homepages’ to enable this setting so that when users select the Schoolbox homepage, they are automatically redirected to the Canvas homepage.
     
  16. In Redirect homepage to, select any one from the list to determine how the template SIS ID maps to its destination in Canvas, such as a class page or course page:
    • course code
    • subject code
    • subject code from section
       

  17. When done, select Save.
    This saves your settings so Canvas works correctly with Schoolbox.

    You’ve now successfully configured Canvas in Schoolbox.

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Schoolbox maps the concept of a Canvas Course Section to a class in our context. We know that in Canvas there is a requirement for the SIS ID to be unique forever, however, both Schoolbox and your SIS have the concept of archiving/rolling over codes. It is important that your Schoolbox Class codes match that of your SIS as we get your enrolments from this source, however, we can look at supporting variations in Course Section SIS IDs similar to those below. 

 

Example:

1. Where there are unique codes used each semester no work needs to be done for integration to work. 

 

SIS: 09ENG22A -> Schoolbox Class Code: 09ENG22A -> Canvas Course Section SIS ID: 09ENG22A

 

2. Where there are no unique codes used within the SIS + Schoolbox, but an identifier appended to the start or end of the Canvas Course Section SIS ID, Schoolbox will need to create a custom connector to map this date. This will be scoped as part of your implementation project to confirm the correct Syntax. 

 

SIS: 09ENGA -> Schoolbox Class Code: -> 09ENGA -> Canvas Course Section SIS ID: 202209ENGA

 

Assignment Groups: 

 

Schoolbox has the ability to Map assignment groups to work types in our platform, this allows you as a school to filter the experience on the Markbook, Grades page and Due work calendar. Where an assignment group is not created all assessments will be provided with a default work type of NULL

 

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The Canvas assessment data sync has been designed to provide a parent experience over the top of your existing use of the Canvas LMS. There are specific requirements that need to be in place for this integration to work as we do require the data to match between Schoolbox and your SIS.

Approach

Schoolbox will sync on a daily basis data from Canvas using the Canvas Data Portal. It is important to know that there is a delay to the data that is provided to Schoolbox as documented within Canvas:

For all file downloads, please note that the dates specified do not reflect the actual dates of the data; instead, they reflect when the data was successfully exported. The most recent data in each export is generally 24-36 hours older than the date given. An exception is that the request table is 48 hours behind due to a large amount of data that needs to be processed. All dates are in UTC.

This is a three-stage process:

  • Fetch data from the API endpoint (Fetch Data)
  • Unpack and store required data in a temporary database stored on your Schoolbox server (Import Data)
  • Translate to Schoolbox assessment tables (Sync Data)