Whether you are using Canvas, D2L, or Moodle as your LMS, the ExamSoft API will look similar but will have unique settings for each. This article will go through the configuration of our API so that the integration can be completed.
Depending on your Institution's LMS, your first page will be different. Please locate and follow the directions listed for your institution's current/future LMS.
Before You Begin
Complete the initial configuration to connect your LMS to ExamSoft.
Procedures
Setup API on Canvas
- On the Configuration page, complete each value as listed below:
- For Instance, enter your actual Canvas instance URL as shown in the example.
- For Authorization Token, enter the token generated by the highest Canvas Admin at your institution.
Note: This grants proper access to our API allowing it to sync course and student data, as well as the ability to push grades from ExamSoft.
- Click the Save button after inputting the URL and the Authorization Token.
- For Canvas Account, this field will auto-populate with your institution's account or sub-accounts depending on where the External Tool is installed during the initial setup.
- For Course ID Type, input the ID type that you choose to send over to ExamSoft as the course ID on our side.
Note: If you choose the SIS ID here, that ID for each course will be used as the course ID in ExamSoft.
- For User ID Type, input the User ID Type that you choose to send over to ExamSoft as the Student ID type on our side.
Note: If you choose Reference ID, that ID for each student user will be used as the Student ID in ExamSoft.
- For SAML Settings, choose an ID Type and append it as the External ID on our side automatically. Only applicable if you are using SAML authentication with ExamSoft.
Note: The Course ID Type, User ID Type, and SAML Settings need to be decided upon prior to syncing course and student data over to ExamSoft. Each value needs to be completed to allow a proper connection between your LMS and ExamSoft.
- Select Account Settings at the top of the page.
- Enter these values as listed below:
- For ExamSoft Account Institution Name, you should not need to enter anything as it should auto-populate when the API is set up.
Note: This field is editable but will be automatically filled in with your institution name upon syncing for the first time.
- For ExamSoft Credentials, enter the credentials given to you by your ExamSoft Representative.
Note: The credentials are unique to your institution. The Consumer Key and Shared Secret fields are both non-editable fields, because they pull from the External Tool you created with this information.
- For Integration Endpoint, do not enter anything if it is pre-filled. If it is empty, enter: https://esintegration.examsoft.com/ESIntegration/ESIntegrationService.svc
Note: This field contains the endpoint that the API points to when performing a sync.
- For Lab Client?, enable this setting if you want ALL of your students to be classified as lab accounts.
Important: Keep in mind this is a global setting and cannot be triggered for a specific set of students.
- For ExamSoft Account Institution Name, you should not need to enter anything as it should auto-populate when the API is set up.
- Select Roles at the top.
- Enter the specific roles contained in your LMS for each user type. Unless you have custom roles in your LMS for these user types, enter the roles as shown below:
- For Instructor Role, enter: TeacherEnrollment
- For Exam-Taker Role, enter: StudentEnrollment
Important: These fields only support a single value.
- Select Courses at the top of the page.
Notes:
- Before syncing, ensure that the courses have start and end dates as they will need those to sync with ExamSoft.
- Ensure that an instructor is enrolled in the course.
- The Course Date Range feature will attach the start and end dates you specify to each course in the list when sent to ExamSoft (if the courses do not have dates in your LMS). This feature does not change any course settings in your LMS; It only changes what is sent over to ExamSoft.
- To add a course to the Course List, enter in the ID Type that you selected earlier into the Course ID List field.
- Select Save at the bottom of the page.
Notes:
- This field may have one or more courses, each separated by a comma.
- The same rules apply for the Section ID List; however, instead of the specific ID for a course, you’d use the specific ID for the section you want to add.
- You can also clear the entire sync list by selecting Clear Course to Sync.
- You can also add courses by adding a CSV file created in Excel formatted as follows: the course IDs entered into each cell in column A going downward (e.g. A1, A2, etc…).
- If the instructor drop-down field is blank for a course, there may not be one enrolled in the course or the role entered earlier is incorrect.
- Once the sync list is populated at the bottom of the page, select Sync Now at the top to perform a manual sync.
Notes:
- The sync will occur in the next batch of syncs which occur every 10 minutes. If you trigger a sync at 4:26, the next sync cycle will be 4:30 and the data will be in ExamSoft afterwards.
- If the course(s) synced successfully, the Key Administrator at your institution will receive a data import email detailing the course and student data imported into the ExamSoft portal.
- If this email is not received or the sync does not go through successfully, please contact ExamSoft Support and we will troubleshoot the issue with you.
- If the course and student data syncs successfully, then your LMS integration is complete.
Setup API on D2L
- On the Configuration page, complete each value as listed below:
- For Instance, enter your actual D2L instance URL as shown in the example.
- For App ID, App Key User ID, and User Key, enter the values that you generated by following our D2L Setup article.
Note: They grant our API the proper permission to your instance.
- For Course ID Type, input the ID type that you choose to send over to ExamSoft as the course ID on our side.
Note: If you choose the SIS ID here, that ID for each course will be used as the course ID in ExamSoft.
- For User ID Type, input the User ID Type that you choose to send over to ExamSoft as the Student ID type on our side.
Note: If you choose Reference ID, that ID for each student user will be used as the Student ID in ExamSoft.
- For SAML Settings, choose an ID Type and append it as the External ID on our side automatically. Only applicable if you are using SAML authentication with ExamSoft.
Note: The Course ID Type, User ID Type, and SAML Settings need to be decided upon prior to syncing course and student data over to ExamSoft. Each value needs to be completed to allow a proper connection between your LMS and ExamSoft.
- Select Account Settings at the top of the page.
- Enter these values as listed below:
- For ExamSoft Account Institution Name, you should not need to enter anything as it should auto-populate when the API is set up.
Note: This field is editable but will be automatically filled in with your institution name upon syncing for the first time.
- For ExamSoft Credentials, enter the credentials given to you by your ExamSoft Representative.
Note: The credentials are unique to your institution. The Consumer Key and Shared Secret fields are both non-editable fields, because they pull from the External Tool you created with this information.
- For Integration Endpoint, do not enter anything if it is pre-filled. If it is empty, enter: https://esintegration.examsoft.com/ESIntegration/ESIntegrationService.svc
Note: This field contains the endpoint that the API points to when performing a sync.
- For Lab Client?, enable this setting if you want ALL of your students to be classified as lab accounts.
Important: Keep in mind this is a global setting and cannot be triggered for a specific set of students.
- For ExamSoft Account Institution Name, you should not need to enter anything as it should auto-populate when the API is set up.
- Select Roles at the top.
- Enter the specific roles contained in your LMS for each user type. Unless you have custom roles in your LMS for these user types, enter the roles as shown below:
- For Instructor Role, enter: Instructor
- For Exam-Taker Role, enter: Student
Important: These fields only support a single value.
- Once the proper roles have been set, select Courses at the top of the page.
Notes:
- Before syncing, ensure that the courses have start and end dates as they will need those to sync with ExamSoft.
- Ensure that an instructor is enrolled in the course.
- The Course Date Range feature will attach the start and end dates you specify to each course in the list when sent to ExamSoft (if the courses do not have dates in your LMS). This feature does not change any course settings in your LMS; It only changes what is sent over to ExamSoft.
- To add a course to the Course List, enter in the ID Type that you selected earlier into the Course ID List field.
- Select Save at the bottom of the page.
Notes:
- This field may have one or more courses, each separated by a comma.
- The same rules apply for the Section ID List; however, instead of the specific ID for a course, you’d use the specific ID for the section you want to add.
- You can also clear the entire sync list by selecting Clear Course to Sync.
- You can also add courses by adding a CSV file created in Excel formatted as follows: the course IDs entered into each cell in column A going downward (e.g. A1, A2, etc…).
- If the instructor drop-down field is blank for a course, there may not be one enrolled in the course or the role entered earlier is incorrect.
- Once the sync list is populated at the bottom of the page, select Sync Now at the top to perform a manual sync.
Notes:- Once the Sync Now button has been clicked, the sync will occur in the next batch of syncs which occur every 10 minutes. If you trigger a sync at 4:26, the next sync cycle will be 4:30 and the data will be in ExamSoft afterwards.
- If the course(s) synced successfully, the Key Administrator at your institution will receive a data import email detailing the course and student data imported into the ExamSoft portal.
- If this email is not received or the sync does not go through successfully, please contact ExamSoft Support and we will troubleshoot the issue with you.
- If the course and student data syncs successfully, then your LMS integration is complete.
Setup API on Moodle
- On the Configuration page, complete each value as listed below:
- For Instance, enter your actual Moodle instance URL as shown in the example.
- For Authorization Token, enter the token generated by the highest Moodle admin at your institution.
Note: This grants the proper access to our API allowing it to sync course and student data as well as the ability to push grades from ExamSoft.
- For Course ID Type, input the ID type that you choose to send over to ExamSoft as the course ID on our side.
Note: If you choose the SIS ID here, that ID for each course will be used as the course ID in ExamSoft.
- For User ID Type, input the User ID Type that you choose to send over to ExamSoft as the Student ID type on our side.
Note: If you choose Reference ID, that ID for each student user will be used as the Student ID in ExamSoft.
- For SAML Settings, choose an ID Type and append it as the External ID on our side automatically. Only applicable if you are using SAML authentication with ExamSoft.
Note: The Course ID Type, User ID Type, and SAML Settings need to be decided upon prior to syncing course and student data over to ExamSoft. Each value needs to be completed to allow a proper connection between your LMS and ExamSoft.
- Select Account Settings at the top of the page.
- Enter these values as listed below:
- For ExamSoft Account Institution Name, you should not need to enter anything as it should auto-populate when the API is set up.
Note: This field is editable but will be automatically filled in with your institution name upon syncing for the first time.
- For ExamSoft Credentials, enter the credentials given to you by your ExamSoft Representative.
Note: The credentials are unique to your institution. The Consumer Key and Shared Secret fields are both non-editable fields, because they pull from the External Tool you created with this information.
- For Integration Endpoint, do not enter anything if it is pre-filled. If it is empty, enter: https://esintegration.examsoft.com/ESIntegration/ESIntegrationService.svc
Note: This field contains the endpoint that the API points to when performing a sync.
- For Lab Client?, enable this setting if you want ALL of your students to be classified as lab accounts.
Important: Keep in mind this is a global setting and cannot be triggered for a specific set of students.
- For ExamSoft Account Institution Name, you should not need to enter anything as it should auto-populate when the API is set up.
- Select Roles at the top.
- Enter the specific roles contained in your LMS for each user type. Unless you have custom roles in your LMS for these user types, enter the roles as shown below:
- For Instructor Role, enter: editing teacher
- For Exam-Taker Role, enter: student
Important: These fields only support a single value.
- Once the proper roles have been set, select Courses at the top of the page.
Notes:
- Before syncing, ensure that the courses have start and end dates as they will need those to sync with ExamSoft.
- Ensure that an instructor is enrolled in the course.
- The Course Date Range feature will attach the start and end dates you specify to each course in the list when sent to ExamSoft (if the courses do not have dates in your LMS). This feature does not change any course settings in your LMS; It only changes what is sent over to ExamSoft.
- To add a course to the Course List, enter in the ID Type that you selected earlier into the Course ID List field.
- Select Save at the bottom of the page.
Notes:
- This field may have one or more courses, each separated by a comma.
- The same rules apply for the Section ID List; however, instead of the specific ID for a course, you’d use the specific ID for the section you want to add.
- You can also clear the entire sync list by selecting Clear Course to Sync.
- You can also add courses by adding a CSV file created in Excel formatted as follows: the course IDs entered into each cell in column A going downward (e.g. A1, A2, etc…).
- If the instructor drop-down field is blank for a course, there may not be one enrolled in the course or the role entered earlier is incorrect.
- Once the sync list is populated at the bottom of the page, select Sync Now at the top to perform a manual sync.
Notes:
- Once the Sync Now button has been clicked, the sync will occur in the next batch of syncs which occur every 10 minutes. If you trigger a sync at 4:26, the next sync cycle will be 4:30 and the data will be in ExamSoft afterwards.
- If the course(s) synced successfully, the Key Administrator at your institution will receive a data import email detailing the course and student data imported into the ExamSoft portal.
- If this email is not received or the sync does not go through successfully, please contact ExamSoft Support and we will troubleshoot the issue with you.
- If the course and student data syncs successfully, then your LMS integration is complete.
Next Steps
If you want to use the Auto Sync feature, your Key Administrator will need to enable/configure the time of day when the sync will trigger.
Note: As shown in the example below, this setting can be found within the institution's ExamSoft portal.
Select Admin>Global Settings>LMS Settings.