About Canvas LMS
Canvas is the digital classroom. For it to work effectively, it must sync with the rest of the campus stack. Integrating Canvas ensures that student rosters are automatically provisioned in tools like Zoom or Slack, and that grades flow back to the central Student Information System without manual teacher entry.
Integration Capabilities
Canvas LMS has 5 native integrations with leading business platforms. Connect via direct API, webhooks, or third-party automation tools for unlimited possibilities.
Browse Canvas LMS integrations below. Green integrations are native and free. Yellow integrations require an automation platform like Make ↗ to sync data.
Common Integration Patterns
- → Roster Provisioning: When a student adds a course in the SIS, they are automatically added to the Canvas course and the corresponding Slack channel.
- → Zoom Scheduling: Teachers create a meeting inside Canvas, which auto-generates the Zoom link and places it on the course calendar.
- → Grade Passback: Final grades calculated in Canvas are pushed back to the official School Information System (PowerSchool/Banner) for transcripts.
Integration Challenges
- ⚠ LTI Versioning: Integrating external tools relies on LTI standards (v1.1 vs v1.3). Mismatches cause authentication loops for students.
- ⚠ Cross-Listing: Teachers often 'cross-list' sections (merging multiple classes). Integrations that rely on raw section IDs often break when this happens.
- ⚠ PII/FERPA: Integrations sending data out of Canvas (e.g. to a marketing tool) must be strictly audited for student privacy compliance.
Before You Integrate
- 1. Test Student View: Always use the 'Student View' to verify that LTI links work for non-admin accounts.
- 2. Verify Email Matching: Ensure the SIS ID or Email used in Canvas matches the identity provider (Google/Microsoft) for SSO to work.
- 3. Check Term Dates: Integrations often fail if the 'Term' has ended or hasn't started yet in Canvas settings.
✓ Canvas LMS Integrates Natively (3)
These tools connect directly with Canvas LMS without needing third-party automation platforms.
⚙ Connect via Automation Platform (3)
Connect Canvas LMS to these tools using Make ↗ , a powerful automation platform.
