Add NXGen to a Canvas course (LTI 1.3)

NXGen Learning Studio connects to Canvas as an LTI 1.3 Advantage tool. Learners open linked activities inside Canvas; scored work can pass grades back to the Canvas gradebook when the link is set up as graded.

Institution setup — Developer Key, deployment, environment variables, and JWKS URLs — is handled by administrators. This article covers what instructors see after an administrator registers the tool.

Prepare your course in Studio

Before linking a course in Canvas, you author pages and add quiz blocks in the Studio editor, then use Preview to confirm what learners will see. The Studio editor is where you add and arrange content blocks on each page:

Editor in Tidal Ink light. Fictional workshop content. Full-resolution PNG

Use Preview to see the course exactly as a learner will see it, including quiz blocks in their learner-facing state:

Learner in Quiet Light. Fictional workshop content. Full-resolution PNG

In Preview, learners read the question, select an answer, and submit to see feedback. Full-resolution PNG

When you select a quiz block, the inspector shows its settings — including scoring mode, attempt limits, and answer reveal rules:

The quiz inspector shows title, pass score, type, attempts and shuffle controls for the selected quiz. Full-resolution PNG

Once your course is ready, publish it with Publish to web and copy the course ID so you can enter it in the Canvas content picker.

Open the content picker from Canvas

1. In Canvas, add an External Tool assignment or module link and choose NXGen (or the name your administrator gave the Developer Key).
2. Canvas runs the LTI login and deep-linking flow. NXGen opens Add NXGen content to Canvas.
3. Fill in the form using the exact labels on the page:
   • Published course ID — the UUID of a course you published from NXGen (Publish to web). Unpublished or draft-only courses cannot be linked.
   • Title in Canvas — the title Canvas shows for the link (optional; defaults to “NXGen course” if you leave it blank).
   • Create graded line item (AGS) — when checked, Canvas creates a gradebook column and NXGen can send scores after a learner submits a scored quiz. For a normal course link, NXGen sends one course total (points earned across all learner-visible scored quizzes over points possible), not a separate score per quiz on the same column.
   • Score maximum — the points possible Canvas stores for that line item (for example 100). Values range from 1 to 10,000.
4. Choose Add to Canvas. NXGen returns a signed resource link to Canvas.

Only users with instructor privileges in the launch (Instructor or Content Developer roles) can complete deep linking. The picker does not yet verify that the Canvas course and the NXGen course belong to the same owner; type the correct published course ID carefully.

What learners see

• Learners open the link from Canvas and land in the NXGen graded experience for that course.
• They always play the published version of the course—the snapshot from when it was last published—not your in-progress Studio draft. If you edit after publishing, republish so learners (and LTI) see the update.
• Quiz answer keys are never exposed to learners; submissions are graded on the server. For practice quizzes with Check each enabled, learners get hints and retry feedback without seeing correct answers until the server allows reveal.
• Course media (images, audio, video, downloads, fonts) loads through the launch session, not a Studio login. Media in hidden blocks, groups, or sections is not visible to learners; theme backgrounds still load.
• Attempt limits you set on a scored quiz in NXGen are enforced on the server. When attempts are exhausted, the learner sees a message that no attempts remain.
• Practice (knowledge check) quizzes are graded for feedback on the server, do not send grades to Canvas, and do not block Next on quiz pages.
• With in-order navigation, learners must pass scored quizzes on a quiz page before Next unlocks; prior passes restore when they return.

Grades in Canvas

When Create graded line item (AGS) was selected at link time and the activity includes a scored quiz, a successful submit sends a score to the Canvas gradebook (Assignment and Grade Services). A whole-course link sends the course total (latest result on each learner-visible scored quiz, summed over total points possible). A link scoped to one quiz sends only that quiz’s score. If passback fails on the learner’s last allowed attempt, NXGen stores the pending grade and retries passback when they reopen the course or submit again at the attempt limit—without using another attempt. The retry sends the current course total or quiz score, not a stale single attempt. If passback still fails, the learner may see their score in NXGen while Canvas shows the last successful sync; check tool configuration with your administrator.

Ungraded links still open course content but do not create or update a gradebook column.

Example: one Canvas course with a graded and an ungraded NXGen course

A common setup pairs a short reference course that learners can read at any time with a graded course whose quizzes count toward the Canvas grade.

1. In NXGen, publish both courses with Publish to web and copy each course ID.
2. In Canvas, add the reference course to a module: choose Add item, then External Tool, then the NXGen tool. In Add NXGen content to Canvas, enter the reference course ID and a title, clear Create graded line item (AGS), and choose Add to Canvas. Canvas adds a module item with no gradebook column.
3. Create an assignment for the graded course. Set Submission type to External Tool, choose Find, and select the NXGen tool. Enter the graded course ID and a title, keep Create graded line item (AGS) selected, set Score maximum (for example 100), and choose Add to Canvas. Then save and publish the assignment.

What learners and teachers then see, for a graded course with two scored quizzes worth 5 points each and one practice check:

• A learner who scores 5 of 5 on the first scored quiz sees “Course score sent to Canvas: 5 of 10 points”, and the gradebook shows 50 out of 100.
• The practice check never changes the grade.
• After 2 of 5 on the second scored quiz, the course total is 7 of 10 and the gradebook shows 70. If that quiz allows another attempt, a better retake raises the total.
• The reference course opens inside Canvas without any grade message.

Use Student View in Canvas to try the flow as a learner before you open it to a class.

Republish and troubleshooting

If learners see that the course is not published or unavailable, confirm the course is still published in NXGen and that you republished after major edits. Only an NXGen author with access to the course can publish.

For keys, URLs, and security rules, contact your Canvas administrator rather than embedding secrets in course materials.