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How to Connect AES + Canvas for Grade Passback and Student Single-Sign on
How to Connect AES + Canvas for Grade Passback and Student Single-Sign on
4 setup steps for teachers using their district integration with Canvas
Corinne Guinter avatar
Written by Corinne Guinter
Updated over a week ago

Canvas gives teachers like you a single, digital environment for student learning. Your communications to students are centralized to one platform, students have one less login to remember, and their quiz and test grades from AES assignments automatically sync to Canvas for you!

Your school district has provided this secure connection - so how do you make the most of it?

Here are your 4 steps to integrate your AES classes with Canvas:

Within each step is an important best practice you should know about how the connection works.


Step 1 - Create Your Course in Canvas

Best Practice: Create one Canvas course for each of your AES classes.

In most cases, your Canvas courses are created before you even think about setting up your district integration. We’ve even seen a number of school districts take over course creation and student rosters for their teachers!

If you are tasked with creating your own Canvas courses, you must remember the integration with your AES curriculum creates a unique link between one Canvas course and one AES class.

For this reason, we recommend that for every course you teach, create one Canvas course and one AES class, grouping all cohorts of students in a course together (even in AES!).

Note: Don’t worry about multiple sections or cohorts of students being too overwhelming! AES grades are going to load into Canvas for all your students automatically and in Canvas you can filter your rosters and grades.

Once the courses you teach are created in Canvas, you’re ready to prepare your AES curriculum.

Step 2 - Create Your Class in AES

Best Practice: Wait to enroll students! Your students will enroll through Canvas.

Your second step is to create AES classes and prepare your assignments before they are automatically "loaded" into your Canvas course for you.

For the best experience, we recommend starting your Canvas integration without students enrolled in AES classes. Students get enrolled into AES the very first time they use an AES-linked assignment that was loaded into your Canvas course for you.

There are two options for creating a fresh AES class:

This is the best option if you are brand new to using AES or when you're teaching a brand new course.

If you've used AES curriculum previously and you are teaching the same courses, the best option is to make copies of your classes and save time.

Note: If you've been using AES with students this semester or school year and want to begin using the integration, start a chat with our team to determine the best way to do so for you and your students.

Once you’ve made an AES class for the course(s) you teach and your assignments are customized, you are ready to connect your class with the corresponding course in your Canvas account.

Step 3 - Link Your AES Class to Your Canvas Course

Best Practice: Sign in to both Canvas and AES whenever you need to link your AES classes to a Canvas course. You will need to reference both systems!

Now you’re finally connecting the two systems together! First, you will authorize your AES teaching account to connect with your Canvas account. This only happens one time because it establishes your AES account and Canvas account are allowed to work together.

Note: Everything works best for students if they are not enrolled in AES when you link the class to the corresponding Canvas course, refer back to Step 2.

From your AES account, open your class to the Overview Tab. Click on the yellow Link to Canvas button.

Next, you'll see two separate pop-ups.

Once you click authorize, you’ll see a new pop-up with a drop-down list of your Canvas courses to choose from. The list will only show Canvas courses you have not yet linked to an AES class.

Choose the correct course in Canvas your AES Class should link to. This might take a moment to load and the webpage might flash. That’s all normal! All the AES assignments from your class created in Step 2 are being created in Canvas for you and your students.

Once that finishes loading assignments, you’ll see the Link to Canvas button is replaced with a greyed-out button instead. This indicates that you are good to go to Step 4!

Step 4 - Review AES Assignments Loaded in Canvas

Best Practice: Take your time and review your Canvas-linked AES assignments.

We strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with the AES assignments just loaded to Canvas for you. Review these under your course Assignments.

You'll have an assignment group for each learning module in your AES class, all unit quizzes and modules tests are individual assignments in your Canvas course. If you created a custom exam, it will be in its' own assignment group.

It’s important to remember that the end result of this Canvas setup will look different for each teacher.

By reaching out for training from your district or talking to other teachers at your school, you'll find the best way to set up your Canvas environment for you and your students.

If you get stuck, start a chat with AES for a recommendation built around your classes and your situation.

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