Adding a third-party integration to a section via sources

Last updated: May 15, 2026

Sources let you connect a section to a third-party platform — like Google Classroom or Canvas — so that assignments and student work from that platform sync automatically into Scout. This article walks you through adding a source to a section.

Supported platforms

You can add a source for any of these platforms:

  • Google Classroom

  • Canvas

  • Mr. D Math

  • Subject.com

  • Edgenuity

  • Bright Thinker (Buzz)

  • Acellus

Some integrations (Edmentum, Apex, IXL) are managed at the platform level and don't appear in this flow.

Who can add a source

Staff members — district administrators, school administrators, teachers, counselors, and registrars — can add or remove sources on a section. Parents and students can see sources but can't change them.

How to add a source

Step 1: Open the section or find the students learning period

You can add a source from two places:

  • From the section itself. Go to Courses in the left sidebar, open the course, click the Sections tab, and select the section you want.

  • From a student's profile. Open the student's profile and expand the section you want under their enrollments.

Step 2: Click Add source

In the Sources area, click Add source. A confirmation dialog will appear asking if you want to add an integration to this section. Click Add Integration to continue.

[Screenshot: The Add source button in the Sources area]

[Screenshot: The Add Integration confirmation dialog]

Step 3: Choose the platform and paste the URL

In the next dialog:

  1. Select the Platform from the dropdown (e.g., Google Classroom, Canvas).

  2. Paste the course URL from that platform into the URL field. The dialog shows an example URL for each platform — your URL must follow the same format.

If the URL doesn't match the expected format, you'll see a red validation message explaining what to fix.

[Screenshot: The Add Integration dialog with Platform dropdown and URL field]

Step 4 (Google Classroom and Canvas only): Pick an assignment group

For Google Classroom and Canvas, you can limit syncing to a specific assignment group inside the course. This is useful when one course on the platform serves multiple Scout sections.

  1. After pasting a valid URL, click Use Link. Scout will fetch the list of assignment groups from the platform.

  2. Pick a group from the list, or choose All Groups (no filter) to sync everything. If a group's name matches your section name, Scout will suggest it and highlight it in green.

  3. You can also type a custom group name in the text box if you don't see the right option.

[Screenshot: The fetched assignment groups list with a suggested group highlighted]

For Mr. D Math, you can optionally type an assignment group or topic name manually. The name must match exactly with the group name on the external platform. Other platforms sync all assignments and don't have a group field.

Step 5: Add the integration

Click Add Integration. The source is saved and appears in the Sources list with the platform's logo. Scout will start syncing on a schedule — you'll see Last synced or Next sync next to the source.

[Screenshot: A section showing one or more sources with sync times displayed]

Removing a source

To remove a source, click Remove next to it. A dialog will warn you how many students in the section are affected and give you the option to Delete all assignments from this integration. This box is checked by default — uncheck it if you want to keep the previously synced assignments in Scout after disconnecting.

Click Remove Integration to confirm. This action can't be undone.

[Screenshot: The Remove Integration dialog showing the delete assignments checkbox and student count]

Tips

  • Use the exact course URL from the platform. Copy it from your browser's address bar while viewing the course on Google Classroom, Canvas, etc. Scout validates the format and will reject URLs that don't match the expected pattern.

  • Filter by assignment group when one course covers multiple sections. For Google Classroom and Canvas, picking a specific assignment group keeps each Scout section's data clean instead of pulling in every assignment.

  • You can add more than one source to a section. Repeat the steps above if a section pulls assignments from multiple platforms.

  • Sync happens automatically. You don't need to trigger syncs manually. The Last synced timestamp shows when Scout last pulled data, and Next sync shows the upcoming run.