Holon Channel embeds a YouTube channel directly into Canvas — giving students a full video learning experience, and instructors powerful tools for engagement tracking, knowledge checks, discussion, and graded assignments, all without leaving Canvas.

Key Capabilities

• Connect one or more YouTube channels via Channel ID or handle
• Searchable, filterable video feed inside Canvas
• Per-student watch progress tracking and heatmap
• Timed knowledge check questions stamped to video timestamps
• Inline discussion panel with emoji reactions and threaded replies
• Publish any video as a graded Canvas assignment with grade passback
• Analytics dashboard with completion rates, top videos, and per-student data
• Instructor-only analytics and assignment management tools
• Fully automatic grading — grades are submitted to Canvas the moment a student meets requirements. No manual grading ever required.

Who Sees What

Holon Channel runs as a Canvas LTI 1.1 tool. No separate login is required — your Canvas identity is passed automatically at launch via the Holon Hub daisy-chain token system.

Step 1 — Set Up Your YouTube Channel

Go to Channel Setup in the sidebar. Enter your YouTube Channel ID (e.g. UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) or handle (e.g. @channelname), an optional display name, and your YouTube Data API v3 key.

Step 2 — Sync Videos

After saving the channel, click Sync Videos on the Channel Feed to pull in your latest YouTube videos. Sync runs against your YouTube Data API quota — avoid syncing more than necessary.

Step 3 — Open a Video

Click any video card in the Channel Feed to open the player. From the player you can add knowledge check questions, manage discussion, and publish the video as a Canvas assignment.

Topbar Elements

• Holon Channel pill — branding indicator with green live dot
• User avatar — displays your Canvas display name initials
• Sync Videos button — pulls latest videos from YouTube (instructors only)
• A / A+ / A++ — text size zoom controls
• Hamburger (☰) — collapse/expand sidebar

The Dashboard is the first screen you see after launching Holon Channel. It provides a summary of your channel and quick access to key areas.

Hero Banner

Displays your name and current course name. The green dot indicates the tool is live and connected.

Stat Cards

• Videos — total number of synced videos in your channel
• Channel — name of the connected YouTube channel

Quick Actions

• Open Channel Feed — jump directly to the video feed
• View Analytics — jump to the analytics dashboard

The Channel Feed shows all synced YouTube videos as cards with thumbnails, titles, duration, and student watch progress.

Video Cards

Each card displays: thumbnail, title, duration, view count, and a progress bar showing how far through the video the current student has watched.

Video Badges

• Assignment — video has been published as a graded Canvas assignment
• Complete — student has met the watch completion threshold

Search & Filter

Use the search box at the top of the feed to filter videos by title in real time.

Syncing Videos

Click Sync Videos in the topbar to pull the latest videos from YouTube. Only instructors can trigger a sync.

Click any video card to open the full player view. The player embeds the YouTube video inline and provides the right-side panel with knowledge check, discussion, and assignment tools.

Player Controls

• Standard YouTube embedded controls (play, pause, seek, fullscreen)
• Back to Channel button — returns to the video feed

Progress Tracking

Student watch progress is recorded continuously and synced to the server. Progress is used for assignment completion checks and displayed in the analytics heatmap.

Now Stamp (📍 Now)

When editing knowledge check questions, clicking + Add Question automatically stamps the current playback position as the timestamp for that question. The video will pause at that point during student playback to show the question.

Knowledge Check lets instructors attach timed questions to specific moments in a video. When a student reaches that timestamp, the video pauses and the question appears.

Adding Questions

1. Open a video in the player
2. Click Edit Knowledge Check in the right panel
3. Play the video to the moment you want the question to appear
4. Click + Add Question — the current timestamp is automatically stamped
5. Type the question text and answer options
6. Click Save

Student Experience

When a student reaches a knowledge check timestamp, the video pauses and a question card appears. The student answers and clicks Submit to resume playback. Responses are recorded per student.

Question List

The knowledge check panel shows all questions for the current video with their timestamps. Instructors see an edit button; students see the questions as they watch.

Each video has an inline discussion panel where students and instructors can post comments, reply to each other, and react with emoji — all without leaving the player.

Posting a Comment

Type in the Share a thought… input at the top of the Discussion panel and press Enter or click the send button.

Emoji Reactions

Click the emoji button on any comment to add a reaction. Reactions are grouped and counted. Multiple students can react to the same comment.

Threaded Replies

Click Reply under any comment to post a threaded response. Replies are nested under the parent comment.

Edit & Delete

You can edit or delete your own comments at any time using the Edit and Delete links on your comment. Edited comments show an (edited) badge.

Comment Count

The Discussion panel header shows the total number of comments for the current video.

Instructors can publish any video as a graded Canvas assignment. Grade passback sends scores directly to the Canvas gradebook when students complete the requirements.

Publishing a Video as an Assignment

1. Open a video in the player
2. Click Edit Assignment at the top of the Knowledge Check panel
3. Choose an Assignment Type: Graded, Ungraded, or Extra Credit
4. Set the name, point value, and optional due date
5. Configure grading requirements: watch percentage, knowledge check completion, and/or discussion post
6. Click Save to Canvas

Assignment Types

Grading Requirements

You can require any combination of the following for a student to receive a grade:

• Watch % — student must watch a minimum percentage of the video (50%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100%)
• Knowledge Check — student must complete all knowledge check questions
• Discussion Post — student must post at least one discussion comment

Assignment Progress (Students)

Students see an Assignment Progress panel while watching a video published as an assignment. It shows which requirements they have met and what remains.

The Viewing Heatmap is an instructor-only feature that visualizes where students watched (and re-watched) a video across the class.

How It Works

The heatmap bar spans the full video duration. Darker/brighter segments indicate portions of the video watched by more students. Segments with low engagement appear lighter.

Reading the Heatmap

• High-intensity segments = watched by many students, possibly re-watched
• Low-intensity segments = skipped or dropped off by most students
• Drop-off near the end = students stopped before the video finished

The Analytics view (instructors only) provides a class-wide view of student engagement across all videos in the channel.

Metrics

Theme Customization

Change the tool's accent color, sidebar background, and nav active color to match your institution's Canvas branding. Click Reset to restore the default navy/green scheme.

Text Size

A / A+ / A++ zoom buttons are always available in the topbar. The selected zoom level is saved per user and restored on next launch.

Help & Support

Click the ? help button in the topbar to open the quick-start help overlay at any time.

Videos aren't showing after sync

Verify your YouTube Channel ID or handle is correct and that your YouTube Data API v3 key is active with no IP restrictions blocking the server. Check that you have not exceeded the daily API quota (10,000 units).

Grade passback isn't working

The tool must be installed as an External Tool assignment in Canvas. Verify with your Canvas admin that the LTI tool is correctly configured and that grade passback is enabled for the course.

The video pauses but no question appears

The knowledge check question may not have a valid timestamp. Open Edit Knowledge Check and verify each question has a timestamp — timestamps are set automatically when you click + Add Question at the right moment in the video.

Can students see each other's progress or grades?

No. Watch progress, knowledge check responses, and grades are strictly per-student and private. Only instructors can see class-wide analytics.

Can I add more than one YouTube channel?

Yes — Holon Channel supports up to 5 YouTube channels per course. Add additional channels in Channel Setup.

How do I remove a video assignment?

Open the video in the player, click Edit Assignment, and use the delete option. Note that if students have already submitted grades, deletion may affect their gradebook entries.