How to Use Interactive Video in Canvas LMS

Canvas is the most widely used learning management system in higher education. Millions of students log into Canvas every week to access course materials, submit assignments, and check grades. If you teach with Canvas, it's the hub of your course.

And yet, video assignments in Canvas are still overwhelmingly passive. You upload a lecture recording or link a YouTube video, students press play (or don't), and you have no way to know whether they actually engaged with the material. Did they watch for three minutes and switch tabs? Did they understand the key concept at the 8-minute mark? You have no idea.

Interactive video solves this. By embedding questions, polls, and knowledge checks directly into the video timeline, you turn passive watching into active learning — and you get per-student, per-question data showing exactly who understood what. This guide walks you through two concrete methods for bringing interactive video into Canvas, step by step.

Why interactive video in Canvas

Canvas makes it easy to share video. You can embed YouTube links, upload recordings, or integrate with tools like Kaltura and Panopto. What Canvas does not do is make video accountable. A student can open a video assignment, let it play in a background tab, and mark it complete. The gradebook shows "submitted" — but that tells you nothing about comprehension.

Interactive video changes the equation in three ways:

• Verified engagement. When the video pauses for a question, the student must actually be watching and thinking. You get a timestamped response for every interaction, not just a completion checkbox.
• Immediate feedback. Students find out right away whether they understood the material. If they get a question wrong, they can rewatch that section before moving on — self-correcting in the moment rather than discovering the gap on a midterm.
• Actionable analytics. You see which questions students got right, which ones they struggled with, and where in the video they rewatched or dropped off. This data tells you exactly which concepts to revisit in the next class session.

For flipped classrooms, the impact is even more direct. If students complete an interactive video before class, you walk into the room knowing precisely which topics need reteaching and which ones the class already grasps. That's a fundamentally different starting point than hoping everyone did the reading.

Two ways to add interactive video

There are two methods for adding interactive video to Canvas. The right choice depends on your goals and how much control you have over your institution's Canvas configuration.

If you just want to get an interactive video in front of students today, use the iframe method. If you want grades to flow into the Canvas gradebook and students to launch videos as native Canvas assignments, use LTI. Many instructors start with iframe embeds and move to LTI once they see the value.

Method 1: Embed via iframe

The iframe method is the fastest way to put an interactive video into Canvas. It requires no admin involvement and works on any Canvas page, module item, or assignment description. The trade-off is that scores stay inside Interakly — they don't automatically appear in the Canvas gradebook.

Creating the interactive video

Before you embed anything in Canvas, you need an interactive video. In Interakly, paste a YouTube URL or upload a video file, then add your interactions — multiple choice, polls, fill-in-the-blank, free text, and a dozen more. (A few interaction types — hotspots, drawings, and frame annotations — need an uploaded MP4 because they require frame-perfect placement that the YouTube embed can't deliver.) When you're satisfied with the content, grab the share link from the editor. It looks like this:

https://interakly.com/v/abc123

Embedding in a Canvas page

The iframe code follows this pattern:

<iframe
  src="https://interakly.com/embed/YOUR_SHARE_CODE"
  width="100%"
  height="600"
  frameborder="0"
  allow="autoplay; fullscreen"
  allowfullscreen
></iframe>

You can also use the iframe method inside assignment descriptions, discussion prompts, or module pages. Anywhere Canvas lets you edit HTML, you can embed an interactive video.

Method 2: LTI integration

LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) is the standard protocol that lets external tools plug into an LMS. When you click "External Tool" in a Canvas assignment, you're using LTI. Version 1.3 is the current standard, and it supports three things that matter for interactive video:

• Single sign-on. Students launch the video from Canvas and are automatically authenticated. No separate accounts, no extra logins.
• Grade passback. When a student completes an interactive video, the score is sent back to the Canvas gradebook automatically via the Assignment and Grade Services (AGS) specification.
• Deep linking. Instructors can browse and select specific interactive videos from within Canvas during assignment creation, without switching to a separate browser tab.

The catch is that LTI requires a one-time configuration by a Canvas administrator. As an individual instructor, you typically cannot install LTI tools yourself — you need your institution's Canvas admin to set it up. Once it's configured, every instructor in the institution can use it.

Setting up LTI in Canvas

This section is for Canvas administrators or instructors with admin access. The goal is to register Interakly as an external tool in Canvas so that it can receive launch requests and send grades back.

Getting your LTI credentials from Interakly

In the Interakly editor, open any video's settings and go to the Access tab. Under LTI Integration, you'll find the LTI Platform Manager. Click Add Platform and select Canvas as the platform type. Interakly will generate the values you need:

• Launch URL — the endpoint Canvas will send students to
• Login URL — the OIDC initiation endpoint
• Public Keyset URL — for JWT verification
• Redirect URI — the callback after authentication

Keep this page open — you'll need these values in the next steps.

Registering the tool in Canvas

Once the admin completes this setup, Interakly is available as an external tool across all courses in that Canvas account. Individual instructors can now create assignments that use Interakly without any further configuration.

Creating interactive assignments

With LTI configured, creating an interactive video assignment in Canvas is straightforward. Students will see it as a regular assignment in their Canvas dashboard — the fact that it launches an external tool is transparent to them.

Grade passback and sync

Grade passback is the feature that makes the LTI integration worth the setup effort. Here's how it works behind the scenes:

1. Student completes the video. After answering all graded interactions (or reaching the end of the video, depending on your completion trigger setting), the session is marked complete and a score is calculated.
2. Score calculation. Interakly computes the score based on graded interactions only. Non-graded interactions like polls, info cards, and navigation elements are excluded. The score is expressed as a percentage (0.0 to 1.0).
3. Automatic grade delivery. Interakly sends the score to Canvas via the LTI Assignment and Grade Services (AGS) protocol. This happens immediately upon session completion — there's no manual step.
4. Canvas gradebook update. The score appears in the Canvas gradebook as a number grade, scaled to the assignment's point value. If the assignment is worth 10 points and the student scored 80%, they get 8 points.

Students who retake the video (if retakes are enabled) will have their grade updated to the new score. Canvas retains the most recent grade by default.

Student experience

From the student's perspective, the experience is seamless. There is no new tool to learn, no separate account to create, and no extra tabs to manage.

1. Student opens the assignment in Canvas. They see it in their Assignments list, To-Do, or within a module — exactly like any other Canvas assignment.
2. The interactive video loads inline. Clicking the assignment opens the video directly inside Canvas. The student does not navigate to a different website.
3. Student watches and interacts. The video plays. At key moments, it pauses and presents a question, poll, or other interaction. The student responds, gets immediate feedback, and continues.
4. Score is shown and recorded. When the video is complete, the student sees their score. With LTI, the grade is automatically recorded in Canvas — the student can verify it in the gradebook immediately.

This zero-friction experience matters. Every additional step — creating an account, navigating to a new site, remembering a different password — reduces the number of students who actually complete the assignment. By keeping everything inside Canvas, you eliminate those barriers entirely.

Best practices for Canvas

After working with instructors who use interactive video in Canvas, several patterns consistently lead to better results:

Place videos in modules alongside other content

Don't isolate interactive videos in a separate section of your course. Place them in the module where they contextually belong — after the reading, before the discussion, or as preparation for the lab. Students are more likely to engage with a video that appears in a logical sequence than one buried in a standalone "Videos" module.

Use Canvas completion requirements

If you use modules with prerequisites, you can require students to complete the interactive video before unlocking the next module item. In Canvas, set the module item's completion requirement to "submit" for LTI assignments or "mark as done" for embedded pages. This ensures students don't skip ahead.

Set due dates that precede class discussions

The most effective use of interactive video in higher education is as preparation for class. Set the due date for the night before or the morning of your lecture. Review the per-question analytics before class to see where students struggled, and open the session by addressing those specific points. This approach is far more efficient than re-lecturing on material most students already understand.

Keep question density moderate

Aim for one graded interaction every two to four minutes of video. Fewer than that, and students disengage between questions. More than that, and the experience feels like a test rather than a learning activity. For a 15-minute video, four to six questions is a reasonable target.

Combine graded and ungraded interactions

Not every interaction needs to count toward the grade. Use polls and free-text prompts to encourage reflection without the pressure of being scored. A pattern that works well: graded multiple-choice questions to verify comprehension, interspersed with ungraded polls asking students to reflect on or apply the concept. The graded questions provide accountability; the ungraded ones provide depth.

Review analytics after each assignment cycle

After your first cohort completes the video, review the per-question analytics in Interakly. If more than 40% of students miss a particular question, either the question is poorly worded or the video didn't explain the concept clearly enough. Adjust the question, add an info card with an explanation before the question, or revise the video segment. Even small iterations compound into significantly better content over two or three semesters.

Troubleshooting common issues

Most problems with interactive video in Canvas fall into a handful of categories. Here are the most common issues and their solutions.

LTI launch fails or shows a blank page

This almost always means the LTI configuration is incorrect. Verify that the Launch URL, Login URL, and Public Keyset URL in Canvas match exactly what Interakly provides. Check that the Developer Key is enabled (not disabled or deleted). If your institution uses a custom Canvas domain, ensure the redirect URI includes that domain.

Grades not appearing in the gradebook

First, confirm that AGS is enabled in the Developer Key scopes. Second, check that the assignment uses "External Tool" as its submission type — grades cannot pass back to a Canvas Page or a non-assignment module item. Third, verify that the student actually completed the video (check the Interakly analytics dashboard for session status).

Video not loading in the iframe

Canvas has a Content Security Policy that restricts which domains can be embedded. If the iframe shows a blank frame or a "refused to connect" error, the Interakly domain may need to be added to your Canvas instance's allowlist. Contact your Canvas admin to add the domain to the CSP whitelist. Alternatively, try the LTI method, which avoids CSP issues because the tool is registered as a trusted external application.

Students see a pop-up blocker warning

Some Canvas configurations open external tools in a new window. If students have pop-up blockers enabled, the launch may be blocked. Instruct students to allow pop-ups for your Canvas domain, or configure the LTI tool to launch in an iframe rather than a new window (this is a setting in the Canvas Developer Key under "Launch Type").

Points don't match between Interakly and Canvas

Interakly sends scores as a decimal between 0 and 1 (e.g., 0.8 for 80%). Canvas multiplies this by the assignment's point value. If your Interakly video is worth 10 points internally but the Canvas assignment is set to 100 points, a student who scores 80% will get 80 points in Canvas. Make sure the Canvas assignment point value reflects the scale you intend.

FAQ

Does Interakly work with Canvas LMS?

Yes. Interakly integrates with Canvas via LTI 1.3 for seamless assignment creation and automatic grade passback, or via simple iframe embedding for quick, no-setup usage. The LTI integration means students launch interactive videos directly from Canvas assignments, with grades flowing back to the gradebook automatically. The iframe method works on any Canvas page and requires no admin configuration.

How do grades sync between Interakly and Canvas?

When configured via LTI 1.3, Interakly automatically sends scores to the Canvas gradebook when a student completes an interactive video. The score is calculated based on graded interactions only — polls, info cards, and navigation elements are excluded. The score is sent as a decimal (0.0 to 1.0) via the LTI Assignment and Grade Services (AGS) standard, and Canvas converts it to the assignment's point scale.

Do students need Interakly accounts to use it in Canvas?

No. When accessed through Canvas via LTI, students are automatically authenticated through their Canvas login using the LTI single sign-on mechanism. No separate Interakly account is required. For iframe embeds, students interact anonymously unless you enable Interakly's email gate feature, which prompts them to enter their name and email before starting.

Can I use YouTube videos in Canvas with Interakly?

Yes. You can create an interactive video using any YouTube URL in Interakly, then embed it in Canvas via LTI or iframe. Students watch and interact with the YouTube content directly within Canvas. This is one of the fastest ways to create interactive assignments — paste a YouTube URL, add a few questions, and assign it. No video downloading or re-uploading is involved.

Is Interakly's Canvas integration free?

The free tier supports YouTube-based interactive videos. Most interaction types are available — multiple choice, polls, free text, fill-in-the-blank, true/false, and so on. A small set (hotspots, drawings, frame annotations) require an uploaded MP4 because they need frame-perfect placement that the YouTube embed can't deliver. LTI integration with grade passback requires admin-level configuration in Canvas but does not require a paid Interakly plan for basic usage. Uploaded videos (as opposed to YouTube links) are available on the free tier with a one-per-day limit and a 15-minute duration cap.

What if my Canvas admin won't install external tools?

You can use the iframe embed method instead, which requires no admin involvement. Simply copy the embed code from Interakly and paste it into a Canvas page using the HTML editor. The trade-off is that grades won't sync automatically to the Canvas gradebook — you would need to check scores in Interakly's analytics dashboard and record them manually. For many use cases (ungraded review videos, supplementary content, flipped classroom preparation), this is perfectly adequate.