How to Use Student View in Your Canvas Course to See What Students See

View Your Course as a Student  

Did you know there is a button that can easily show you how your course looks to your students in Canvas? Not only does the Student View button let you navigate your course from a student's perspective, but you can see how your quizzes and assignments appear to students and even grade those test student submissions! 

The Student View is a great tool for double-checking your course materials. Because student view shows you how your students see your course, you can ensure that:  

This article will cover the basic functionality of entering and leaving Student View.  

How to Access Student View in Canvas  

 In many pages in Canvas, you will see the "Student View" button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.   

(Note: Most third-party tools are not able to be tested in Student View. Various other Canvas features may not be used in Student View.)  

 Testing Your Course with Student View  

 Once you have clicked the Student View button, you will be able to view your course from the perspective of a Test Student. This works by creating a Test Student account and logging you in. 

You will see any content visible to students in your course. You will not see content that is not visible to them (i.e, unpublished Modules or course navigation items). You will also not be able to access normal instructor settings and editing screens.  

While in Student View, a pink border will go around the screen border to signal to you that you are in Student View. To leave, click the ‘Leave Student View’ button at the bottom right of the screen. 

Note: You must click "Leave Student View" if you wish to resume navigating through your course as an instructor. If you are logged into Student View, you are viewing the course as a Test Student in your course and will not be able to access your specific instructor permissions (such as changing your Settings or editing things.) Refreshing or leaving and returning will not cause you to Leave Student View. 

Testing Assignments and Quizzes  

 Have you ever wondered how your quizzes or assignments appear to students? You can easily test a Quiz or an Assignment submission in Student View. (Note: If you are using New Quizzes you can also use the “Preview” button to take your own quiz. This will not create an associated test student submission.)  

After submitting, leave Student View. You'll be able to view and grade these “Test Student” submissions as an instructor. They should appear at the bottom of your course roster in Gradebook under “Test Student.”  

This article has covered some basic facts about the use of Student View in Canvas. For more about using Student View in your course, visit the following resources -  

Additional Resources: