What can Observers do in a Canvas course?

When they first log in, Observers will see the Global Stream in their Dashboard.

Observers can read student replies to course Announcements and Discussions and see student profile images (if available), but they cannot add their own comments.

Observers can see a list of Assignments due and click on their titles, but...

...Observers cannot submit Assignments. There is no submission button on this Assignment detail page.

Observers can download documents to their computer and see the edit history for any course Page.

If the Instructor changes the permission of a Page so that Anyone can edit it, then Observers can contribute to course Pages.

If an Instructor locks a folder in course Files, Observers will not be able to view the content.

Observers can see the Syllabus page [1]. They can also see how the final grade is calculated [2].

Observers can see all course Outcomes and Outcome descriptions.

Note: If the course navigation link does not appear, the instructor has hidden the link from course users.

Observers can see Quiz titles, but...

...Observers cannot take Quizzes. Note that there is no link to "Take this Quiz".

Observers can see how an Instructor has organized course content in Modules. They can also see the point values for individual assignments. Again, Observers can click on any of these links, but they won't be able to participate in Discussions, submit Assignments, or take Quizzes.

Once an Instructor has created a Conference, added an Observer, and started the meeting, Observers will be able to join in.

Instructors and students can create groups inside of Canvas that make it easy to collaborate in smaller groups. Observers cannot be added to or interact inside of Groups.

From the Global Navigation Menu, Observers can click on Assignments to see a summary page of all assignments due across all of the courses they are enrolled in.

From the Global Navigation Menu, if an Observer clicks on Grades, they will see a blank page, unless they are linked to a student.

Observers can see all Assignments due on the Calendar, filter the calendar view by the different courses they are enrolled in, view undated events and assignments, and even grab an iCal feed from the global Calendar.

Observers can click on the Inbox link to access Conversations, but...

Observers can send messages to only Instructors. They cannot send messages to Students in the course.

Observers will not be able to see the names of enrolled Students or their Registered Services (i.e. links to Facebook, LinkedIn, and other web services).

The permissions assigned to Observers are limited. They may see this screen once if they click to a page that they do not have permissions to access.

PLEASE NOTE: Each Instructor can customize the links in the Course Navigation and limit the number of features that Students and Observers can see. Observers may or may not see links to all of the features discussed in this lesson.

Like students, Observers cannot view a course until it is published and the course has started.