How do I log in to Canvas as an observer?
You can access Canvas through an institution-specific Canvas URL, your student's school's website, a course invitation email, or the Canvas Parent iOS app or Canvas Parent Android app.
You must have an account to log in to Canvas. View troubleshooting steps if you are unable to log in to Canvas.
Notes:
- If you are observing a student associated with an institution using Canvas and you do not know your username and password, please contact the institution's site administrator.
- If you don't have an account, learn how to create a Canvas account.
- Learn more about navigating Canvas as an observer in the Canvas Observer Global Navigation guides or the Canvas Observer Video guides.
Open Canvas
You can access Canvas through an institution-specific Canvas URL. Canvas URLs use one of the following structures: [your student's institution's name].instructure.com or canvas.[your student's institution's name].edu.
You can also locate your student's institution's Canvas URL using the Canvas Parent iOS app or Canvas Parent Android app.
Some institution's may also allow access to Canvas via an institution-specific authentication system which redirects to Canvas, such as a school portal or website.
Note: Canvas Network and Free-For-Teacher accounts do not follow an institution-specific URL structure. Canvas Network accounts can be accessed at learn.canvas.net. Free-For-Teachers accounts can be accessed at canvas.instructure.com.
Log in to Canvas
After locating your student's institution's Canvas URL, you can log in to your Canvas account.
To log in, enter your credentials (or login information) which may display as your email address, username, or login ID [1] and password [2]. Then click the Login link [3].
If needed and depending on your student's institution settings, you may be able to reset your password by clicking the Forgot Password link [4].
Note: The Login page may display differently depending on your student's instititution or if you are logging in via the Canvas Parent app.
Log in to Canvas via QR Code
Alternatively, you can navigate to your student's institution's Canvas instance and log in to the Canvas Parent app by scanning your Canvas profile QR code from Canvas web.
View QR log in steps for the Canvas Parent app using an Android or iOS device.
