The Canvas Observer Role

In UA, the Observer role can be used by parents and guardians who would like to link to their student(s) to observe course data. Observers have limited permissions that allow them to see what is going on in a course without interrupting the flow of daily course communication. Observers cannot submit work on behalf of the students they observe and are not be able to access some of the information linked by teachers, but they can see student grades, assignments and events, and course interactions.

Once you create an Observer Account and Link to your Students, you will be able to follow their activity now and as they continue through other courses and grade levels.

Observers may be able to view assignments, course events, and grades for a student by signing into Canvas in a Web Browser, through ClassLink for Families, or in the Canvas Parent app. For more information about course-level user permissions, view the Canvas Course Permissions resource document.

How to Set Up an Observer Account

This is a process that will require both the student and the parent to work together. Students will generate a code from their student account and share it with the parent/guardian. Below you will find the steps each need to perform.

Student Steps

On your iPad, open ClassLink and go to Canvas, sign in using the Canvas Student app, or open a Web Browser (such as Safari or Chrome) and go to Canvas — https://uaschools.instructure.com
On the left side, click Account, then click Settings in the slide-out menu.
In the right column, click Pair with Observer.
A window will appear with a Pairing Code that is good for one sign in or 7 days, whichever comes first.
Share that code with your parent or guardian.

Parent/Guardian Steps

On your computer, phone, or other device, open a web browser and go to https://uaschools.instructure.com/login/canvas
This page has a dark background. Students sign into Canvas on a white Google Sign-in Page, but parents should see a dark page with a link at the upper right — 'Parent of a Canvas User? Click Here For an Account.' If you do not see that, you're not on the correct page.
At the upper right, click the 'Click here for an Account' link.
Complete the form with your information and email address to create your own account. Enter the Pairing Code your student gave you.
Click Start Participating, then go to https://uaschools.instructure.com/login/canvas and sign in with your account.
Once you have signed in, you can add additional students if you have others to observe. Click on Account in the left bar, then Observing in the slide out menu. Add the Pairing Code for your next student. Repeat for all students.
Each parent or guardian should perform these steps.

These instructions are also available as a download — Create a Parent Observer Account in Canvas.pdf

About Parent Observer Accounts

As a parent observer, you have the option to receive the messages sent to your students. However, the links in those announcements are designed for students to use and will work for students, but WILL NOT work for Parent Observer accounts.

Instead, parents should sign into their accounts at https://uaschools.instructure.com/login/canvas — this page has a dark background, so you can see that it is not the student sign-in page (which has a white background). Once you sign in, you should see a Dashboard with the courses your students are enrolled in. On the right side (or at the bottom of the screen) a View Grades button gives you a quick way to see assignments and grades at a glance. When you click on an Assignment in that list, you can open the specific documents and click View Feedback to see the comments the teacher shared on the assignment. You can also go into each course and see what your students see when they sign in.

If you do not want to receive those email notifications because the links included will not work for your account, you can change your Notification Settings — when looking at your Dashboard, go to the Account button and choose Notifications. Here you have a wide array of choices about what notifications to receive and the frequency of notifications.

Parents may also find that they may not be able to open links within the courses, as our teachers often share documents and resources for their students with permissions that 'anyone with an @uaschools.org account can view' — students can access the links, but parent observers (who do not have accounts in the @uaschools.org domain) will see an error message when trying to open the links. This is the default permission setting, so that links cannot be shared outside of our domain and allow unknown persons to access student work.

The best way for parents to see exactly what their student sees is to sit down with their student and ask them to show the assignments and the work they are doing on their student iPad.

Here are some links to help you learn more about Canvas: