Becoming a Canvas Observer

Using your desktop or laptop, as an Observer, you can link your Canvas account to your student's account, so that you can see assignment dues dates, announcements, course content, grades, feedback, etc. As an observer you can view the course content but cannot participate in the course.

Prior to setting up your Canvas account make sure you have a student pairing code and the Canvas URL associated with the school where your student is enrolled. If you do not know your school's Canvas URL, please contact your student's school.

Create an Observer Account

To create an account and link to your student(s), your student(s) must log in to Canvas, go to Account settings and get the pairing code. (NOTE: Once the code is generated, it is only good for 7 days). If you need additional help, check out the Pairing Codes FAQ Guide. Once you have the pairing code, follow the steps below or watch the Account Registration & Student Pairing Video Guide.

In a browser window, enter your school's Canvas URL (e.g. schoolname.instructure.com).

Click Need a Canvas Account? link as seen in step 1 below.
Then, select Parents sign up here, as seen in the second step below.
Enter the information required in step 3 and click the blue Start Participating button. Once done with this initial setup, you can begin observing your student(s) in Canvas immediately. If you have more than one student to observer, learn how to observe additional students in your account.

Add Contact Information

When you add a contact method in Canvas, you can use that contact method as a way to receive Canvas notifications. By default, notifications are sent to the email address used to create your Canvas account. To add your contact information, click the Account link in the Global Navigation (the far left sidebar) and then click Settings. Enter your email address and select Register Email. If you need further assistance, check out the How do I add contact methods to receive Canvas notifications as an observer? guide.

Step 1: Open settings. Step 2: Click add email address. Step 3: Click register email.

Set Language Preference

Canvas's default language is English; but, you can choose to view the Canvas interface in another language. Canvas is offered in over 35 different languages. To change your default language, click on Account in the Global Navigation (far left sidebar) and then click Settings. Choose Edit Settings. In the language drop-down menu, choose your preferred language and click Update Settings. If you need further assistance, view the How do I change the language preference in my user account as an observer? guide.

3 steps for updating language preferences.

Set Notifications

You can receive Canvas notifications for the various courses you are observing. Notifications are sent to contact methods listed in your Account User Settings. Canvas includes a set of default notification preferences. However, you can change the default settings by setting notification preferences to meet your needs. Your notification preferences only apply to you; they do not affect course notifications sent to the student you are observing.

Some notifications may not apply to the observer role. To learn more about each notification, default settings, and notification triggers, view the Canvas Notifications PDF.

If you change a setting, the change is effective immediately. You can select one of four frequency options for each notification type:

Notify me right away
Daily summary

Weekly summary
Don't send.

You can follow the steps below or view the Notification Preferences Video Tutorial. 3 steps for setting account settings.