Canvas - Paired Observers [UW-Madison]
UW-Madison Athletics Advising may be paired as observers with students for advising purposes. This pairing allows those advisors to observe the student’s course activity and progress. In these situations, however, the instructor has been alerted before the observer is enrolled and the instructor has been given the ability to opt out of the Observer enrollment/pairing in their course.
Observer pairing is not permitted on the UW-Madison instance of Canvas for any other use.
What can and cannot a paired Observer do in Canvas?
Within a particular course, a paired observer can:
- See all events and assignments on the calendar
- View and read course announcements
- See how a teacher has organized course content in Modules. They can also see the point values for individual assignments.
- View grades for the paired student and set grade alerts.
- See quiz titles. (The actual quiz content is not available.)
- View course content. Observers can view the same content as the student they are observing except for discussions and content that is unpublished or restricted by locked dates. Observers can view module content locked by prerequisites or requirements, as module progression is not measured for observers.
- View assignments even if the student they are observing has not completed them unless the assignments are locked.
- Access messages between the student and instructor if the teacher or student copied them on the message. Paired Observers can also message the instructor.
Paired Observers cannot:
- Submit assignments
- Take quizzes
- Join course groups
- See course discussions
- Send messages to students (only to instructors).
- See course rosters
- See unpublished courses
- See submissions from students other than the one they are observing.
Can an instructor decide to unenroll an observer from their course?
UW-Madison instructors have discretion to remove an observer from their course at any time, and student athletes are sent an email with instructions on how to opt out if they would like to. If you are a student and have further questions about this, please contact the DoIT Help Desk.
Principal Instructor and Supervisory Instructor roles have the functional capability in Canvas to remove observers from their course; Auxiliary Instructors do not.
Again, instructors also have the choice to opt out of observer pairings in their courses that have been put in place for Athletics advising purposes.
For questions about an observer in your course or for technical assistance, please contact the DoIT Help Desk.