Student View allows instructors to preview their Quercus course from a student’s perspective. It can help identify issues with course navigation, content visibility, assignments, and other learning activities before students encounter them.
When Student View is activated, Quercus creates a Test Student for the course. Instructors can use this account to navigate course materials and test certain activities without using an actual student’s account.
Accessing Student View
To access Student View:
- Open your Quercus course.
- Navigate to a course area such as Home, Modules, Assignments, Discussions, or Pages.
- Select View as Student.
A persistent banner at the bottom of the screen indicates that you are in Student View. You can navigate the course as the Test Student and see the content available to students.
To return to your instructor account, select Leave Student View.
Testing Your Course
Student View can help instructors check whether course materials and activities are available to students and organized as intended.
You can use Student View to:
- Review course navigation: Check which navigation items are visible and whether students can locate important course information.
- Check content visibility: Confirm that published Pages, Modules, Files, and other course materials are available as intended.
- Review learning activities: Open Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes to check their instructions and availability.
- Test assignment submissions: Submit an assignment as the Test Student to review the submission process.
- Review grades and feedback: Check how grades and feedback appear to the Test Student.
- Check links and embedded content: Review links, images, and media to identify potential access or display issues.
Assignments and Discussions must be published before they can be tested through Student View. Remember that Student View only displays content available to the Test Student, so unpublished or restricted materials may not appear.
When reviewing your course, consider whether students can find what they need, understand what they are expected to do, and access materials in the intended sequence.
Understanding Student View Limitations
Student View simulates a student account but does not reproduce every aspect of an individual student’s experience.
According to Canvas, the Test Student cannot fully participate in:
- Group activities and peer reviews.
- Differentiated assignments assigned to specific students or sections.
- External applications and integrations.
- Inbox conversations and collaborations.
- Attendance, conferences, and user profiles.
Student View also cannot show student-specific information, such as private conversations or an individual student’s course access and accommodations.
New Quizzes: Use the preview function within New Quizzes rather than taking a New Quiz as the Test Student. Test Student attempts in New Quizzes cannot be reset and may affect quiz analysis reports.
For activities that rely on external tools, groups, or individual student settings, additional testing or support may be needed.
Resetting the Test Student
Quercus allows instructors to reset Test Student activity, which can be useful when testing assignment submissions or other course activities more than once.
To reset the Test Student:
- Enter Student View.
- Select Reset Student from the banner at the bottom of the screen.
- Continue testing as needed.
Resetting clears Test Student activity that does not involve interactions with other students. Activities involving other students, such as discussion replies, may remain after the reset.
Each Quercus course has its own Test Student. Once Student View has been activated, the Test Student appears in the Gradebook and SpeedGrader and is enrolled in the course sections. Test Student submissions and scores do not affect course analytics.
Additional Information and Support
For detailed instructions and screenshots, consult Canvas’s How do I view a course as a test student using Student View?
For assistance with Student View or course access, contact your divisional Quercus support team or consult Quercus (Canvas) Support.