Welcome, Titan Parents!

Below is a list of topics that will help you use Canvas as a parent, also known as an "Observer." Click on each topic to learn how to use that feature in Canvas.

About Canvas for Parents

Access to different elements of Canvas is based on your role. Teachers, students, and parents have different access levels to Canvas. As a parent, you have the Canvas role of an observer. The main use of the observer role is to link a user to a student. Observers cannot submit work on behalf of the students they observe, but they can see student grades, assignments, and calendar events. Click on the next tab for a specific list of what you can and can't see as a parent in Canvas.

PARENT GUIDE

Parent Account Login
Notifications
Viewing Grades

For more information on accessing the information on a mobile device (iOS or Android) or the web, check out these pages:

Open Notifications Settings

1. Click on the Account icon.

2. Click on the "Notifications" link.

Choose Your Preferences

notification preferences-1-1.png

1. Notify Immediately - Sends an email when activity occurs

2. Daily Summary - Daily digest of all notifications set to this frequency (daily email is sent around 6pm)

3. Weekly Summary - Weekly email of all notifications set to this frequency (sent on Saturdays)

4. Notification Off - No email sent when this activity occurs

Each notification preference will apply to your whole Canvas account. Notifications cannot be tailored for an individual course or for an individual child. When Notify Me immediately is selected, notifications may be delayed by up to one hour to prevent the user from being spammed by multiple notifications in a short period of time.

Note that Canvas Inbox and Announcement notifications sent to email will contain the full body of the message, while text notifications will be truncated versions of the message with links to the full message on the Canvas website. Refer to the Settings tab for further information on adding a phone number to your notification preferences.

text notification-1.png

Recommended Preferences

Canvas notifications can quickly fill your Inbox. To receive timely communications from your child's teachers, we highly recommend that Announcements and Conversation Message are set to the default setting: notify immediately. Below are the default and recommended Canvas notification settings. Using these settings will provide you with timely communications from your child's teachers without filling your inbox when minor modifications are made. As an Observer, you will only receive notifications for the actions below, other actions listed on the notifications page are not related to the observer role:

Course Activities

Due Date: Send weekly
Grading Policies: Send weekly
Course Content: Do not send
Announcement: Notify me right away
Grading: Notify me right away
Invitation: Notify me right away
Submission Comments: Send daily

Conversations

Conversation Message: Notify me right away
Conversations Created By Me: Do not send

Scheduling

Calendar: Send weekly or do not send

Canvas Orientation-Parents