what can professors see on canvas during quiz

Professors can see quite a lot about what you do inside the quiz on Canvas , but very little about what you do outside it unless extra proctoring tools are added.

Core answer: what professors can see

During a standard Canvas quiz (no special proctoring software):

• Your answers to every question (what you chose/typed) and which ones were correct or incorrect.

• When you started, submitted, and any time limits or late submissions.

• Time spent on the quiz overall and often how long you spent on each question or page.

• Your navigation in the quiz : moving between questions, saving answers, changing answers, auto-saves, etc.

• Quiz logs that show events like “user resumed quiz,” “question answered,” “page left,” “page returned,” and similar actions.

These logs are mainly there so instructors can confirm technical issues, grant extra time, or investigate suspected cheating.

Can they see your screen or other tabs?

Without added proctoring software:

• They cannot see your screen in real time (no live desktop view, no remote control).

• They cannot see exactly what site or app you switched to if you leave the quiz tab.

• Canvas can log that you left the quiz page / tab and came back , which appears as navigation events in the quiz log, but not where you went.

• They generally cannot detect copy‑paste or phone use directly , only suspicious timing or patterns in the logs.

Think of it like this: Canvas sees “you’re not looking at me right now,” but not “you’re on Google Docs” or “you’re on Chegg.”

What changes with proctoring tools?

If your school uses tools like Respondus Monitor, Proctorio, Honorlock, etc., attached to a Canvas quiz, the monitoring level increases significantly:

• Possible webcam recording : your face, eye movement, and your surroundings may be recorded and flagged for “suspicious behavior.”

• Possible screen recording or screen sharing : proctoring tools can capture what’s on your screen, block other apps, or prevent tab switching.

• Audio recording from your microphone in some setups.

• Automatic flags for behavior such as leaving the browser, multiple people in view, or using another monitor.

In this case, Canvas is just the quiz platform; the proctoring tool is what adds serious monitoring.

Can Canvas see other devices?

• Canvas can show if the same account is logged in from multiple devices at the same time , which might appear in activity or login reports.

• It still doesn’t literally know what you’re doing on the second device, only that your account is active in more than one place.

Common myths vs reality

• “Professors can see everything on your computer.”
  • False for regular Canvas quizzes. They see quiz activity, not your full device.

• “They know every site you visit.”
  • False. They can see that you left and returned to the quiz, but not the specific sites.

• “They can’t see anything; it’s totally blind.”
  • False. Quiz logs give a detailed timeline of your actions in the quiz, and instructors and TAs can open your attempt and view your responses and logs.

Practical example (what a log might show)

A typical log for a 20‑minute quiz might look like:

• 10:00 – Quiz started
• 10:01 – Question 1 answered
• 10:04 – Question 2 answer changed
• 10:07 – “User navigated away from quiz”
• 10:09 – “User resumed quiz”
• 10:18 – Quiz submitted

Instructors can open this log for a student and review the timeline if there is a concern or dispute.

Tips for staying safe and sane

• Read your course syllabus and quiz instructions : many instructors state whether they use proctoring, allow notes, or care about tab switching.
• Assume quiz logs are visible and treat quizzes as closed-book unless explicitly allowed.
• If you have technical issues (Wi‑Fi drop, browser crash), email your instructor quickly; the logs often help them verify what happened.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.