For the most representative experience of previewing assignments as a student, it is best to run through them on a dummy student account.
However, for LMS users in Canvas, Blackboard and Brightspace/D2L, we have a first version of the student preview available.
Preview as a student 1.0
A limited first version of the 'preview as a student' functionality is now available only for Canvas, Blackboard, and Brightspace/D2L. To enter the preview mode we use the student preview mode of the LMS. Therefore, entering and leaving 'student view' has to be done from the LMS.
Preview context
When teachers enter an activity in preview mode they will see a dialog explaining that changes made on preview mode won't affect the activity.
In preview mode the activity will have a yellow border and a dark yellow bar on the top. When clicking on the "Actions" button on the bar a dialog opens that allows teachers to:
In assignments with various steps and deadlines (such as Feedback Assignments/Discussion Assignment), the teacher can open or pass deadlines in order to see how deadlines affect the activity, this is possible using the arrow and "Next deadline" button or the "Previous/Next deadline".
In Interactive Study Material activities with "Deadlines & realtime control" enabled they can open/re-open/close the activity. For example, if the teacher scheduled the activity to close on a certain date, and they enter the preview mode after that date they should initially see the activity as closed, but they can still re open it.
Limitations and tips:
No allocations: We do not want the preview user to be allocated (meaning, review or discuss) the work of real users. This means the users cannot start or complete the review or discuss step when previewing as a student.
For Peer Review and Group Member Evaluation, a tip around this would be to enable the self-assessment option (so you can preview and interact with the assessment criteria).
Not in groups: The preview user does not function as a real student and is therefore not automatically added to a group. Teachers also cannot add them to a group, as the preview user disappearing when leaving preview mode. Therefore, if groups are used in an assignment, the regular "This assignment will be completed in groups: once you're added to a group, you can continue with the next step." warning is shown.
A tip around this limitation would be to set up your activity as an individual assignment.
Currently there is no preview mode available for Automated Feedback and Interactive Presentations.
This concludes the Can I preview the assignment as a student? article.
If you have any questions or experience a technical issue, please contact our friendly support team by clicking on the blue chat button (Note: support is available 24h every weekday & unavailable on the weekend).
