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ObservEd:
 Student Performance Monitoring for Canvas

Safely monitor student academic performance in Canvas so you can provide timely, informed support.

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Play video: an introduction to ObservEd

ObservEd securely monitors student academic performance directly within the Canvas LMS. Designed for student-support teams, ObservEd delivers real-time insight into key academic data - without compromising privacy.

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The Challenges of Monitoring Student Performance

Supporting student success requires timely, accurate insight. But gaining visibility into academic performance isn’t always easy.

Staff are often asked to:

  • Monitor academic progress for specific student populations
  • Identify challenges early and intervene proactively
  • Access grades, due dates, and participation data
  • Communicate with students using up-to-date information
  • And do all of this while protecting student privacy and data security
Without the right tools, institutions rely on outdated reports or risky workarounds like enrolling staff in courses or granting broad Canvas admin access. These approaches create privacy concerns, security risks, and unnecessary friction.

A Purpose-Built Student Monitoring Tool for Canvas

ObservEd by Cidi Labs was developed to solve this challenge by bridging the gap between academic data and student support. Installed directly in your Canvas environment, it provides a real-time view into student academic performance, allowing your staff to observe only students they are assigned to support.

With ObservEd, institutions can monitor student progress, communicate effectively, and provide proactive support – all while maintaining strict privacy and security controls.

With ObservEd, you can:

  • Provide staff with real-time academic data in Canvas
  • Identify academic challenges early
  • Support better communications with students
  • Maintain student privacy and data security
  • Eliminate risky workarounds and outdated reports
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Cidi Labs ObservED Assignment Activity
Drill down to see the activity level for each of the students in their courses.
Observers can message students directly from within ObservEd.
Message students directly from within ObservEd.
Performance and activity metrics are available only for students you are delegated to support.
Performance and activity metrics are available only for students you are delegated to support.
Observers can only see the students who are in the Groups they have permission to view.
Observers can only see the students who are in the Groups they have permission to view.
Observers can see a list of their students' courses, grades, and activity data.
Observers can see a list of their students' courses, grades, and activity data.
observed icon

How ObservEd Works

ObservEd offers a secure, real-time way to observe student academic performance directly from within Canvas without oversharing data.

Real-Time Visibility

into Student Academic Performance

ObservEd allows authorized staff to view real-time academic data for the students they support (and only the students they support), including:
  • Up-to-date grades and performance trends
  • Upcoming due dates
  • Course participation
  • Syllabi and schedules
This comprehensive view helps advisors and academic support teams proactively identify struggling students early, without waiting for reports or manually gathering information.
Observers can see a list of their students' courses, grades, and activity data.
Observers can see a list of their students' courses, grades, and activity data.

Role-Based

Student Support

ObservEd ensures staff only see the students they are assigned to monitor. This targeted approach enables teams to work within their roles while maintaining privacy and appropriate access.

This approach supports:
  • Academic advising
  • Athletic eligibility monitoring
  • Equity and inclusion initiatives
  • Disability resource support
  • Other student success programs
Within ObservEd, staff can message students and flag concerns to help coordinate timely support, without unnecessary access to broader student data.
Observers can only see the students who are in the Groups they have permission to view.
Observers can only see the students who are in the Groups they have permission to view.

Built-In Privacy

and Security

With ObservEd:

  • Staff can only monitor their assigned students
  • No additional data is copied or exported
  • All data remains securely within Canvas
This design eliminates the need for broad administrator access and reduces privacy and security risk. All data remains securely within Canvas, ensuring regulatory compliance.
Performance and activity metrics are available only for students you are delegated to support.
Performance and activity metrics are available only for students you are delegated to support.

Informed Communication

and Proactive Support

By bringing grades, due dates, participation, and course context into one real-time view, ObservEd helps staff:
  • Identify concerns earlier
  • Prepare for more productive conversations
  • Provide timely, targeted outreach
  • Move from reactive responses to proactive student support
Designs are automatically styled with institutional branding and remain fully editable using either the Canvas editor or the DesignPLUS Sidebar.
Observers can message students directly from within ObservEd.
Message students directly from within ObservEd.
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What Institutions Achieve with ObservEd for Canvas

Monitor Student Progress Safely

Get real-time insight without compromising student privacy or security.

Identify Challenges Early

Enable proactive intervention through early visibility into academic performance.

Improve Communication with Students

Access up-to-date academic context to facilitate more informed, supportive conversations.

Support Equity and Student Success Initiatives

Empower your teams working with specific student populations through targeted visibility.

Reduce Risk and Manual Work

Eliminate clunky workarounds, outdated reports, and over-permissioned access.

Designed for Institutional Use

  • Simple installation and fast adoption
  • Canvas-integrated SaaS delivery via LTI
  • Secure, role-based access to student data
  • Responsive onboarding, training, and customer support

Ready to Support Your Students More Effectively?

ObservEd helps institutions monitor student performance in Canvas - safely, securely, and in real time.
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ObservEd FAQs

Does ObservEd store any sensitive student data?
No! The only data that ObservEd stores is a student’s name and Canvas User ID. All other data continues to be stored in Canvas and is simply called through the Canvas API to be displayed in ObservEd in real-time.
How is student data kept private in ObservEd?

First, student data is kept private in ObservEd because it’s only visible to the observers who have been explicitly assigned to view data for each student.

Also, student data is kept private when demonstrating or training other users because ObservEd includes a “Sample Data” mode that any user can activate. This mode hides the private, real student data, and provides fictitious data instead. This mode can be activated by each user through their User Settings.

How do Observers access ObservEd in Canvas?
ObservEd is an LTI tool that sits in its own course, which is set up as part of the installation process. This means observers will need to be added to the course by an ObservEd admin. Once enrolled, users can navigate to the course in Canvas and select ObservEd from the Canvas course menu.
Is ObservEd just for athletic staff?

Definitely not. ObservEd has been designed to meet the needs of various groups across an institution, including equity offices, disability resource centers, advising staff, and more. Any staff across an institution that has a need to closely monitor students’ academic performance can be added as observers and then assigned to the specific groups of students they need to monitor.

Have more questions? Our Knowledge Base Has You Covered.

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