External tools when in student view

[rao_3]

I have tried unsuccessfully over the years to show students how the various external tools work. The trouble is that how the external tool responds when I am in the student view seems to vary (see below). Is there anyway to have a dummy account so that I can show students how to use external tools? [I did find an old post from 2016 about finding the id of test student, presumably course specific,  but that does not tell me anything about this question)

Thanks in advance
Nath Rao

-------------------------

Error messages from external tools I use, when I am in student view:

McGraw-Hill campus: Couldn't find in request the field: lis_person_sourcedid

Pearson:  SOCKET_LS_T_03
[diagnostics in attachment.]

Gradescope: Invalid launch: Email can't be blank.
[takes me to Gradescope login page, where I am able to login with a personal email that I use for demonstration purposes, but I cannot link it to Canvas Test Student, and I stay logged in that account till I leave the course, even if I leave student view.]

[chriscas]

Hi @rao_3,

Unfortunately, in my experience as a Canvas admin for a higher-ed institution, you are exactly right in that the experience using external tools with Student View (Test User) will vary greatly from tool to tool.

I think tools that offer paid school/institution license options are the most likely to encounter difficulty with Student View as they will sometimes try to use the school/institution email domain as a validator for the license, and the test Student user that Student View creates does not get an email address associated with it at all.  There could be various potential fixes for this that I know have been suggested in the past (like giving the test Student an email address), but it seems for every possible solution there are also downsides (like, creating an invalid "fake" email address that might create bouncebacks and other problems depending how vendors create accounts on their end).

As for the question about getting a dummy account so you can demo things for your students, you'd need to contact your local Canvas team (usually in the eLearning / IT / Digital Education areas) to see what options they might have available.  There could be some additional hoops to go through to get an account like that, or it may not be possible at all depending how things work there.

I wish you luck and hope this post helps answer the question a bit!

-Chris