Technical questions about Canvas quiz/activity logs and their limitations

aksydney

Hello,

I have some general, technical questions about Canvas quiz and activity logs and their interpretation. I am trying to better understand how these logs work from a technical perspective and what they are designed to capture. I am not asking about any specific case.

Specifically, I am hoping to clarify:

1. What types of actions Canvas activity logs reliably record (e.g., page loads, tab switches, focus changes, navigation events).
2. Whether Canvas logs can distinguish between intentional user actions and system-level behaviors, such as background processes, brief connectivity interruptions, browser focus changes, or operating system activity.
3. Whether these logs are generally considered sufficient on their own to determine academic misconduct, or if they are typically intended to be used alongside other evidence.
4. Any known limitations, false positives, or common misinterpretations of Canvas activity logs that institutions or users should be aware of.
5. What was the original design purpose of Canvas activity logs, and how were they intended to be used by institutions (e.g., troubleshooting, instructional support, audit trails), as opposed to real-time monitoring or proctoring?

If possible, it would be helpful to receive input from someone who is an official Canvas employee or has direct technical experience with Canvas data, as I want to ensure accurate understanding of the logs’ intended use.

Thank you very much for any guidance or clarification you can provide.

jeremyfw

Hi @aksydney

At a high level, Canvas quiz and activity logs are event-based, server-side records, not real-time surveillance or client-side monitoring.

What Canvas activity logs reliably record

Canvas logs things that result in server interactions, for example:

• Page loads and navigation within Canvas
• Quiz start, submission, and auto-save events
• Question saves and answer changes
• Timestamped interactions like “quiz accessed” or “attempt submitted”

They do not reliably record:

• Browser tab switching
• Window focus changes
• Keyboard activity
• Mouse movement
• OS-level events
• Whether another app, tab, or device was used simultaneously

If something does not generate a request to Canvas’s servers, it generally does not appear in the logs.

Intentional user actions vs. system behavior

Canvas logs cannot distinguish intent.

For example, the logs cannot tell the difference between:

• A student intentionally navigating away vs. a browser refresh
• A brief connectivity drop vs. deliberate disconnection
• A background auto-save vs. a conscious action
• A student switching tabs vs. Canvas reloading due to network jitter

Many log entries that look “suspicious” at first glance are normal technical artifacts of how browsers, networks, and Canvas itself function.

Are logs sufficient to determine academic misconduct?

No, and Canvas has been consistent about this.

Canvas activity logs are not designed, advertised, or validated as proctoring tools. On their own, they are insufficient to establish misconduct and are intended to be interpreted alongside:

• Assessment design
• Student work quality
• Timing patterns across a cohort
• Other corroborating evidence (if any)

Using logs as standalone proof almost always leads to false positives.

Known limitations and common misinterpretations

Some of the most common pitfalls include:

• Assuming a “gap” in activity means the student left the quiz
• Interpreting multiple page loads as multiple attempts
• Treating timestamps as precise indicators of attention or focus
• Assuming logs reflect everything the student did on their device

They don’t. Logs reflect Canvas’s perspective, not the student’s screen.

Original design purpose

Canvas activity logs were originally designed for:

• Troubleshooting (“Why did a quiz submit early?”)
• Instructional support (“Did the student access the content?”)
• System auditing and debugging
• Post-incident review (not live monitoring)

They were not intended for:

• Real-time monitoring
• Surveillance-style tracking
• Behavioral inference
• Proctoring replacement

That’s why Canvas pushes institutions toward dedicated proctoring tools if monitoring is required.

Where to find authoritative Canvas documentation

For deeper, official context, these are the most relevant places to look:

• Canvas Guides
  https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Guides/ct-p/canvas_guides
  (Search for Quiz Logs, Access Reports, and New Quizzes logs)
• Canvas Community – Known Limitations & Clarifications
  https://community.canvaslms.com
  Many Canvas employees and community coaches explicitly discuss log limitations in replies.
• Canvas API & Data Services documentation
  https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/
  Useful for understanding what data Canvas actually captures and exposes.

If your goal is technical accuracy, you’re asking the right questions. Canvas logs are best understood as diagnostic breadcrumbs, not behavioral telemetry.

Cheers,
J