Student view allows the instructor to see the course as their students will experience the Canvas Course.

Student view activates a Test Student who can submit activities as an enrolled student.

Some more information about Student View:

Test Student is automatically enrolled in your gradebook
Use it to be sure your course is just the way you want/need it
Double check that everything is published and available
Participate in your course as Test Student to verify Canvas functionality
Submit work as Test Student to have student submissions to test Canvas grading options
Reset Test Student when you need to clear out data and start over

Need more information? Check out this Canvas Guide!