Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor Now Available

February 13, 2020
Categories: proctoring, respondus

Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor are now available on Canvas for those of you who use, or are interested in using, online proctoring. Lockdown Browser is a product that, when taking a quiz, locks the student browser in the following ways:

• Assessments are displayed full-screen and cannot be minimized
• Browser menu and toolbar options are removed, except for Back, Forward, Refresh and Stop
• Prevents access to other applications including messaging, screen sharing, virtual machines, and remote desktops
• Printing and screen capture functions are disabled
• Copying and pasting anything to or from an assessment is prevented
• Right-click menu options, function keys, keyboard shortcuts, and task switching are disabled
• An assessment cannot be exited until the student submits it for grading
• Assessments that are set up for use with LockDown Browser cannot be accessed with other browsers

Unless the quiz is proctored, Lockdown Browser alone does NOT address:

• Students using external resources such as textbooks, extra laptops, and mobile devices.
• Student identity: Lockdown Browser does not address the identity of the student taking the quiz, nor does it detect if multiple people are present.

Monitor works in tandem with Lockdown Browser and uses a webcam to record video of the students as they take a test. In addition to recording the student taking the test, Monitor can require students to take a picture of themselves, take a picture of their student ID, and do an environmental sweep with the webcam. Monitor creates red flags at points in the video when suspicious behavior is detected, and instructors can go immediately to areas of the videos that have red flags. Red flags can indicate issues such as the student missing from the webcam frame, multiple faces detected in the webcam, and different faces detected. Red flags mean that something out of the norm was detected in the video, but it does NOT mean that cheating definitely occurred. Instructors must review the videos to make a final determination. 

Please note that UNCG’s contracts for Lockdown Browser and Monitor expire at the end of Summer 2020. Should the University decide to renew Lockdown Browser but not Monitor, students can purchase a 12-month subscription for Monitor for $15, which is much cheaper than similar online proctoring options.

All Canvas courses now contain a link in the left-hand navigation called “Lockdown Browser.” For detailed instructions on how to use these products, please review this Google doc: Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor.