Respondus LockDown Browser + Monitor
Toronto Metropolitan University licensed Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor for use in online exams. The system is integrated into the university's learning management system (D2L).
Features
Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB)
- Prevents copying, printing, accessing other applications, or visiting other websites during an online Brightspace Quiz with in-person proctors.
- To be used in a controlled TMU lab environment, with other tools to increase academic integrity.
- Note: Not intended for use in a remote setting, as the use of other devices (such as smartphones, second computers, etc.) cannot be limited.
Respondus Monitor (webcam recording)
- Provides additional features enabled with Respondus LockDown Browser, making it suitable for remote exams.
- Uses the student’s webcam to capture the student’s ID and to monitor the exam by recording the student and optionally, their screen, as they complete the quiz.
- Video is available for later viewing by the instructor, with flags of potential exam procedure violations.
Support
Instructors:
- Use of LockDown Browser and Monitor is by-request only.
Please fill out and submit the request form (external link) for each course you intend to use Respondus LDB.
- What instructors need to know about virtual proctoring at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Students:
Enabling LockDown Browser and Monitor within a D2L course by instructor-request only.
Instructors, please fill out and submit the request form (external link) for each course you intend to use Respondus LDB.
Update (for emergency remote learning and teaching)
In remote learning and teaching, assessment is done online. This includes using D2L quizzes for remote exams. If after consideration (opens in new window) , an instructor decides to use a virtual proctoring tool for an exam, the virtual proctoring tool available is Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor (opens in new window) .
Note that Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor have undergone a Toronto Metropolitan University privacy impact assessment and security assessment. The virtual proctoring guidance (opens in new window) has been prepared by the Office of the General Counsel, the Privacy Office, the Academic Integrity Office, Computing and Communications Services, the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, the Office of the Registrar, and Academic Accommodations Support.
Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB) Disclaimer
The following disclaimer is only an option for in-lab examinations and that it does not apply to remote examinations.
When instructors ask students to download and install Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB) on personally owned devices to take D2L online tests, they will have to provide this disclaimer to students:
1) The use of Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB) is intended for tests which are being proctored, such as in a lab or classroom. If the students are taking the online test in their own spaces (unproctored), the Respondus LDB does not help in ensuring academic integrity, since unlike in a proctored lab/classroom, students can use other devices to aid them during the test.
2) The Respondus LDB is installed on the TRSM lab computers. TRSM lab computers are managed and monitored by CCS for any malicious activities (i.e. viruses, malware, etc.). If you require students to install the Respondus LDB on their personal computers, students will be running the software at their own risk. While we believe this risk is minimal, CCS is unable to monitor student devices for malicious activity. It is recommended that instructors inform students about this risk and that students need to run Respondus LDB’s latest version. (If a newer version is available, students will be prompted to update it and they will not be able to use the Respondus LDB without updating it.)
3) If any student is uncomfortable or unable to download and install Respondus LDB, instructors must provide an alternative way of taking the test. For example, by allowing the student to do it in a proctored lab or using a loaner laptop. In TRSM, a small number of loaner laptops are available at the TRSM Student Technology Help Desk.
If you have any questions/concerns, please contact the D2L Brightspace support team at courses@torontomu.ca.
Submit a Respondus LDB Request form
Use of Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor in D2L courses is by-request only. Instructors, please submit a request form for each course you intend to use Respondus LDB:
Create a Brightspace quiz
Create your quiz in D2L Brightspace before you enable Respondus LockDown Browser.
Note: The "Synchronous Quiz" feature in the Brightspace Quiz settings is not recommended for Respondus Monitor (webcam enabled exams) as it includes the student's webcam setup time in their quiz completion time. This setup time varies for each student and some students may have less time to complete their assessment as a result.
Enable LockDown Browser (LDB)
1. Using Chrome or Firefox, log into D2L Brightspace.
2. Find your course and navigate to the "Assessment" dropdown, and go to "Quizzes"
3. Click on the "Respondus Dashboard" tab. If you receive an error message, see the steps in the "Before you begin" section above.
4. Click on the "Continue" button.
5. You may be prompted with a "Welcome" page. Click on "Continue to LockDown Browser" at the end of the page.
6. If you have any quizzes created, a list will be displayed.
- Quizzes labeled with “Required” require students to use LockDown Browser.
- Quizzes labeled with “Not Required” don’t require LockDown Browser.
To change the settings on a quiz, select "Settings" from the context menu to the left of the quiz title and select the desired option.
7. You may optionally create a password that students must enter to start the quiz. LockDown Browser will prompt students to enter the instructor-provided password before proceeding with the quiz.
Review the "Advanced Settings" and enable any features you would like for your assessment.
8. Respondus Monitor Webcam Settings will be displayed directly below the LockDown Advanced Settings.
- If you would like to enable Respondus Monitor (webcam feature), please follow the “Enable Respondus Monitor (automated proctoring) for an exam’’ instructions below.
- If you would like to use Respondus LockDown Browser without Respondus Monitor, scroll past the "Monitor Webcam Settings" to the bottom of the page and click the "Save and Close" button. This will save your settings and return you to the Respondus LockDown Browser Dashboard.
Respondus Monitor (webcam feature) is a LockDown Browser add-on for remote exam proctoring. Learn more about how Respondus Monitor works. (external link)
Note: The "Synchronous Quiz" feature in the Brightspace Quiz settings is not recommended when enabling Respondus Monitor (webcam feature). Synchronous quizzes include the student's webcam setup time in their assessment time, which varies for each student. Some students may have less time to complete their quiz as a result.
To enable Respondus Monitor
Select "Settings" from the context menu to the left of the quiz title.
First, enable LockDown Browser for your exam by following the instructions above.
The Respondus Monitor Webcam Settings will be displayed directly below the LDB Advanced Settings:
- Select "Require Respondus Monitor for this exam" to require that all students use a webcam during the exam.
- We recommend leaving all settings in the Startup Sequence and Facial Detection Options enabled (default).
You can opt into recording students' screens in addition to their faces. If you choose to enable this feature, please notify your students in advance. Recordings are available for viewing by the instructor after the student has completed their assessment.
Note: This option is not supported by iPads.
Share TMU’s Notice of Collection: Respondus Monitor
If students are required to use Respondus Monitor (webcam proctoring) as part of their exam, you must clearly share the university’s (google doc) Notice of Collection for Respondus Monitor (external link) with them, prior to undertaking their online assessment.
We recommend sharing a link to the Notice as an announcement in the course, as far in advance as possible.
If students were required to use the webcam feature (Respondus Monitor) with the quiz, instructors can access information about the quiz sessions and can review the recorded videos. Videos are made available to instructors after having been processed, which can take up to 12 hours.
Note: Respondus Monitor is intended to be a deterrent, so it’s up to the instructor to determine the level of review warranted.
To review student exam recordings:
- Return to the Respondus Dashboard in the Brightspace course.
- From the context menu to the left of the quiz title, select "Class Results".
- A roster of the students in the course will be displayed along with the review priority and the date, time, and duration of each quiz.
- Click [ + ] to expand the section for a student you would like to review.
- Details of the startup sequence and the exam session will be displayed:
- The student’s main webcam video recording will appear first followed by the student’s screen recording, if enabled during setup. Select the video you would like to view. You can also choose to add comments to a video or mark it as viewed.
Note: If the video is listed as not available, please be patient. Long recordings can require longer than expected processing times. - The Student photo, Student ID, and Environment Video from the startup sequence will appear in thumbnails. Select the thumbnails you would like the view.
- Priorities for review are listed to the right and can be expanded to view Flags and Milestones.
- The student’s main webcam video recording will appear first followed by the student’s screen recording, if enabled during setup. Select the video you would like to view. You can also choose to add comments to a video or mark it as viewed.
Use of Respondus LockDown Browser outside of a TMU Lab will require students to download software on their personal devices.
To ensure your first exam using the Respondus LockDown Browser runs smoothly, please share the Respondus Student Guide (opens in new window) with students and have them take an ungraded practice quiz that matches the settings you intend to use for the real exam.
Important:
- Students will require the latest version of Respondus LockDown Browser. If a student has previously downloaded the software, an update may be required before beginning a test.
- Ensure that the practice quiz is available for the duration of the course with unlimited attempts so students can check their setup from a different device.
As issues with Respondus Lockdown Browser (LDB) and Monitor are typically device or course-shell specific, students should be instructed to contact their instructor in the event of an issue. Please provide students with a recommended method of contacting you or your TA’s during the exam.
All Unable to Launch LDB
If all students report not being able to access the quiz:
Launch the Respondus Dashboard in your course and ensure that the intended settings are enabled for this specific quiz. Completing this step will often resolve some issues.
To launch Respondus Dashboard:
In your course shell, navigate to Assessment, then Quizzes, and select the Respondus Dashboard tab.
If your Respondus Dashboard does not launch, contact courses@torontomu.ca with your course shell code found on your BrightSpace homepage under your course's name.
On the Respondus Dashboard, scroll through the list of your course’s quizzes to check for additional potential problems:
Your exam should be listed as Required under the Lockdown Browser and/or Proctoring columns.
- If it is listed as Not Required, select Settings from the context menu to the left of your quiz to enable the desired setting options. See Enable Lockdown Browser to learn more.
- If you see Fix It next to a quiz, clicking this button will often resolve the issue.
After checking for all of the above, exit the Dashboard and ask your students to refresh their Brightspace quiz page and attempt to launch LDB again.
All Unable to See Quiz in Brightspace
This is not a Respondus LDB issue.
See our Brightspace Online Exam: Settings to check before the exam begins resource for troubleshooting steps.
Question Display Issue
If all students cannot see a question, the question itself is likely corrupted. This cannot be updated mid-exam.
After the exam, if you would like to learn more about the display issue for this specific question, contact courses@torontomu.ca with your course shell code, quiz name, and the details of the question.
Unable to launch Respondus Browser or webcam issue
If a student reports that they can see the quiz in Brightspace, but are NOT able to start the quiz in Respondus LDB, or experiences an issue with the webcam onboarding:
- Direct them to confirm their device’s compatibility on the Respondus website (external link) .
- If it is compatible, ask them to restart their device.
- They can then Uninstall Respondus Lockdown Browser (external link) and reinstall it using the link in your Brightspace Quiz or at TMU/Respondus Software Download page (external link)
- If the issue persists, they will need to open a ticket with Respondus Support (external link) .
Let them know that the “LMS Web URL” requested in the form is: courses.torontomu.ca
Unable to View Quiz in Brightspace
This is not a Respondus LDB issue; see the following resource for troubleshooting steps
Brightspace Online Exam: Settings to check before the exam begins
Note that if this is impacting an individual student, likely causes may be:
- The End Date being in the past
- Individual Special Access settings that provide an incorrect date/time to start the quiz
- The student may have already submitted an attempt
Frozen LDB or cannot resume quiz
If a student’s quiz is frozen, they will need to restart their LockDown Browser, and sometimes their entire device. Direct students to follow the Student Respondus Toubleshooting resource. If they cannot re-launch the tool, please follow the steps outlined in Unable to Launch Respondus Browser section above.
While attempting to resume a quiz in progress, if a student cannot see it listed, the End Date setting of the Brightspace Quiz is likely stopping them. As the instructor, only you can extend their access to allow them to continue the quiz. If you choose to do this, their previously saved answers will be included, and they can resume answering those they had missed.
When a student reports a technical issue to you after they have started their attempt, please take note of the time. If your exam has an Enforced Time Limit, the student’s timer will continue to count down the entire time they are outside of the exam. You can modify and increase the student's total time to allow them to resume with the same amount of time remaining on their timer as when they lost access.
To modify quiz timer settings for individual students, use the Special Access settings to:
1) Provide them with an end date in the future
2) Override the time limit by manually adjusting the New Time Limit to include a new total time (the original quiz time + the amount of time lost while they were locked out).
If you are unsure how to add Special Access for an individual student, please visit our Brightspace Quiz: Special Access resource.
Question Display Issue
If only one student experiences a display issue with a question, it is likely based on their device.
The student will need to open a ticket with Respondus Support (external link) (sharing their own information).
- Let them know that the “LMS Web URL” requested in the form is: courses.torontomu.ca
If multiple students experience display issues with the same question, there may be an error in the setup of your quiz question. Please contact the TMU Brightspace Support Team, courses@torontomu.ca, and share the details of the question.
If you are a student experiencing an issue, please view the Student Troubleshooting Guide for support.