Respondus LockDown Browser is a custom web browser that secures the testing environment within Blackboard. If used, LockDown Browser prevents the students’ ability to print, copy, access other web sites, or run other applications while taking an exam / quiz.
Respondus Monitor is a companion feature for LockDown Browser which enables institutions to use additional safeguards to protect the integrity of online exams. Students use their own computer, webcam, and microphone to record assessment sessions, all without leaving the institution's learning management system.
Requiring LockDown Browser (LDB) and Monitor for an Exam / Quiz
To require the use of LDB and RM for an assessment, the assessment in question must be created and deployed (added) to a content area. This can still be done in a way that does not make the exam available to students. For more information on deploying exams, please consult the Adding Tests to a Content Area tutorial.
- In the course in which the exam is present, Click on the view course & institution tools and select the Respondus LockDown Browser
- This will display a list of all the exams / quizzes currently deployed in the course and indicate whether Respondus LockDown Browser is currently required for student use or not. Click on the Action Menu
button next to the exam and click on Settings to change Respondus LockDown Browser to required
- On the LockDown Browser Settings screen:
- 3.1 Click the radio button to Require Respondus LockDown Browser for this test
- 3.2 Enter an exam Password (optional). If configured, LockDown Browser will prompt students to enter this password. This is not recommended
- 3.3 Click the [ + ] to expand Advanced Settings. Advanced Settings are available to:
- Lock students into the browser until the exam is completed. The default is off, meaning if students exit the exam, they will need to provide an explanation of why they exited which can be viewed by instructors. Additional information is available in the FAQ section below. If enabled, a Password to close browser and exit exam early (optional) can be added
- Allow students to take this exam with an iPad using the LockDown Browser app from iTunes. Students must also download the iPad Edition of LDB, see the FAQ section below. Careful consideration should be given to allowing exams to be completed via the iPad version of LDB, as additional technical and connectivity considerations may be complicating factors in a student's testing experience
- Allow access to specific external web site domains. The default is off meaning if an exam contains a link to a web site, students may visit that website, but links on it are blocked. When this option is checked and a website domain is added, students can visit any page or link on that website domain
NOTE: This is useful for providing access to a publisher's e-book website during an exam.
- Enable Calculator on the toolbar. When enabled, students will have access to a standard or scientific calculator on the LDB toolbar
- Enable Printing on the toolbar. When enabled, students will have a print button on the LDB toolbar allowing the exam screen to be printed
- 3.4 Under Monitor Webcam Settings, select one of the following options:
- Don't require Respondus Monitor for this exam (Default setting)
- Require Respondus Monitor for this exam. Select the items to be included in the Startup Sequence. Most settings are optional and can be reordered by dragging and dropping them to the desired order. The Preview link will display what students will see for each option. Available options include:
- Webcam Check: prompts the student to
- Student Photo: prompts the student to capture a photograph of her / himself
- Show ID: prompts a student to show a photo ID, which is then photographed
- Environment Check: prompts a student to capture a video recording of the surroundings
- Additional Instructions: provides a flexible setting for additional, instructor-entered, requirements, such as academic integrity policy or details about what might constitute cheating
- Either Respondus Monitor or a proctored lab can be used to take this exam.
Note: If selecting this option, you must enter a password in the box, which will be required to access the test (for use in proctored settings).
If the password box is left empty, the Save+Close button will not function.
- 3.5 Click the [ + ] to expand Advanced Settings. Advanced Settings are available to:
- Allow another application to use the microphone during this exam. By default, this option is off, meaning Respondus Monitor will record ambient sound during the exam, however, if the exam question requires an audio response (commonly used for foreign language classes) this option should be checked to allow the microphone to be used by the recorder
- Make webcam videos additionally available for viewing on mobile devices (allow 24 hours)
- Enter a demo student name for use by the instructor. Instructors may use a demo student account with Respondus Monitor without impacting the institution's license seat count. Note that the username for the demo student cannot be changed once it used with a Respondus Monitor session
NOTE: Respondus Monitor has a default Facial Detection feature. Facial detection uses search algorithms to determine if a human face is present in the photo image. Please note this differs from “facial recognition” which analyzes the face found with facial detection. When a student cannot be detected, it may mean there are obstacles preventing the search algorithm from finding the light/dark pixel patterns that are typical of a human face. These obstacles include:
- Facial occlusions – which is anything that covers any portion of the face, such as hair, eyeglasses, clothing (hoodies, baseball caps, burqas), hands-on the face, etc. The more areas of the face that are covered, the fewer light/dark pixel patterns that will be available for detection.
- Head cropping – the most problematic type of cropping is when the webcam is tilted up too high and the lower portions of the face aren’t showing (e.g. chin, lips, etc.). Side cropping is also problematic and is typical of an open-notes exam where a student might lean out of the frame to look at a textbook or notes.
- Poor lighting – backlighting can cause a student’s face to be very dark, which affects the light patterns normally found with a human face. Low lighting introduces a similar problem, where there simply isn’t enough light on the face to allow the light/dark patterns of the face to emerge.
- Bad internet connectivity – Respondus Monitor will lower the frame rate if it detects a slow or unstable internet connection. This means the frame rate might get reduced from 24 fps to 3 fps, resulting in less data (frames) being available for analysis. If the MISSING flag is set to trigger after a student is missing for 10 seconds, that only allows 30 frames to be searched for a human face, opposed to 240 frames for students with a high frame rate. The more frames available for analysis, the more likely one of them will result in facial detection (which resets the timer).
- Low-quality webcam – A very inexpensive webcam has a lower resolution than a high-quality webcam. This results in a less clear video image (which can impact facial detection), and a video frame that is smaller too, making it more difficult to keep your face within the video frame. As noted above, a cropped face can also inhibit facial detection.
NOTE: Expanded Advanced Settings:
- Click Save + Close when finished
- When finished, verify that the exam’s title has been appended to include Requires Respondus LockDown Browser and the green Required option is visible under the LockDown Browser column
NOTE: Once LDB has been enabled for an exam it will automatically generate and add a password within the Test Options area. It is very important that you *do not* modify any of the following settings once LDB or Monitor has been enabled: NAME, OPEN TEST IN A NEW WINDOW, REQUIRE A PASSWORD OR PASSWORD. (see screen image below) These are automatically set and controlled by LDB - making a change to any of these items will disable LockDown Browser entirely. Refer to the FAQs below for additional information.
The instructor will first need to require "Respondus Monitor" as the proctoring option for the exam, then enable the "Show Your Work" setting under the "Advanced Settings" area.
If desired, the instructor can edit the default text that students will see when they encounter the "Show Your Work" page. To do this, click the "Edit Text" link.
It is also recommended that the instructor enable the "Additional Instructions" step in the startup sequence, and edit the message to include an explanation of the "Show Your Work" requirement, including any specific requirements that the instructor may have. This will alert students to the requirement before they begin the exam.
Using the "Show Your Work" feature in Respondus Monitor
Reviewing Respondus Monitor Data and Video Footage
When students are required to use the webcam feature (Respondus Monitor) with the exam, instructors can access information about the exam sessions and can review the recorded videos. For more information on security of recorded footage, see Respondus's Data Privacy policy.
To review student videos:
- Access the Control Panel in Blackboard, locate the Course Tools section and select the link Respondus LockDown Browser
- From the drop-down menu to the left of the test title, select Class Results
- The Class Results screen will contain several sections:
- Click [ + ] to expand the section for an individual student, this will provide information about the date, time, duration / status of the test, and grade (if applicable). A new Review Priority column is also available which ranks sessions by Low, Medium and High Priority to help instructors determine which exam sessions require the greatest level of attention (green=low, red=high). See the FAQ section below for additional information
- Details of the startup sequence and the exam session are shown in thumbnails. Click on a thumbnail photo to view the video. A summary area listing the number of flags will appear on the right side along with timecodes listing the specific flags and milestones. Instructors can play the video from the beginning or jump directly to a flagged section. The Add Notes link allows comments to be added by the instructor to the video for future reference
NOTE: See the FAQ section below for additional information about understanding Flags and Milestones.
Correcting LockDown Browser Errors / Problems
In the event students are no longer being prompted to load Respondus LockDown Browser or errors are received when attempting to access the exam, it is most likely caused by modifying the NAME, OPEN TEST IN A NEW WINDOW, REQUIRE A PASSWORD OR PASSWORD settings within the Test Options area after Respondus LockDown Browser has been enabled for the exam.
- To verify the current status of Respondus LockDown Browser for the exam, expand the Course Tools menu in the Control Panel and select Respondus LockDown Browser to view the Dashboard
- If the test status shows Error rather than Required, click the Fix It button
- Once corrected, the status should again display Required
NOTE: To remove the requirement of Respondus LockDown Browser from an exam, enter the LockDown Browser Dashboard (Control Panel > Course Tools > Respondus LockDown Browser) and click the Action Menu 
button next to the exam in question followed by Modify Settings. Then, select the option Don't require Respondus LockDown Browser for this exam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. When would I want to use this feature?
A1. This feature would generally be used to prevent students from copying or printing the exam or any time additional exam security is desired, outside of what is already provided in the Exam Options area of Blackboard (i.e. Force Completion, Timer, Question Randomization, etc.) If students need to use existing course materials or need access to various outside websites to complete an exam, you will need to specifically allow access to those website domains in the LDB advanced settings, otherwise, they will not be able to access those materials. This is also a consideration with open-book exams in cases where students are utilizing an online publishers textbook and do not have a hard copy book to use.
Q2. Where do my students go to download LDB?
A2. LDB can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.respondus.com/lockdown/information.pl?ID=291112242. However, we also recommend adding a link to the Respondus Student Tutorial in the same area where the exams have been added. The student tutorial also contains a link for students to download LDB as well as a complete step-by-step guide for use.
Q3. What are the considerations of using iPads with LDB?
A3. First, instructors must specifically enable the option in the LDB advanced settings area for each exam to allow students to take the exam with iPads. Students will need to download and use the separate iPad Edition of Respondus LockDown Browser from iTunes at this link:
While iPads offer convenience to students, wireless connections are more prone to interruptions and disconnects. We encourage students to use a desktop or laptop computer with a hard-wired connection while taking online exams as they are more reliable and less likely to cause problems.
Q4. I know that I didn't add a password, so why is there now a password appearing in the Test Options? Can I remove it or change it?
A4. No, this password should never be removed, changed or given out to students, as doing so will compromise the enforcement of LDB and / or not allow students to access the exam. When the LDB requirement is enabled for an exam, a random password is automatically generated and inserted into the Password field. This password is what enforces the requirement to use LDB, as the LDB application knows the password and internally passes it to Blackboard when the exam is accessed. In the event students try to access the exam with another browser, they will be prompted for this password and will be unable to continue.
Note: the internal password is generated based on the first 8 characters of the quiz title. If all your quizzes begin with the same 8 characters in the title, you may notice the internal LDB password will be identical for all the quizzes. This should normally not be an issue, but if the event the password is accidentally shared with students and need to change it to something else, it will be necessary to change the quiz title and reset the LDB requirement using the Fix It button.
Q5. What happens if students try to access the exam with another standard browser?
A5. If a student attempts to access the exam using a browser other than LDB, they will be prompted for the LockDown Browser-generated password and will be unable to continue.
Q6. I am an online instructor. Am I required to use this?
A6. No. Requiring that your students use LockDown Browser is optional. If LDB (or Monitor) is enabled for an exam and you no longer wish to use it, access the LockDown Browser dashboard and change the Required option to Not Required.
Q7. If a student exited the exam early, how will instructors find this information?
A7. If a student exited the exam early, a numerical icon will appear on the LDB Dashboard screen. From the contextual menu, select Review Early Exits to view when the student exited the exam and the reason provided by the student for exiting early.
Q8. If I perform a Course Copy will my LockDown Browser settings copy over?
A8. Yes, and no. Once the copy is complete, you will need to access the Control Panel > Tools > LockDown Browser and click the Fix It button to ensure the LockDown Browser settings for the copied exams are re-established in the new course.
Q9. How is the Review Priority in Respondus Monitor established to determine whether a video is marked as a Low or High Priority?
A9. The webcam video is analyzed using facial detection technology, which is how flagged events like Missing from Frame and Different person in frame are generated. Data from the computing device and network will generate events such as video interruptions, auto-restarts of a webcam session, mouse / trackpad / keyboard/touch usage, attempts to switch applications, and so forth. Data is also obtained from the student's interaction with the assessment, such as when the exam session starts and ends, when answers are saved, if the student exited the exam early, and so forth. Using a patent-pending process, Respondus analyzes the data at two levels. It is first compared to baseline data for all videos analyzed by the Respondus Monitor system. It is then compared to data from other test takers of the same examination. Finally, weights and other adjustments are made to the data, from which the Review Priority value is generated.
Q10. What type of Flags and Milestones does Respondus Monitor recognize within a video?
A10. Respondus Monitor generates a list of various events from the exam session. Flags are events where a problem might exist, whereas Milestones are general occurrences such as when the exam started, or when a question was answered.
- Flagged Events
- Missing from Frame
- The student could not be detected in the video frame for a period of time
- A different person in Frame
- A different person from whom started the exam may have been detected in the video frame for a period of time
- Multiple persons in Frame
- Multiple faces are detected in the video for a period of time
- An Internet interruption occurred
- A video interruption occurred as a result of internet failure
- Video frame rate lowered due to the quality of internet connection
- If poor upload speed is detected with the connection, the frame rate is automatically lowered for the webcam video
- Student exited LockDown Browser early
- The student used a manual process to terminate the exam session early; the reason provided by the student is shown
- A webcam was disconnected
- The web camera was disconnected from the computer during the exam
- A webcam was connected
- A web camera was connected to the computer during the exam
- An attempt was made to switch to another screen or application
- Indicates an application-switching swipe or keystroke combination was attempted
- Video session terminated early
- Indicates the video session terminated unexpectedly, and that it didn't automatically reconnect before the exam was completed by the student
- Milestone Events
- Question X Answered
- An answer to the question was entered (or changed) by the student
- Pre-Exam
- The webcam recording that occurs between the environment check and the start of the exam
- Exam Start
- End of Exam