Respondus Monitor is made available through an annual license funded through OIT. This annual license is based on usage levels in comparison to funding availability and current budget constraints. There is a need to balance secure, effective testing with the cost to achieve that security. When implementing an assessment in your course, or for existing assessments already in your course, evaluate if the use of Respondus Lockdown Browser(LDB) and/or Monitor are the best solutions for the test.
Below are two use cases where the use of LDB and Monitor are likely not needed and may even hinder students:
- The test is lower stakes in that it is worth a relatively low point value and/or consists of a small number of questions.
- Students are allowed the use of the course textbook and/or notes. With more and more textbooks being offered digitally, open eBook exams are difficult (and sometimes impossible) to administer using Lockdown Browser.
Instead of defaulting to Respondus LDB and Monitor, consider other security strategies, built into Blackboard, for the assessment, such as:
- Incorporating pools of questions with the ability to randomly pull questions to give each student a different collection of questions
- Randomize test questions to present them to students in a different order.
- Use open-ended questions to elicit student knowledge.
- Make use of alternate versions of a test, swapping out these versions from one semester to the next.
Another consideration is the additional cognitive load placed on students when taking a test, at a time when anxiety and stress may already be at a high level, of learning how to install, access, and use Respondus tools effectively. Last but not least, this may also be an opportunity to forego an objective assessment altogether and instead utilize a case study, scenario-based assignment, or other assessment type. The Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support can assist you.