Canvas,  Educational Tools

What Do I Need to Know about Using Proctorio in Canvas?

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If you’re wanting to use a lockdown browser with your quizzes or exams in Canvas, Proctorio is the answer. It’s not hard to start using it, but there are a few things you need to know. 

You (and your students) must use Google Chrome.

Proctorio works through a Chrome extension, so you cannot use any other browser when adding Proctorio to a quiz/exam or when students attempt the assessment. 

Before you can add Proctorio to a quiz/exam, you need to add Proctorio to your course and install the Chrome extension.

Adding Proctorio to your course

  1. Click “settings” in your course navigation.
  2. Scroll to find Proctorio. Add it to the active navigation by dragging and dropping it or clicking the three dots menu on the item and selecting “enable.” 
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “save.” 

Since Proctorio is enabled at the course level, you will need to follow these steps for each course where you want to use Proctorio. 

Installing the Chrome extension

One you’ve added Proctorio to your course navigation, click the navigation link. You’ll be directed to a page where you will install the Chrome extension.

After you’ve installed the extension, the Canvas navigation link will disappear. Don’t worry – this is perfectly normal; Proctorio is still installed and ready to be implemented.

You must use specific settings in your quizzes/exams. 

Once you’ve checked the “Enable Proctorio Secure Exam Proctor” box in your quiz/exam settings, you can start selecting the Proctorio settings (using the “Proctorio settings” tab on the quiz settings page). 

We are using the free version of Proctorio across the majority of campus, so there are some settings you cannot use. If you deviate from the settings listed below, students will be sent to a paywall instead of their quiz/exam.

  1. Turn off all recording options. Buttons that are shaded in black are turned on; buttons that are white are turned off.
    screenshot of the proctorio recording options showing that all of the buttons are light and not enabled
  2. Select the following Lock Down options. You’ll be leaving “Prevent Re-entry” unchecked. 
    1. Force Full Screen: Lenient (30 seconds)
    2. Only One Screen 
    3. No New Tabs
    4. Close Open Tabs
    5. Disable Printing
    6. Disable Clipboard
    7. Block Downloads
    8. Clear Cache
    9. Disable Right Click
      screenshot of the proctorio lock down settings. All of the settings except for "prevent re-entry" are enabled, so the button for each enabled setting is dark.
  3. Shut off all the settings under Verification Options and In-Quiz Tools. 
    screenshot of the proctorio verification options. None of these settings are enabled, so each button is light.
    screenshot of the proctorio in-quiz tools options. None of these settings are enabled, so each button is light.
  4. Expand the Proctorio Behavior Settings section and scroll to “Proctorio Exam Metrics.” Turn off all exam metrics, focusing especially on the computer based abnormalities and the technical abnormalities
    screenshot of the proctorio computer based abnormalities options. None of these settings are enabled, so each button is light.
    screenshot of the proctorio environmental abnormalities options. None of these settings are enabled, so each button is light.
    screenshot of the proctorio technical abnormalities options. None of these settings are enabled, so each button is light.
  5. Click “Create New Profile.” Name it “Lockdown” and check the box to set it as your default profile. By making it the default, Proctorio will automatically apply those settings to each of your quizzes/exams when you add Proctorio to the assessment. 
  6. Click “save.” 

I’ve followed the instructions, but something went wonky. Help! 

If your students see a paywall instead of their quiz/exam…

…they need to stop and contact you. They should not pay to take their quiz/exam. Double-check your quiz/exam settings to make sure something extra didn’t get accidentally turned on. 

If your students see a message that they need an access code for the exam…

…they need to contact Proctorio Support by scrolling down and clicking the “Start Live Chat.” 

Check out this video detailing the process of setting up Proctorio in your course

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