Category: LTI Tools

Proctorio is an online exam proctoring and security tool, available for use in Canvas courses at MiraCosta through December 2020. Proctorio requires both instructors and students to access Canvas using the Google Chrome browser with an extension installed. It works with Canvas Quizzes but not New Quizzes. Its primary features are:

1. Locking down the student’s computer when tests are being taken in Canvas so that the student must stay in Canvas and is unable to switch to other websites or programs.
2. Recording the video and sound (IMPORTANT: This requires students to have a webcam/mic) during test-taking in Canvas; the recording is automatically analyzed for anomalies that could indicate cheating behaviors; anomalies are flagged for review by the instructor.

Feature #1 can be used on its own, if the video-based proctoring is not desired.

You may also be interested in tips on designing “less cheatable” courses and assessments.

Getting Started with Proctorio: Faculty

• To use Proctorio in Canvas, you and your students MUST use the Google Chrome browser with the Proctorio extension installed.
• Faculty setup process:
  1. Log into Canvas – ideally on a Chrome browser
  2. Enter the course on Canvas where you want to get started with Proctorio
  3. Go to Settings, then Navigation. Enable Secure Exam Proctor (Proctorio) and click Save.
  4. Click Secure Exam Proctor (Proctorio) on the left course menu.
  5. Now it tells you to Install Google Chrome (if you weren’t using Google Chrome).
  6. Install Proctorio Chrome Extension with the URL it shows for #2. Follow this through and add the extension to Chrome.
  7. Now that you have the Chrome extension, the menu item for Proctorio on the left course menu is gone.
  8. To access Proctorio, go to an exam, edit the settings, and select the check box Enable Proctorio Secure Exams. Then a whole new tab opens to configure your Proctorio options.
• Use of Chrome with the Proctorio extension installed is required to enable full access to the Proctorio support resources. When you are in Chrome with the extension active, the following support articles will be accessible:
  • Configuring Exam Settings
    • Exam Recording Options
    • Exam Lockdown Options
    • Exam Verification Options
  • Accessing the Proctorio Gradebook
  • Reviewing Test Attempts
• You can provide a link to the 3-step Proctorio setup for your students. Again, if you are desiring to use the remote proctoring feature of Proctorio, students would need to have a webcam and mic on the computer where they are doing the testing.
• Once you have installed the Proctorio extension in Chrome, in Canvas you will see a message at the top of the screen the first time you access each course you are teaching. The message asks you if you want to use Canvas with that course.
  • If you do activate Proctorio within a course, you will also be asked if you wish to add some Proctorio resources to your course (practice quiz, student guide added in the Pages area). A faculty guide will be added in the Pages area and it will automatically open.

Additional Resources

• Proctorio FAQs
• Proctorio Guide produced by the Online Education Initiative with an overview of Proctorio’s options and settings.
• Additional step-by-step guides become available to you and your students after you activate Proctorio within a Canvas course. See above for details on how to do that.

Getting Help

Proctorio email support: support@proctorio.com

• Support for Test-Takers

Proctorio phone support:
Faculty – 1-760-209-1110 or 1-855-407-1393
Students – 1-760-227-7129 or 1-855-530-0985

Also, once the Proctorio extension (Secure Exam Proctor) is installed in Chrome, it becomes active for faculty and students when they access a Proctorio-enabled quiz in Canvas. Clicking the shield that represents the extension provides access to live chat support and to the Proctorio support website with additional resources.

Proctorio Feedback and Tips

Proctorio has been available via the OEI to CCC schools since 2015. Some highlights of feedback from colleagues around the CCC system:

• Some colleges are using Proctorio extensively and seem happy with it; others have run into some concerns and have chosen not to promote its use.
• The biggest concerns about using Proctorio are:
  • Challenges for students in ensuring that they have a proper setup (using Chrome, getting the Proctorio extension installed, using a webcam and microphone if proctoring is required)
  • Challenges for students with Proctorio working properly for video proctoring if they don’t have a strong Internet connection; this can result in the computer freezing and/or exam failures.
• There are some colleges where they say that due to the above concerns, some faculty are using just the Lockdown capability of Proctorio and not the video proctoring, meaning that students don’t have to have a webcam and mic, and the bandwidth requirements are much less.
• The practice quiz that Proctorio will automatically add to your course is useful as a way to help ensure that students are prepared to take a real test with Proctorio, but …
• If you decide to not use the “full” capabilities of Proctorio, but you do want to use the practice quiz that Proctorio installs in your course, you should modify the practice quiz settings to reflect only the Proctorio features you are using.
• It’s a good idea to include the Proctorio support numbers for students (see above) in any quiz/exam directions in case they haven’t even realized they need to be using Chrome and/or they have not yet installed the Proctorio extension within Chrome.
• At least one college recommends against enabling the Record the Room option (awkward and disruptive during exam-taking) and the Force Completion option (will require instructor intervention to reset the test if there is any Internet connection issue during the test).
• Students cannot use a mobile device to complete a Proctorio-enabled Quiz.
• Proctorio works with Quizzes only, not New Quizzes.