Canvas is Virginia Tech's learning management system (LMS). Students use Canvas to access learning materials, like assignments, quizzes, feedback, and grades.

• Official courses are automatically created in students' Canvas accounts.
• Canvas provides 24-7 support by phone (833-639-7621) and chat (click Help on any Canvas screen).

The Canvas Student Guide has full instructions on using Canvas. These instructions are specific to Virginia Tech. To see other Canvas topics, please see How to Use Canvas at Virginia Tech (for Students).

Contents

• Taking Canvas Quizzes
• Taking quizzes with Respondus LockDown Browser
  
  • Download and install Respondus
  • Testing Respondus
  • Taking a quiz with Respondus
• Verifying Quiz Submission
• Viewing Grades on Canvas
• Troubleshooting
  
  • Troubleshooting Respondus
    
    • Respondus Freezes
    • Chat with Respondus Monitor Support
    • Webcam Problems
    • Laptop Overheating (Webcams Contribute)
    • Small screen with Respondus Quiz
    • Can't Take a Quiz with Respondus
  • Script Blocker Problems
• Getting Help

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Instructions

Taking Canvas Quizzes

• See How do I take a quiz?
• See the Canvas Student Guide - Quizzes for detailed instructions.
• The guide describes two quizzing tools - Quizzes and New Quizzes. Virginia Tech uses Quizzes but some instructors are starting to use New Quizzes.

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Taking Quizzes with Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor

• The Respondus LockDown Browser is a way to prevent test takers from navigating to other websites, chatting, or taking screenshots during an online Canvas quiz. 
• If your instructor has set up a Canvas Quiz that requires using the LockDown Browser or Monitor, you will need to download, install, and test Respondus before taking the quiz.
  
  • Please note that LockDown Browser can be used with Windows 10+, Mac 10.13+, Chromebook, and iPads running iOS 11+ (the iPad setting must be enabled by the instructor). LockDown Browser will cease to work on Windows 7 computers on June 28, 2023. Students using Windows 7 will need to upgrade to Windows 10/11 or find another device that is supported.

Download and Install Respondus

Install and test Respondus before you need to take the quiz.

1. Log into Canvas.
2. Go to the Respondus Test Site.
3. Click Join this Course.

   

4. Click Enroll in Course.

   

5. Click Go to the Course.

   

6. Go to Quizzes ->  Quiz for Respondus LockDown Browser.
7. Click Take the Quiz.

   

8. You will go to a new page. Click Download Respondus LockDown Browser.

   

9. A new tab will open. Click Install Now. The download should start immediately.

   

10. Run the downloaded Respondus installation file. The procedure will vary depending on your operating system and browser.
11. Go through the installation wizard.
    
    1. Choose your language and click Next.
    2. Accept the license terms and click Next.
12. Wait for Respondus to install and click Finish.
13. Run the Respondus LockDown Browser by launching the installed software on your computer. The procedure will vary depending on your operating system. 
14. Go to and log into Canvas.
15. Navigate to the Canvas quiz that requires the Respondus LockDown Browser. 

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Testing Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor

You can test your LockDown browser before attempting a graded quiz. To do this:

1. Open the LockDown browser and go to the Respondus Test Site in Canvas.
   
   • If you're testing the browser, go to the Quiz for Respondus LockDown Browser.
   • If you're testing the browser and Monitor, go to Quiz with LockDown Browser and Monitor - Requires Respondus LockDown Browser + Webcam.
2. Take the quiz.
3. Check your score in the quiz results and in Grades.

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Taking a Quiz with Respondus

• These instructions assume you've already downloaded, installed, and tested Respondus!
• Canvas has two versions of Quizzes: Classic and New. You don't know what tool your instructor used until you try to take a quiz. These instructions work for both quiz types.

1. Go to the Quiz in Canvas and click Take the Quiz. 
   
   1. If it's a Classic quiz, you'll see Respondus LockDown Browser Required. 
      
      1. Open Respondus LockDown browser.
      2. In Respondus LockDown Browser, go back to the quiz in Canvas.
      3. Click Take the Quiz.
   2. If it's a New quiz, a pop-up will appear asking for permission to open LockDown Browser.
      
      1. Click Open LockDown Browser.
      2. Lockdown Browser will start.
      3. Take the quiz.
2. Check your score in the quiz results and in Grades. 

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Verifying Quiz Submissions

If you submitted a quiz, you'll be able to view its Quiz Results. See How do I view quiz results as a student?

• Results may or may not contain grades, depending on how your instructor grades the quiz. 

If you don't see your Quiz Results, click Help in Canvas and ask Canvas Support to check if you've taken the quiz.

• If you took the quiz and don't see a grade, contact your instructor.
• If you didn't take the quiz and want a retake, contact your instructor.

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Viewing Grades on Canvas

See the Canvas Student Guide - Grades for detailed instructions.

• In the middle of the semester, check Calculate based only on graded assignments below your total grade, so Canvas doesn't count the assignments you haven't done yet as 0s.
• At the end of the semester, uncheck Calculate based only on graded assignments, so Canvas displays your correct grade.

  

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Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Respondus

Respondus Freezes

1. Shut down the computer.
   
   1. First, turn the computer completely off.
      
      • Many computers go into suspension or sleep mode when you press the power button, so press and hold the power button for 5 to 10 seconds to force the computer to shut down. Usually there is a small "chirp", "click", or "beep" when the computer powers down.
   2. Use the following steps to restore default settings after shutting down the computer.
      
      • Please do not attempt to remove Respondus or perform any other restore methods before doing the following steps.
2. Restore settings on computer
   
   • To restore the default settings* on a Windows computer:
     
     1. Start the computer from a powered down state (not suspension or sleep).
     2. Start LockDown Browser.
     3. Immediately quit LockDown Browser.
     4. Log out of the Windows user account (do not use Windows Restart).
     5. Log back into the Windows user account.
   • To restore the default settings* on a Mac OS computer:
     
     1. Start the system from a powered down state (not suspension or sleep).
     2. Start LockDown Browser.
     3. Immediately quit LockDown Browser.
3. After you have restored to default settings, please start the LockDown Browser and log back in to Canvas to continue your test.

* Note: Restoring the default settings is important after a forced shut down, because LockDown Browser temporarily alters your computer to prevent cheating. Unless you restore default settings, they might remain altered after you restart the computer.

Chat with Respondus Monitor Support

Respondus Monitor has built in 24/7 live chat. You can use chat while getting ready to take an exam. To access chat: 

1. When something goes wrong in a step, click It's not working.
2. Click Need More Help? in the pop-up.
3. Go through the troubleshooter; then the live chat will open.

Webcam Problems

Consult Respondus documentation: 

• Cannot detect or configure the webcam
• Mac: Webcam Not Detected

If you have a new webcam:

• Reinstall Respondus Lockdown Browser. 

If you don't have enough bandwidth to run a webcam or if you don't have a webcam:

• Contact your instructor to discuss testing options.

Laptop Overheating (Webcams Contribute)

• Do not place the laptop on your lap.
• Straddle the laptop across two books so air flows underneath. 
• Use a fan to blow over and under the laptop.   
• Use a laptop cooling pad.

Respondus Screen Too Small

If your screen is small after entering a Respondus quiz, then your resolution settings are too high. While your quiz will still run without any changes, we recommend lowering your resolution.

• For 4k displays:
  
  • Resolution: 3840 x 2160
  • Scale: 200%
• For non-4k displays:
  
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1080
  • Scale: 100-125%

Instructions for changing the resolution:

• Mac: Change your Mac display’s resolution.
• Windows: Change desktop icon size or screen resolution.

Can't Take a Respondus Quiz

You can't take a new quiz by going to it in Respondus. Instead, follow the instructions for Taking a quiz with Respondus.

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Script Blocker Problems

Canvas uses JavaScript. However, browser security settings or security suite software increasingly block JavaScript by default. If JavaScript is blocked, Canvas will not appear and function correctly, for example:

• The Canvas Dashboard shows flashing courses.
• Clicking Help and Courses do not show the menus.
• Clicking Assignments, Announcements, Discussions, Grades go to a blank page.
• The +Guests button doesn't appear in People.
• Videos in Files don't automatically play.
• SPOT doesn't appear on menus.
• Kaltura videos won't play.
• Instructors can't add files to Canvas. 
• Students can't upload files to Assignments.

To fix browser and script blocker problems:

1. Check/update your browser. We recommend using an updated version of Google Chrome.
   
   1. Click [...] in the upper right corner of your browser.
   2. Click Help->About Google Chrome.
   3. An automatic update may start. When it finishes, click Relaunch.
   4. To update, see Update Google Chrome.
2. Check the Canvas URL.
   
   1. Click your Canvas bookmark in Chrome. Make sure it links to https://canvas.vt.edu, not the Instructure URL. If it links to the Instructure URL, update it to link to https://canvas.vt.edu.
   2. If tools are malfunctioning in Canvas, check and make sure the URL is https://canvas.vt.edu. If not, go to https://canvas.vt.edu.
3. Bypass/clear your browser's cache.
   
   1. To bypass the cache, go to the Canvas page where you should see the link to the LTI tool. Hold the Shift key while clicking the browser's refresh button.
   2. To clear the cache, see Clearing Browser Cache.
4. Whitelist Canvas URLs in your script blocker; set your script blocker to allow JavaScript from Canvas and related URLs.
   
   1. Go to your script blocker's settings for trusting/allowing/unblocking/whitelisting websites. Instructions for common script blockers: 
      
      • NoScript Features
      • Adblock Plus - Getting Started
      • U-Block - How to Whitelist a Website
      • ScriptSafe Documentation
      • Symantec Security Suite - Configure Norton Internet Security
      • AVG - How to exclude files, folders or websites from AVG scanning
   2. Set your script blocker to trust/allow/unblock/whitelist the following Canvas-related URLs:
      
      • vt.edu
      • instructure.com
      • amazonaws.com
      • canvas-user-content.com
      • inscloudgate.net
      • kaltura.com
      • ops.cielo24.com
      • evaluationkit.com
      • cloudfront.net
      • jquery.com
      • bootstrapcdn.com
      • iclicker.com 
      • smc-service-cloud.respondus2.com

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Getting Help

Instructure, the creators of Canvas, provide 24-7 Canvas support, including live chat and a support hotline.

To get Canvas help, click Help on any Canvas screen and choose from help options:

• Search the Canvas Guides: Search Canvas documentation.
• Chat with Canvas Support: Open a chat window in Canvas (or call the phone number). 
• Contact Virginia Tech 4Help: Submit an incident on 4Help or call 540-231-4357.
• Report a Problem: Submit a Canvas support case by filling out a short form.
• Ask the Community: Go to Canvas user community resources.
• Submit a Feature Idea: Search a list of current feature idea conversations. Add to an existing conversation or start your own!
• Browse Virginia Tech Resources: See other Canvas Knowledge Base articles.

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