Bruin Learn - Respondus Lockdown Browser

Owned by Tom Garbelotti
Last updated: Oct 16, 2023 by Jaehyeon Park
5 min read

What is Respondus

The Respondus suite of tools includes a lockdown browser that is useful for online tests and assessments.

Respondus is fully integrated into Bruin Learn, so students can take your Bruin Learn based assessment within the Respondus environment. 

Respondus does not replace an in-person proctor; however, it does provide a secure interface and full audio and video recordings of test attempts. 

Best Practices

Respondus requires students to download and install the LockDown browser prior to use.  Its effectiveness is dependent upon the student's device and their internet connection.

NOTE: To use Respondus Lockdown Browser in Bruin Learn New Quiz, use a browser of your choice, log into Bruin Learn, and take the quiz that has Respondus enabled. However, if you are using Bruin Learn Classic Quiz, then you need to launch Respondus Lockdown Browser manually from your desktop. After launching the application, you are shown a prompt asking you to select which server you are using. The two servers are Bruin Learn (Canvas) PROD, which is the live instance of Bruin Learn, or Bruin Learn (Canvas) Test, which is a beta version of Bruin Learn that is not live. For students taking an assessment on Bruin Learn with Respondus enabled, they should select “Canvas PROD.”

  • Respondus is currently only available for Mac, iPad, Windows, and Chromebook. You need to enable its use on iPads by going to the Respondus settings in your Bruin Learn course site in order for students to be able to use the application on the device.

  • It is strongly recommended to create a zero-stakes practice quiz with Respondus enabled for students to check that their equipment is functioning properly prior to the actual graded quiz. 

  • For the highest quiz integrity, pair Respondus with a quiz that uses random question banks and a time limit.

  • Please reach out to your local support unit if you will be using Respondus for the first time in your class.

For full information on using Respondus with Bruin Learn, see the Respondus Quick Start Guide

Live Proctoring (Using Zoom) with Respondus

Some instructors may want to monitor their students over Zoom while an exam is happening in addition to using Respondus. There are two ways to proctor assessments using Zoom and Respondus. 

Method 1

The first and simplest method is built into Respondus and allows you to use a variety of teleconferencing tools to live proctor. You will need to create a Zoom meeting for students, and they will only be able to start the exam once you provide them with a start code.

It is important to note that audio is the biggest concern when using Zoom as a proctoring tool. Students are unable to access the Zoom controls once they enter the lockdown browser, which means that if their audio is on, everyone will hear what is said or played, which is not ideal for listening comprehension or voice recording activities. As the host, you have the option to mute everyone from the onset, but students may not be able to speak to you should they need to. As such, we recommend using this method for smaller classes (<25 students).

To enable:

  1. Click on “Respondus Lockdown Browser” in your Bruin Learn course navigation menu (lefthand of screen).

  2. Click the arrow next to the quiz you wish to enable Respondus for, then select Settings from the dropdown menu. Once Require Respondus Lockdown Browser has been selected, you will see a Proctoring option. Choose Allow instructor live proctoring for this exam….

Under Select your video conferencing system, select Zoom.

Set a Start code for the exam.

Then, distribute the Zoom meeting URL to your class and provide the start code once everyone is in the meeting.

Method 2

This alternative method allows the use of an external URL in the Respondus settings.

Here, students are not able to use the desktop version of Zoom while in the LockDown Browser nor can they open new tabs in the browser, so instructors will need to take a few steps when configuring Respondus. This does, however, preserve their access to the sound controls in Zoom.

  1. In “Advanced Settings” for “LockDown Browser Settings,” check the option Allow access to specific external web domains (see above for instructions on how to access these settings).

  2. In the box that appears, enter “http://ucla.zoom.us.” The Zoom meeting you will be using for proctoring will need to be created from your UCLA account (check to ensure that you are signed into Zoom using your SSO account).

  3. Click the blue “Save and close” button at the bottom of the advanced settings.

  4. Create a meeting in Zoom that you will be using to proctor the exam. Include the link to this meeting at the beginning of the quiz. This is the only way students will be able to access Zoom once they enter the LockDown Browser.

  5. Instruct students to click on this link once they have gone through the initial startup sequence. This will open the Zoom meeting in a different tab. However, students will need to join the meeting from the browser instead of from their desktop Zoom app (which is most likely how they usually join a Zoom meeting). In order to do this, they will need to disallow the browser from opening the Zoom app (by clicking “Cancel” in the pop up window) and clicking “join from your browser.”

  6. Once they have entered a name for the meeting, the student will be in the proctoring Zoom meeting and can navigate back to the other tab to take the exam.

Using a non-US Keyboard

If you need to have students use a non-US keyboard, Respondus allows this by having the students pre-set their keyboard choices. 

See: Windows - How to Setup Keyboard Language Switching for LockDown Browser and Mac - How to Setup Keyboard Language Switching for LockDown Browser.

Students can also type specific characters while in the Respondus Lockdown Browser by selecting the icon showing a sheet of paper with an “A” on it, located in the upper left hand corner of the Browser. 


Additional helpful documentation:

Bruin Learn Quizzes