Cheating during Canvas Quizzes

[szupan]

I find it very frustrating that the Canvas quiz log seems to be inconsistent. 

I am hoping to get some feedback on several quiz logs (attached). These are from three separate exams given on different days. All logs are created by the same student. This is a proctored exam taken while I am in the room 

I walk around the room and answer questions. Needless to say, I cannot watch one student throughout the entire exam. 

Students are given clear rules regarding leaving the screen while taking an exam in Canvas.

I think it is important to mention that 31 out of 34 students did not have one record indicating "stopped viewing the Canvas quiz." 

I understand that after 30 seconds of inactivity,  the log marks as stopped viewing the Canvas quiz and after 15 seconds if viewing another page in Canvas or outside of Canvas.

However, the attached sample of exam logs indicate "stopped viewing the Canvas quiz..." in much less time than the

15-second rule.   

The attached logs were created by the same student. The suspicious activity and numbers of "stopped viewing the Canvas quiz," are excessive and cannot be ignored. 

Any insight or suggestions are welcome. 

[szupan · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Kona. By inconsistency I mean the log records him as "stopped viewing the Canvas quiz" within the 15 second rule. 

Many are less than 5 seconds. 

[rmurchshafer · Accepted solution]

Hi Sheere,

I question the "15 second rule" as I'm guessing you read on this page How do I view a quiz log for a student? .  I question it based on your results and even the screenshots on that page.  They show the Stopped viewing alert within the same second of viewing.  

My personal take on any logs is that they only tell a part of a story and there probably are things that could interfere with them being accurate.  Canvas can really only log what is going on inside of the browser window it's running in.  And I have that being able to report that someone left a page is somewhat controlled by the web browser itself.  I also bet that things like Add ins or browser extensions could impact some of the information gathered in these type of logs. 

Just my thoughts above.  Looking at your logs I'm inclined to believe that the student viewed another tab or browser window at the points marked in red, but I would be considering many other things before accusing the student of that.

Rick 

[szupan · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Rick. I agree, that the log is just part of the picture, however, the log also gives us the number of times a student answered a question and when specific detail was added. 

When I grade essay questions, I am looking for specific detail in their answers. If a student adds specific detail after it is recorded that he/she has stopped viewing the Canvas quiz (15 seconds) and returning to the question 50 plus times, I am going to assume they are looking up answers. 

[rswengel · Accepted solution]

Can someone tell me how to get to the session log?

[christie_nordhi · Accepted solution]

When you are in speed grader and looking at an individual student exam you will see the words "view log" at the top right, quite large. 

[marianna_pinter · Accepted solution]

I just learned that, first you will need to enable the "view log" in canvas settings: settings (main left panel) -> feature options -> enable: Quiz Log Auditing

[rachel_dass · Accepted solution]

Hello Rick, I had a question! 

What is it meant by "Canvas can really only log what is going on inside of the browser window it's running in"? If someone has the quiz open, and then they minimize that window and open another window (so they have both the windows minimized and can be viewed simultaneously) , for example to access music during the quiz, does it still show up as "stopped viewing the quiz taking page?" Because if they can't tell what page one has opened, for all they know the student could've changed a setting on their computer or could've been listening to music. 

[rmurchshafer · Accepted solution]

Dass,

Canvas can only tell what is going on within the web browser tab connected to Canvas.  It can typically tell if a student minimizes it because it loses "focus" and will likely show up in the log that they "stopped viewing the quiz.....", but Canvas can't tell anything else about the computer itself or other programs running on it.  If the student is taking the quiz in Chrome Canvas logs can't tell anything about what is happening in Firefox, or a Spotify app, or even another tab within Chrome.  The only way Canvas would have that kind of insight is if the quiz were to run in a custom web browser which also had a ton of access to the computer.  This is partially how the Respondus lockdown browser works; as an application it also has access to view what else is going on within the computer operating system.  If Google Chrome let any web site see all of the applications that were running on a computer I don't think many people would use Google Chrome any more (and they might get sued).

Rick

[RyanKelly · Accepted solution]

So if a student is taking a canvas quiz on chrome, and they open up another tab on safari, canvas would not know this? More so it would not say "Student stopped viewing quiz tab" in the log, right?

Thanks

[kona]

 @szupan , I’m not sure what you mean by inconsistency, but it does look like the student might have been doing some things tbeh shouldn’t have during the quiz. My recommendation is to contact support and see if they can add some information to this. They have access to more information than you’ll see in the quiz log. To do this, click on the Help link and Report a Problem. 

Hope this helps, Kona

[szupan · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Kona. By inconsistency I mean the log records him as "stopped viewing the Canvas quiz" within the 15 second rule. 

Many are less than 5 seconds. 

[rmurchshafer · Accepted solution]

Hi Sheere,

I question the "15 second rule" as I'm guessing you read on this page How do I view a quiz log for a student? .  I question it based on your results and even the screenshots on that page.  They show the Stopped viewing alert within the same second of viewing.  

My personal take on any logs is that they only tell a part of a story and there probably are things that could interfere with them being accurate.  Canvas can really only log what is going on inside of the browser window it's running in.  And I have that being able to report that someone left a page is somewhat controlled by the web browser itself.  I also bet that things like Add ins or browser extensions could impact some of the information gathered in these type of logs. 

Just my thoughts above.  Looking at your logs I'm inclined to believe that the student viewed another tab or browser window at the points marked in red, but I would be considering many other things before accusing the student of that.

Rick 

[szupan · Accepted solution]

Thank you, Rick. I agree, that the log is just part of the picture, however, the log also gives us the number of times a student answered a question and when specific detail was added. 

When I grade essay questions, I am looking for specific detail in their answers. If a student adds specific detail after it is recorded that he/she has stopped viewing the Canvas quiz (15 seconds) and returning to the question 50 plus times, I am going to assume they are looking up answers. 

[rswengel · Accepted solution]

Can someone tell me how to get to the session log?

[christie_nordhi · Accepted solution]

When you are in speed grader and looking at an individual student exam you will see the words "view log" at the top right, quite large. 

[marianna_pinter · Accepted solution]

I just learned that, first you will need to enable the "view log" in canvas settings: settings (main left panel) -> feature options -> enable: Quiz Log Auditing

[rachel_dass · Accepted solution]

Hello Rick, I had a question! 

What is it meant by "Canvas can really only log what is going on inside of the browser window it's running in"? If someone has the quiz open, and then they minimize that window and open another window (so they have both the windows minimized and can be viewed simultaneously) , for example to access music during the quiz, does it still show up as "stopped viewing the quiz taking page?" Because if they can't tell what page one has opened, for all they know the student could've changed a setting on their computer or could've been listening to music. 

[rmurchshafer · Accepted solution]

Dass,

Canvas can only tell what is going on within the web browser tab connected to Canvas.  It can typically tell if a student minimizes it because it loses "focus" and will likely show up in the log that they "stopped viewing the quiz.....", but Canvas can't tell anything else about the computer itself or other programs running on it.  If the student is taking the quiz in Chrome Canvas logs can't tell anything about what is happening in Firefox, or a Spotify app, or even another tab within Chrome.  The only way Canvas would have that kind of insight is if the quiz were to run in a custom web browser which also had a ton of access to the computer.  This is partially how the Respondus lockdown browser works; as an application it also has access to view what else is going on within the computer operating system.  If Google Chrome let any web site see all of the applications that were running on a computer I don't think many people would use Google Chrome any more (and they might get sued).

Rick

[rachel_dass]

Thank you! Appreciate the fast response! 

[RyanKelly · Accepted solution]

So if a student is taking a canvas quiz on chrome, and they open up another tab on safari, canvas would not know this? More so it would not say "Student stopped viewing quiz tab" in the log, right?

Thanks

[RyanKelly · Accepted solution]

So if a student is taking a canvas quiz on chrome, and they open up another tab on safari, canvas would not know this? More so it would not say "Student stopped viewing quiz tab" in the log, right?

Thanks

[trycanvas]

what if the student didn't open a new tab. The student opened a pdf file of lecture note in his computer and looked at it. Will canvas log mark flagged or 'stopped viewing the Canvas quiz.'?

[rswengel]

Our school district uses a system (web-based) called DyKnow (DyKnow.com) it allows teachers to monitor student online activity on school-owned devices.  It also allows the teacher to block sites and designate "Allow only" sites.

[acaetano]

What does it mean a student answering four questions at 14 seconds (3)?

[acaetano]

I don't get it. At 14'' the student answers four questions simultaneously? What is this piece of log really telling?

Thanks,

André

[chriscas]

Hi @acaetano,

I'm going to take a shot at this, but would love for anyone else to chime in too in case I'm totally off here...

In my opinion, the log is indicating that the server-side of Canvas received those four answers at the 14 minute mark.  I don't think it necessarily means the student answered all four questions simultaneously, but that there was perhaps an internet connectivity blip (whether intentional or not).  Even if an internet connection goes out, students can continue to work on the quiz, but I don't think the log will necessarily show every piece of activity that happened there.

While the logs are a good source of general info, Instructure states "Quiz logs should not be used to validate academic integrity or identify occurrences of cheating" as the first note on the guide page.  As a Canvas admin, I would really hesitate to use the Canvas quiz log as evidence of academic integrity violations or cheating without having a lot of other corroborating evidence from other sources.

-Chris

[bozoteacher]

lol

[moppot]

If a student were to tab out (alt+tab) would canvas be able to see that activity?

[moppot]

Or if a student were to click onto another window without minimizing the window that the test is on, would canvas be able to see that?