Secure testing for Canvas

Safe Exam Browser for Canvas.

Connect Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes to a secure browser workflow that stays clear for instructors, students, and administrators.

See the full exam workflow

In five minutes, see the student launch, instructor setup, exact URL controls, exam tools, and exit flow.

Read the edited video transcript

This transcript was checked against the recording and lightly edited only to remove verbal stumbles.

  1. 0:00Jacob introduces Safe Online Exam as a Canvas tool that helps proctors and teachers give online assessments while keeping students limited to approved resources.
  2. 0:27He opens a normal Canvas course to show what a student sees when taking a protected quiz. The demonstration uses macOS, and the same workflow is available on Windows.
  3. 0:42The student selects Take the Quiz, accepts the system prompt, and Safe Exam Browser launches with the assessment configuration.
  4. 0:53Safe Online Exam supplies the Canvas access code inside the browser session. The student never sees the code, which remains stored on the server.
  5. 1:02The assessment behaves like a normal Canvas quiz and supports its usual question types. When the student tries to navigate to an unapproved resource, Safe Exam Browser blocks the request.
  6. 1:32After the student submits the assessment, the approved exit flow closes Safe Exam Browser.
  7. 1:41The instructor opens Safe Online Exam from Canvas course navigation. The workspace lists both Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes, which can be managed through the same workflow.
  8. 2:06The instructor enables Safe Exam Browser for a New Quiz with one action, then opens its settings for more control.
  9. 2:13Assessment settings include an optional start password, the controlled quit password, and exam tools that provide specific resources without opening the full browser or computer.
  10. 2:40The instructor creates a tool named Reference Sheet, assigns its URL, saves the configuration, and returns to the student view.
  11. 3:01The student launches the configured quiz through Safe Exam Browser again using the same Canvas flow.
  12. 3:31An Exam Tools window now lists the resource the instructor approved. The student can move, resize, or return the window to its starting position.
  13. 3:46The reference sheet opens at the approved address. Attempts to navigate elsewhere are blocked, while the student can close the resource or keep it beside the quiz.
  14. 4:15Behind the assessment windows, the desktop is blank. The student cannot reach normal menu bars, the Dock, or other applications.
  15. 4:29If the student has a device problem or the instructor needs to change something, the instructor-controlled quit password can close the browser without forcing a quiz submission.
  16. 4:58Jacob closes by summarizing how quickly an instructor can configure the assessment and how clearly a student can use it while remaining limited to approved resources.
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Clear work for every person involved.

The product changes shape around the role Canvas has already established.

Set up the exam from the course you already teach.

Choose a Classic Quiz or New Quiz, turn on Safe Exam Browser, and decide which resources students may use.

  • Reuse course defaults or make an assessment-specific choice
  • Add exact websites and named exam tools
  • Control start and exit passwords without distributing the access code

Biology 201

Unit 4 assessment

Safe Exam Browser required
Formula sheet allowed
Exit password set

Control what the assessment needs.

Lockdown is more useful when instructors can still provide the exact resources required for good assessment design.

Give access to the right resource, not the whole web.

Allow one page, a defined site, or a named exam tool. Students can use what the assessment requires while the rest of the device remains locked down.

Make secure settings reusable.

Course defaults, quiz overrides, and school-managed tool presets turn a good setup into a repeatable assessment practice.

Choose how your institution operates it.

Use managed hosting or deploy the released package yourself. Both paths provide the same product capabilities.

Compared with Respondus

More control over the exam experience.

Safe Online Exam turns Safe Exam Browser into a Canvas-native lockdown browser workflow, with exact resource controls, reusable exam tools, and an operational dashboard for administrators.

Compare the workflows
Exact page and site controls
Named exam tools for students
School presets with bulk rollout
Managed and self-hosted operation

Run it with us or run it yourself.

Both paths use the same application and provide the same experience to instructors, students, and administrators.

Managed hosting

Managed hosting includes implementation guidance, operation, upgrades, and a named support relationship.

Request a demo

Self-hosted

The released Cloud Run and Docker Compose packages let your team operate the same application and keep its PostgreSQL data in your environment.

See how it fits your Canvas program.

Walk through the product, then talk about rollout, devices, managed hosting, or self-hosting with your institution in mind.