LockDown Browser ٤+

Disregarding the fact that this service is clearly not stable or robust enough to be the “secure remote test taking” standard it is, I immediately have a problem with its implementation. I use Linux for everything I do on a computer, if something is built for windows I make it work or I use a virtual machine; both options that are NEAR IMPOSSIBLE with this 100% required for my several thousand dollar education. I know the user-base is small and I doubt any academic institution is going to push for support since their computers use windows or Mac, but if you are going to provide a service like this and sell it as an easy go to for educators, then make it work, and make it work everywhere. It’s not like a video game with an annoying anti-cheat that doesn’t work with a lot of things, people NEED this software and shouldn’t need to have another device or create a Microsoft account or Apple ID to use another OS to take a test. It’s a small gripe and I have my IPad, but with all these other reviews I just consider it an extra sign that they don’t really care about the user experience so long as its good enough for institutions to keep paying them.

This is the first app review I’ve ever made and I’ll just start off by saying that using lockdown browser was the absolute worst test taking experience I have ever had. I started logging into canvas to take a 30 minute quiz just so the app would freeze and crash over a dozen times, effectively taking more time than the quiz allowed for, granting me a 0 on it. Considering most professors in this online day and age don’t trust students when test taking at home, they didn’t buy that this garbage app was the culprit and not my iPad or WiFi which has never had any problems to date. I might as well have just gone to a public bathroom and flipped through pages of an STD textbook for 2 hours instead of going through the immeasurable suffering that was trying to make this app work. The former would even be preferred at this point. And here I am, a straight A student getting the first B in my college career all because of an embarrassing excuse of a mobile test proctoring application. The quiz was an easy 10 questions long and would have taken me no more than 10 minutes to complete. Screw this app and its Neanderthal developers.

Because of distance learning, college Board requires AP students to download this app for the exams. While I was taking a practice exam(I was on question 43 out of 60), I was randomly kicked out of it and brought back to the sign in screen. It at first didn’t bother me since I usually get kicked out of practice test on the college board site, however, because I had the LockDown browser open, I was not able to login again. I also couldn’t use the home button or the power button either, so I was stuck on the sign in screen. I spent 20 minutes stressing out because I had other assignments I had to work on. I had to fully shut down the IPad to exit out of the frozen screen. While I was able to access my other applications now, it still didn’t allow me to finish my practice exam. I had to ultimately email my teacher so I don’t get points take away for not completing this assignment. I partially blame this on college board as well since I get kicked off of practice test all the time. I really hope this situation does not happen during the actual test and ruin my chances of passing.