A Moodle quiz works well in a computer lab with a teacher walking between the rows. Move the same quiz to students' homes and the safeguards change: Moodle still controls the questions, the clock and the attempts, but nobody sees the student, the rest of the computer or the room. For a teacher, a pedagogical advisor or the Moodle administrator at a cégep or university, the practical question is what Moodle can enforce on its own and what has to be added.
The question tends to come up at the worst moment: a few days before a midterm or a final that a group must write remotely, for a student far from campus, or for a continuing-education cohort that never comes to campus. This guide covers the quiz settings that already protect integrity in Moodle 4.x, where they stop, and a vendor-neutral method for proctoring a quiz taken from home.
What do Moodle quiz settings already do for integrity?
The quiz activity has more integrity controls than many teachers use. The setting names below are those of Moodle 4.x.
- Timing. "Open the quiz" and "Close the quiz" set the window, "Time limit" sets the duration, and "When time expires" can submit open attempts automatically.
- Attempts. "Attempts allowed" keeps a student from retaking the quiz to find out which answers were right.
- Question variety. Random questions drawn from a question bank category give each student a different set. "Shuffle within questions" reorders answer choices, and the Shuffle option on the Questions page reorders questions within a section.
- Review options. Correct answers and feedback can stay hidden until the quiz closes, so they don't reach students who are still writing.
- User and group overrides. One student, or one group, can get different dates, a longer time limit, more attempts or a separate password. This is how extra time is usually granted.
- Extra restrictions on attempts. "Require password" holds the quiz until the teacher gives out the password. "Require network address" limits attempts to listed IP ranges, such as a campus lab. "Browser security" can open the quiz in a "Full screen pop-up with some JavaScript security" that hides navigation controls and makes copy and paste harder.
- Safe Exam Browser. Moodle can require Safe Exam Browser (SEB), a free, open-source lockdown browser. SEB turns the computer into a kiosk for the duration of the quiz, blocking other applications, unapproved websites and task switching.
Together, these settings deal well with shared answers, retakes and casual browsing. They were designed for a supervised room, though.
Why aren't quiz settings enough for a remote exam?
Moodle sees one thing: an authenticated browser session. Everything outside that session is invisible to it, and at home that is where the risks are.
- Identity stops at the login. Moodle knows which account opened the attempt, not who is at the keyboard. A quiz password can be passed along as easily as a username.
- Nothing to review afterwards. Moodle keeps the attempt, its timing and its logs. It does not keep what happened on the screen or in the room, so a suspicious result comes down to the teacher's word against the student's.
- Other apps and second screens. Without SEB, a student can switch to another window, a chat or an AI tool; the full-screen pop-up does not prevent it. SEB locks the computer, but it does not see a phone, a second computer or a person sitting beside the student. On its own, SEB does not verify identity or record the session either; it was not designed to.
- Accommodations handled by hand. Extra time is an override per quiz and per student. A teacher with five quizzes and four students entitled to extra time has twenty overrides to create, and has to start again next session with a new class list. Group overrides cut the count, but they are still set quiz by quiz.
The table sums up what each setting covers.
| Quiz setting | What it protects against | What it doesn't cover |
|---|---|---|
| Random questions from the question bank | Answers shared between students | Notes, websites or help during the attempt |
| Shuffling questions and answer choices | Copying answers by position | Same as above |
| Open and close dates, time limit | Answers circulating over a long window | What happens during the window |
| One attempt, answers hidden until close | Retakes, answers passed to later writers | Help during the attempt |
| User and group overrides | Unfair timing for students with accommodations | Must be set per quiz and per student |
| Require password | Starting before the session is open | Passwords can be shared |
| Require network address | Attempts from outside the campus | Remote exams altogether |
| Full-screen pop-up | Casual copy and paste | Other apps, a second screen |
| Safe Exam Browser | Other apps, websites and task switching | Identity, recording, a phone or second computer |
The cost shows up later: academic integrity cases with no evidence either way, honest students who feel the exam was unfair to them, and complaints when an accommodation was forgotten.
What doesn't work
Several common workarounds fill part of the gap, and each one leaves a hole.
- Supervising over a video meeting. A teacher can ask everyone to keep their camera on in a Microsoft Teams meeting, but nobody can watch thirty video tiles and thirty screens at once, and a meeting recording shows the meeting, not each student's screen.
- An integrity statement alone. Asking students to confirm they will work alone sets expectations, and it is worth keeping. It produces no evidence when a question arises.
- Turning every exam into an open-book exam. Applied problems and open-book exams are good assessment design and sometimes the best answer. When a program needs a closed-book exam, the question of supervision remains.
How to proctor a Moodle quiz remotely, step by step
These steps apply whatever proctoring tool your institution chooses. Most of them are Moodle settings you can prepare today.
1. Build versions with question banks and random draws
Organize the question bank in categories by learning objective and difficulty, then add random questions from each category. As a rule of thumb, write several times more questions than each draw uses, so two students rarely see the same set. Turn on shuffling within questions and question order shuffling.
2. Set the window, the duration and a buffer
Make the window the time limit plus a short buffer for sign-in and technical hiccups: for example, a 90-minute quiz open from 9:00 to 10:45. Set "When time expires" to submit open attempts automatically. A long window lets answers travel between students who start at different times.
3. Set accommodations before exam day
Get the list from your accessibility service and create user overrides, or group overrides for students who share the same measure. An attempt ends at the close date even if the time limit is not over, so move the close date along with the time limit. The guide to accommodations in proctored online exams covers breaks, assistive technology and the rest.
4. Decide what is allowed, and write it down
Calculator, formula sheet, course notes, a specific website: state it in the quiz description and in the proctoring settings, so students and proctors work from the same rules. Generative AI needs an explicit yes or no; the guide on blocking ChatGPT during online exams explains the options.
5. Require a proctoring app at quiz launch
Match the tool to the stakes. Safe Exam Browser alone locks the computer; a proctoring app adds identity checks and a recording. Either way, enforce it from the quiz settings so the quiz cannot be opened in an ordinary browser.
6. Run a practice quiz and a pre-check
A week before the exam, publish a two-question practice quiz with the same settings. Students install the app, test the camera, microphone and connection, and sign in, so exam day starts with the exam rather than with troubleshooting.
7. Tell students what is recorded
Before the exam, explain what is captured, who can see it, how long it is kept and what happens when an incident is flagged. In Quebec, Law 25 generally requires telling people what personal information is collected and why; confirm the wording with your privacy officer. Examo's page for students is an example of this kind of notice.
8. Review incidents afterwards
Look at each flagged moment with the matching recording before drawing any conclusion. A person decides, and the decision follows your institution's academic integrity policy, not a score.
How Examo handles it
Examo is a native Windows and macOS application that frames and records an exam, including a quiz built in Moodle. The teacher ticks "Require the Examo app" in the quiz settings, and the quiz then opens only inside Examo. Question banks and random draws keep working, so each student still gets a different version. The connection is described on the integrations page.
Students sign in with their institutional Microsoft 365 account. A proctor confirms attendance in a waiting room and can confirm identity visually from the camera, without facial recognition. Examo then locks down the computer: unauthorized websites, applications, browser extensions and AI tools are blocked, while the resources the teacher allows stay available. The session is recorded according to the exam's settings: camera, microphone, every connected screen, and keyboard and mouse activity, each capture switched on or off per exam.
Detected events, such as an unauthorized application or the exam window losing focus, are time-stamped on a timeline next to the matching recording. The teacher reviews them and decides; Examo gives no suspicion score and makes no automatic decision. The proctoring and lockdown page lists what is blocked and detected.
Accommodations are set once per student and applied automatically to every exam, including assistive technology that the lockdown leaves running, and the proctor can extend a student's time during the exam. Teachers create and follow their exams from the Exams tab in Microsoft Teams, and students reach the exam from a "Take the exam" link in their Outlook calendar event. The whole cycle is laid out in how Examo works.
Key takeaways
- Moodle 4.x quiz settings already limit shared answers and retakes: use random questions, shuffling, a short window, one attempt and answers hidden until the quiz closes.
- Safe Exam Browser locks the computer for free, but on its own it does not verify identity, record the session or see a phone or a second computer.
- Grant extra time with user or group overrides and move the close date too, because an attempt ends when the quiz closes.
- Require the proctoring app from the quiz settings, run a practice quiz first, and have a person review every flagged incident with its recording.
See a Moodle quiz open inside Examo
In 30 minutes, we require the Examo app on a Moodle quiz, take it as a student, then review the recording and the incident timeline as the teacher.
Book a demoFrequently asked questions
Can Moodle proctor a quiz on its own?
Not fully. Moodle 4.x quiz settings control the window, time limit, attempts, random questions and review options, and can require a password, a network address or Safe Exam Browser. Moodle does not check who is at the keyboard beyond the login, does not record the session and sees nothing outside the browser. For a remote exam, institutions add a lockdown browser or a proctoring app.
Is Safe Exam Browser enough for a Moodle quiz taken at home?
It depends on the stakes. Safe Exam Browser is free, open source and built into Moodle's quiz settings, and it locks the computer so other applications and websites can't be used. On its own it does not verify identity, record the session or see a phone, a second computer or another person in the room. For a high-stakes exam at home, those gaps usually call for a proctoring app.
How do I give one student extra time on a Moodle quiz?
Add a user override on the quiz and set a longer time limit for that student. Move the close date as well, because an attempt ends when the quiz closes even if time remains. For several students with the same measure, a group override saves steps. Overrides are set quiz by quiz, so check them before each exam.
Can a Moodle quiz be set to open only in a proctoring app?
Yes. Moodle's quiz settings can require Safe Exam Browser, and a proctoring app can add its own requirement. With Examo, the teacher ticks Require the Examo app in the quiz settings, and the quiz then opens only inside Examo. Question banks and random draws keep working, so each student still receives a different version of the quiz.
What should students be told before a proctored Moodle quiz?
What is captured (camera, microphone, screens), who can see the recordings, how long they are kept, what is allowed during the exam and what happens if an incident is flagged. A practice quiz a week before lets them test their setup. In Quebec, Law 25 generally requires informing people about the personal information collected; confirm the notice with your privacy officer.