To create your first Lockdown assignment, we recommend starting with a quick test assignment so students can practice entering and make sure everything works smoothly. If students run into issues, you can share the troubleshooting guide below or contact us to enable a more lenient Lockdown Mode setup.
How to enable
While creating an assignment, you can choose to turn on lockdown mode for your students. When on, students will automatically enter full-screen mode to work on their assignment. If they leave,
Preferred student devices and browsers
This performs best on:
Any laptop using the Google Chrome browser
iPads
How it works
Students will be prompted to enter lockdown mode to work on their assignment. This automatically places students in fullscreen mode while they work on their assignment.
If a student exits fullscreen or leaves the tab for any reason, it will be recorded as a leave. They’ll be kicked out of the session and prompted to start a new one before continuing.
🆕 Teachers can choose what happens if students leave lockdown mode:
Notify-only
| Teachers will be able to see the number of sessions and students can re-enter their assignment freely. |
Focus mode
| Students will need to enter an explanation before they can re-enter their assignment. |
Exam mode
| Students will need to enter an explanation and teachers will need to approve it before they can re-enter their assignment. |
Monitoring
You can monitor student sessions and regrant access from the assignment page. | 
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You can hover over a student's sessions to see their activity timeline. | 
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Troubleshooting
Here's a troubleshooting guide you can share directly with students. If they're still running into issues, you can contact us to enable a more lenient lockdown mode for them.
If students are running into issues:
Check the browser zoom-level: Make sure the browser is at 100% (
Ctrl + 0on Windows,Cmd + 0on Mac).Check for full-screen blockers: Ensure there are no apps or system settings preventing the student from entering full-screen mode.
If possible, try to use the Chrome browser.
Confirm the taskbar is hidden
On Windows: (Right-click the taskbar → Taskbar settings → turn on Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode).
On Mac:In "System Settings" > "Control Center" > "Automatically hide and show the menu bar" should be set to "Always" or "In Full-screen"
In "System Settings" > "Desktop & Dock" > "Automatically hide and show the Dock" should be on
If a student still can’t access their assignment: Our strict full-screen enforcement can be glitchy on certain device types. Let us know the student’s name or the assignment's name, and we can enable a more flexible lockdown mode for them.
Limitations
A few actions will lock a student out of lockdown mode:
Leaving full-screen mode or exiting the assignment.
Changing the browser zoom level away from 100%. This is necessary for to verify that the student is in full-screen mode and does not have certain browser overlays open.
The student presses the Option key, which can allow other applications, like ChatGPT, to open on top of their editor.
If students are running into issues, please share this Troubleshooting guide with them.
Student experience
When the assignment is open |
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When the student is in lockdown mode |
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When asked to enter an explanation (if applicable) | 
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While waiting for teacher approval (if applicable) | 
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