How can we detect or disable Google's new "Homework help" Chrome browser feature during Canvas quizzes?

[thompsli]

Google has rolled out a new "Homework Help" button in the URL bar of Chrome, and I just tested it out. During a Canvas quiz, if I click that button in the URL bar and select a quiz question in Canvas, it'll spit out the answer right in a sidebar without leaving the page.

Is there a way to detect this in the quiz logs or otherwise keep this feature from being used during quizzes in Canvas? 

Here's a video of it in action: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uT_IsBKYnMhQfiyWjHdpyuYbheoTxJbS/view?usp=sharing 

[NoahBoswell]

Hi there @thompsli ,

While I am not aware of a way to prevent this from appearing while on Canvas, since it has to do with the search engine and not Canvas specifically, using this feature does appear in the quiz logs, I gave this a try earlier today with classic quizzes.

Hope that helps a bit!

[venitk]

@NoahBoswell what does it look like when it appears in the quiz logs? Meaning, what does the quiz log say?

[NoahBoswell]

Hi @venitk ,

It appears the same as any other time a student leaves the exam. Teachers do not have access to actually see where the students went outside of the quiz, but you're able to see how long they were out of the quiz for, and when / if they answered the question prior to or after opening a new page (stopped viewing the quiz).

[antoniette_aizo]

We have been told by Instructure to not use this as a way to see if students are cheating.

[screviston]

This may be a bigger issue then you realize. I teach software development at a tech college. This week I found out about the new Homework helper tool while working in one of my database design courses. The homework helper tool was able to read the entire page, which included images and written text, determine the database structure, then provide nearly correct answers for many sql statements students were suppose to develop. Some cases providing the sql code solution, other cases providing a written step by step suggestion. Microsoft Copilot is becoming pretty smart as well, meaning students only need to learn how to write AI prompts to get full solutions to quizzes and labs.

[venitk]

FYI, Canvas, this does seem to be blockable--it's blocked in McGraw Hill Connect (but not Wiley Plus)

[Renee_Carney · Accepted solution]

@thompsli & Community! 

We really appreciate you raising this concern. Google’s new “Homework Help” feature is a recent change, and we recognize the impact it can have on assessments delivered in Canvas.

We’re actively engaging with our partners to support institutions navigating these changes:

• With proctoring partners: We’re sharing what we know and collaborating closely so they can adapt their solutions to continue meeting the needs of customers in this evolving landscape of AI and assessment.
• With Google: We’re reaching out to emphasize our shared commitment to academic integrity and excellence, and to explore options for reducing the risk of misuse in testing contexts.
• With the education community: We’re joining and helping lead conversations on doubling down on authentic assessment approaches - projects, portfolios, oral responses, and discussions - that AI tools like Homework Help cannot trivially solve.

As institutions consider how best to deliver high-stakes assessments, options such as lockdown browsers or integrated proctoring tools can help reduce the likelihood of students accessing outside tools and features during a quiz.

This is just the beginning of many conversations around AI and assessment, and we’ll continue to keep you posted as things progress.

[screviston]

Don't forget other tools that have released recently, https://answersai.com/ is an app that you use during a quiz so it can provide the answers. There are 3-4 apps out there that I found quite easily, and directly stating that you can take a screen shot of your quiz / exam and get the answer. Not even trying to hide the fact that its cheating, they promote it stating the app can improve your grades. Homework Help feature in Chrome just makes it much easier for students to use.

[sdimitri]

You literally chatboxed an answer to a question raising concerns about allowing chatboxes to directly access our learning environment.

[antoniette_aizo]

Lockdown browsers have a whole host of issues in itself including it being inequitable. Not to mention it is costly. 

[KristinPaterson]

This is an unacceptable response! Instructure needs to do better!

[freedom_baird]

When a user in a Canvas course clicks the "Homework help" button in the URL field of the page they're on, this message pops up:
The message is letting the user know that if they use the "Homework help" feature, any content on that page will be sent to Google.  This will, of course, lead to copyright infringement, and is also a FERPA violation when the content is student-generated.

Instructure and Google please sort this out and allow schools to de-activate this feature. It's a legal issue.

Freedom Baird
Educational Technology Services
Tufts University

[antoniette_aizo]

This notification only shows up once. Once a person clicks okay, this reminder never shows up again.

[screviston]

@Renee_Carney  Related to your "We’re joining and helping lead conversations on doubling down on authentic assessment approaches" item. Are there any resource links or ways that I can join or participate in these groups?

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[thompsli]

My biggest concern is that students may not even understand that clicking a button that says "help" and is literally on the same screen as their quiz could possibly be cheating. Some students set out to cheat, and ideally I'd like to detect that as well, but other students are going to assume that help button is an intentional support added to their quiz and part of how they're "supposed to " be doing things. 

[asaylor]

This is my concern and a conversation I just had today. I have a college student myself, and I can see her not realizing it was cheating. To her way of thinking - 'Help' is there to help me. I plan to send her this info as her school is also using Canvas.

[antoniette_aizo]

I saw the "Homework Help" in Chrome while grading statistics homework. What I found was in some cases, it was giving students the wrong answer, but more often than not, it was giving students the right answer. So I tested it using a picture with the question, it was able to read the question with and without alt text image. I inserted a word doc and a pdf file with the information not showing directly on the screen, it was able to read the documents. The only way I was able to confuse the "tool" was to have a word document with the questions on the directions page then have the answers in Canvas. Since it cannot read anything on the previous page, it couldn't help solve the problem - this is for the multiple choice ones. 

[asaylor]

Unfortunately, this situation results in a considerable amount of extra work and increases the risk of creating accessibility issues. Canvas needs to improve this so that faculty members aren’t burdened with additional challenges while striving to meet WCAG 2.1 compliance.