This “Homework help” button shows up in Chrome browser now when students are in Canvas. Clicking the button and selecting, say, a quiz question means the AI just answers the question for them. How “helpful!”

See a video example below from Ken Fairbanks. Others have confirmed the Edge browser has something similar build in with Copilot AI that kicks on when a student is in Canvas — again, happy to snap a look at the current page (e.g., a quiz) and spit out the answer with some explanation.

As Heather Brown from Tidewater Community College put it:

Anyone else notice this in the URL field when using Chrome? In the latest release of Google’s Chrome Browser, they are offering a tool called Homework Help. The tool allows students to take a snapshot of their screen using Google Lens, and AI assists the student with any homework and, more troubling, quiz/test questions that appear in the browser window. Homework Help provides students with the answers to quiz/test questions. The Homework Help tool appears in the address bar of Google Chrome whenever a student is in Canvas our current LMS. 

You may watch this video demonstration (attribution to Virginia Highlands Community College) to see how Homework Help works.

Canvas is investigating the issue and has released this statement:

“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.”

You may follow any updates regarding this issue in the Canvas Community. 

Some colleges in the VCCS are asking faculty to consider requiring Respondus Lockdown Browser for all online tests, including those given in the Testing Centers. 

Some of the Testing Centers are discontinuing the use of Google’s Chrome browser for accessing assessments, and students will be directed to use the Respondus Lockdown Browser or Microsoft Edge, as needed.