Attendance Pin

[alh245]

Currently, we are transitioning from ANGEL to Canvas.  The addition of an Attendance Pin tool in Canvas would help our instructors transition from ANGEL to Canvas.  Many Face-to-Face classes (we call them Resident Instruction classes) currently use an Attendance Pin in ANGEL as an easy way to take attendance in class.

In ANGEL, there is an Attendance Pin Tool (Attendance Component | IT Knowledge Base http://kb.its.psu.edu/cms/article/382) that many of our instructors are looking for in Canvas as we transition from ANGEL to Canvas.

In ANGEL, the Attendance Pin Tool posts a random code (generated by the LMS) that students enter into the LMS while they are in class.  This verifies that they attended the class. It ties to the gradebook.  Instructors want the Attendance tool to be quick and easy to use.  Using the seating chart is not a good solution for them due to the time it takes for large classes.  A few instructors say that the seating chart is very K-12-ish.

The Attendance Pin feature should tie to the Grade book so a participation grade can be easily calculated and weighted.

A great feature would be if the instructor is able to lock it down by IP Addresses.

The attendance tool should also allow manual entry by instructors or TAs for changes, excused absences, late arrivals, etc.

The addition of an Attendance Pin tool in Canvas would help many of our instructors transition more easily to Canvas.

🔎 This idea has been archived. While this idea isn't open for comments, it is an important part of Instructure’s idea conversations and development process. Contributions like this are valuable as Instructure prioritizes work on new or existing features.

[millerjm]

Hi Amy,

You also might want to add your ideas to this archived feature idea: 

They are using it to gather info for future work on attendance. 

Joni

[alh245]

Thanks!

[Renee_Carney]

This idea has moved to the next stage and will be open for voting among the Canvas Community, from Wed. February 3, 2016 - Wed. May 4, 2016.

Check out this doc for additional details about how the voting process works!

[blee]

I like this idea.

[t_lombardo]

We used ANGEL in the past and several faculty members used this feature to take attendance. One day, one of my colleagues told me that a certain student was NOT in class, but he entered the attendance code correctly. Turns out that another student in class texted him with the code.

Be aware that the feature is easy to use and equally easy to circumvent.

[jap98y]

We have a faculty member that does a 1 question quiz for this exact purpose. They write a code on a whiteboard, and the code is the only correct answer for the day's quiz.

[Cherie_Lakes]

How we handle attendance is we have a graded Roll Call Forum that is worth 0 points.  The students are required to post a message in the Forum in the first two days of term.   You can quickly see in the grade book who has posted and who has not.

Many Faculty have the students do a video introduction but  they all require a short tell a little about yourself post.

This is my favorite video of how one faculty used the video feature in Canvas for his Roll Call.

Bringing Humanness into Online Learning with Video.wmv - Google Drive

[jlm10]

It would also be nice if the current attendance would allow one seating chart for merged class sections.

[alh245]

Some of our Faculty are using software called Insight ( http://www.faronics.com/products/insight/  ) in our classrooms (with computers in the classroom) as a work-around for the missing attendance pin. 

Any word on how soon the Attendance pin could be available?

[sara_samples]

I am K12 and we are required to take attendance through a different program, but I would still love to use this feature because I would like to know whether or not students were present in the class when discussions, quizzes, or assignments occurred without having to manually compare to another system. 

[alh245]

Lockdown by IP address is important too for this tool.  That way students can't enter the pin from their dorm room after their buddy texted it to them. 

[cwruck]

Thanks for the idea. We would like to upgrade our Attendance tool at some point in the near future, but it's outside of the scope of what we can reasonably accomplish at the moment.

[diana_brauhn]

Something automated for attendance would be GREAT! Our faculty overwhelmingly agree they will never use the seating chart. Something that automatically verifies attendance in an online asynchronous course would be idea.

Thank you for being responsive to our collective needs and ideas.

[Renee_Carney]

  Idea is currently in Product Radar Learn more about this stage...

[alh245]

Ok Thanks!

Please continue to consider it in the future.  Our faculty miss having it in ANGEL.  And they are not happy with the other Attendance options.

-Amy

[cristinanistor]

 @alh245 this is a really good idea. We've transitioned from itslearning that did not have a tool for registering attendance at all. We were inquiring about a solution to register attendance for 200+ participant courses when this was suggested. 
I give it my vote and I hope it gets implemented as this would be a massive improvement to the Attendance tool available in Canvas now. 

[alh245]

Hi cristinanistor

Thanks for your post!

Regards,

Amy

[brett2]

Hi there,

My name is Brett Sellars, I'm posting as a representative of aPlus+ Attendance.

This is a feature that we offer in our attendance LTI app for Canvas.

•  Staff can open their course inside of canvas, select attendance, and select code. A unique code will popup for the current session. They share that code with the class.
• Students (using the Canvas Student App, a url, or link from your intranet) then navigate to the aPlus+ Student portal and enter the code for the session. If they are coming from the Canvas Student App, or web application, they will not need to sign in again.
• An IP address filter can be defined, and a time window within which the code must be entered, to make it difficult to impersonate or share via text. 

Here is a short video showing how it works. https://vimeo.com/262457686/f87b44f603

Thanks,

Brett

aPlusAttendance.com

[Renee_Carney]

The Radar idea stage has been removed from the Feature Idea Process.  You can read more about why in the blog post Adaptation: Feature Idea Process Changes.

This change will only impact the stage sort of this idea and will not change how it is voted on or how it is considered during prioritization activities.  This change will streamline the list of ideas 'open for voting', making it easier for you to see the true top voted ideas in one sort, here.

[bturney]

This would be a wonderful tool - especially with the current 2020 remote learning environment we are all facing. Have the students take responsibility to register their attendance in a tool that can easily be checked by the educator would save time in an already pressed and stressful time.