How to verify attendance in an online class?

[abraun1]

With our school closed due to the current crisis, we have moved to online learning via Canvas. Is there a way to track whether students have logged into my class on any given day other than scrolling through the PEOPLE feature or having students complete an Assignment or Discussion Board? Is there any kind of check-in feature so I know a student has at least opened my class page? Taking attendance for 180 using People or Assignment features has been incredibly time consuming. Roll Call is not enabled by our district--is that even something that would automatically track students or is it meant to be used for recording attendance in "live" classes?

[jennifernichols · Accepted solution]

 @abraun1 ‌,

Hello! I have listed a few options for you below that hopefully are what you are looking for...

1. Create a Google Form for students to check in each day. You can have this posted under announcements, so it is the first thing students see when they log onto your Canvas Page. How do I show recent announcements in the Course Home Page? Also, check out How do I add announcement to a course. 

2. The new Data Analytics might also be a good option. It will allow you to click on a specific date range within the graph and see how many times the page has been viewed and how many times a student has participated in your course. Click this link for more details on how the interactive chart works and how to interpret the information.

These were the first two items that came to mind, I am sure others might also have some solid suggestions. Please let us know if you have any further questions. All the best!

[abraun1]

Thank you Jennifer for the suggestions! I will definitely look at the New Analytics tool.  

[Shar]

Hi Am Braun,

I've also seen instructors who have a Daily Quiz that students take (even in a live course) in order to "count attendance". The quiz is usually some sort of review question from the previous class and only open for a limited amount of time. In the case of the live classroom, the instructor only had the quiz open for the first hour of class.

And yes Roll call is typically for live classes because the instructor has to manually mark folks present. It's precisely because of this manual function that the instructors I know switched to the Daily Quiz.

You could make the Check-in a graded survey that gives the student 1 point each day but asks benign questions related to their state of mind, health, perceived progress, et cetera during the global pandemic and establish that they must complete the survey for each day of class set the Available From and Until dates. Plop all those Check-ins into an Assignment Group and call it good.

How do I add an assignment group in a course?  

https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10059-415267002 

In fact, create them all in a sandbox course and then make those check-ins available to other teachers so they can import into their own classes. Using a survey avoids the possible penalty if it's a content question and the student gets the answer incorrect.

Hope this advice helps,
Cheers - Shar

[Chris_Munzo]

Also, the course-level view of Dropout Detective will give you this information on one screen:

[addy]

Hi Am, Addy from EZCheck.me (EZCheck.me ) here. I believe we have just the tool you're looking for!

EZCheck.me provide a simple Check-in interface that can be used both at physical and remote - learning lessons. It uses a secured QR code that the students scan with their smartphones in class or via screen-sharing. 

You can view our sample clip to learn more: EZCheck.me - Smartphone Base Check-in Platform - YouTube 

You are welcome to test-drive the tool for free - just sign in at our site for a free account. If you have any questions I'll be happy to assist you - drop me a line to addy@ezcheck.me

Best regards,

Addy