iOS Application “Attendance2”

Resource Description

Attendance2 is an iOS application (app) that can be purchased for $5 and used with an Apple device to record and summarize a wealth of classroom data. After importing or manually entering roster data, an instructor can take student photos and refer to them while “tapping” the device to enter attendance and participation information. Attendance2 allows instructors to specify two statuses (data items to be collected at each class meeting). Instructors commonly set “Status1” to be “attendance” and “Status2” to be “class participation,” but an instructor can set the statuses to be anything, with options limited only by the imagination and needs of the user. Instructors can ensure the security of their data by regularly using the easy “backup” feature, which sends data to an email account or “Dropbox.” They can also set points for each status value (e.g., two points for “present,” one point for “late”) and instantly create a spreadsheet that includes the daily entries and totals (e.g., total absences) for each student.

The app includes a “random” feature that enables “cold-calling” by randomly cycling through the roster. When a student name (with photo) comes up, both statuses are available for immediate data entry. The random function can also generate and save groups.

For instructors who choose not to enter data themselves, the app can create a Quick Response (QR) code for each student. When a student arrives, a device with a camera can scan the student’s code and mark the student either “present” or “late” automatically, depending on arrival time. After a code is scanned, the student’s picture appears for verification.

Attendance2 facilitates communication between instructor and student. For each student, there is a “student information page” that the instructor can use to keep notes, which, along with the student’s photo, enable the instructor to get to know each student better. The instructor can allow each student to verify data by emailing a report that lists the records for each class meeting and totals (e.g., number of days present or tardy). The instructor can also use the app to send one email to all students who are absent on a specific day or present on a specific day.

The features I describe in this review refer to Attendance2 version 3.5.3 for iOS 7.1 on Apple devices such as an iPhone, an iPod, an iPod Touch, or an iPad. Generally, when revising the app, the developer has not charged existing users. He has kept existing features while adding new ones, and he has updated the app for new versions of iOS.

Use in the Classroom

I have used Attendance2 for many sections of Introductory Financial Accounting (a required course where poor attendance can be a problem) and one Masters hybrid class (where infrequent face-to-face meetings make it difficult to learn names). I have also introduced the app to colleagues across the curriculum (e.g., an “Introduction to Business” instructor, a freshman business adviser who manages regular class meetings with hundreds of students, a political science professor, and a religion professor). In this section, I describe the ways my colleagues and I use Attendance2 in our classes.

On the first day of class, I familiarize students with my record-keeping procedure by taking attendance for an Attendance2 “demo class” containing “students” with fun names and pictures from the web. For example, I include “Harry Potter” with a picture and the unique fact “wizard.” Alternatively, instructors can create a “class” of well-known people from their schools (e.g., athletes) or people related to the course material (e.g., an ethics class with Bernie Madoff as a student). I have a “photo shoot,” using approximately 15 minutes of class time to take photos of willing students. The process goes quickly when I have previously imported roster data into Attendance2. In addition, instructors can incorporate roster changes manually or by importing the revised roster.

Within the app, I set the regular meeting times for the class (e.g., Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m.). The app suggests (and I choose) the next meeting time, creating a corresponding “Take Attendance” page. From the top of the “Take Attendance” page, instructors can enter a “Note” (called a “Date Note”) to describe the day’s activities (e.g., “Exam #1”). Instructors can choose what to display on the “Take Attendance” page. I have chosen to display the student’s name, photo, unique fact that each student provides (that I type in), attendance record, and a “Status Note” (e.g., why a student is absent) that is both date and student specific. Likewise, I specify point cutoffs for turning students’ names red, alerting me to excessive absences.

In addition, I determine the attendance options I want, and the “Take Attendance” page allows me to cycle through them for each student. My options are “absent” (the default), “present,” “late,” “excused,” or “sports” (a College-authorized absence). I have a separate “sports” category because I assign a point penalty for excessive absences (those not authorized by the College). The developer also suggests a “Late 5+” option, chosen when a student is more than 5 minutes late.

I call roll during the first few meetings, but once students establish their typical seats, I pass around a seating chart, and I “manually sort” the app roster by where the students sit. Each day, I record attendance as students arrive. “Hide Present” allows me to hide students once I mark them “present,” “excused,” or “sports,” so that I only have to look for the remaining students. My data entry is typically complete within 1 minute of the beginning of class. After class, I quickly review the “Take Attendance” page and record any late arrivals. The app “timestamps” each entry I make, so that I can record the exact time of a late arrival if I desire.

The attendance options I mentioned above are “Status1 values,” the values displayed on the initial “Take Attendance” page. At the top of the page, users can switch to a second status that they have specified. I use “Status2” to record professionalism data. I assign professionalism points that are reduced by unexcused absences and late arrivals (recorded with Status1) and by other unprofessional actions (such as texting), which I record with Status2 by changing my default “Prof” (for professional behavior) to “No” and entering a “Status Note” explanation. I specify points for each status value and the app calculates point totals.

Instructors can also use Status2 to record class participation. My political science colleague suggests using five Status2 participation values, each consistent with a grade point average calculation. With points in parentheses, the Status2 values would be “none” (the first value default, 0), “minimal” (1), “satisfactory” (2), “good” (3), and “excellent” (4); the instructor could create a spreadsheet with the point total, later dividing each student’s total by the student’s combined number of “present” and “late” entries. On his website, the developer provides two files with different class participation settings that instructors can import. One file allows instructors to highlight (with red names) students who are silent for a specified number of classes; another allows instructors to count the number of times each student participates each day. In any of these cases, after taking attendance in Status1, instructors can select “Show Present,” switch to Status2, and then record participation for only those students in attendance.

Instructors use “Take settings” to choose which data items are displayed on the “Take Attendance” page and use “Report settings” to choose which dates should be included in calculations, which data are sent to students, and which data items are included in spreadsheet reports. Periodically throughout the term, I use the app to email an individual report to each student. The app cycles through the roster and sends each student a list of each class meeting, the student’s attendance for that date, and other data I specify (such as total number of absences).

Constructive Analysis and Comparison

My colleagues and I find that Attendance2 provides the following advantages for instructors and students. Having student photos readily available enables us to learn students’ names much more quickly. The app saves instructors significant time over traditional ways of recording attendance data such as circulating a paper, asking students to “sign in” each class meeting, and entering data into a spreadsheet. Instead, instructors can use the flexible settings to quickly record desired data themselves and immediately create spreadsheet reports. The app functions reliably, and the data are secure, especially when instructors regularly use the easy backup function. The app is inexpensive—a $5 one-time cost provides unlimited usage. The initial settings allow users to take attendance immediately once names are manually entered or imported. Using the app disciplines the instructor to keep records, and the instructor does not have to rely on student self-reporting (which enables students to possibly sign in their absent friends). The developer, a college instructor himself, understands and accommodates instructor needs as evidenced by his creative design of the app and his quick response to email. He provides introductory videos, detailed instructions, and blog updates on his website, and he regularly updates the app as iOS is revised. Students also benefit when their instructors use the app; they appreciate knowing they can verify their records and adjust their attendance and participation before their grades are affected.

Users may find the following to be disadvantages/inconveniences associated with either the app or the procedures that accompany the app’s use. First, Attendance2 is only available for iOS devices (e.g., Apple products such as an iPhone, an iPod, an iPod Touch, or an iPad), and there is no true “sync” between devices. Taking pictures of students could raise privacy concerns and some students do not like their pictures being taken. The random calling feature does not save the names of the individual students who were called on during class. Also, because I had never used an iOS device, and did not have access to one, I had to invest a significant amount of time and my College’s money (the cost of an iPad) before using Attendance2. I received an iPad grant from my College’s Faculty Technology Group and learned iPad basics. After I purchased the $5 Attendance2 app, I needed to link it with Dropbox, download roster data into a Comma-Separated-Value (CSV) file, and import data into the app. The developer provides informative videos to explain these processes, but because of my lack of experience with iOS devices I needed individual assistance from technology services.

While the initial settings allow instructors to take attendance immediately, taking advantage of Attendance2’s tremendous flexibility requires more effort. Deciding which settings to use for complex record keeping can be an ominous task for a first-time user, which is my reason for providing an example class file that you can import. The file includes imaginary student data, my Status1 attendance settings, and my colleague’s Status2 five-value participation settings. Once you have set up a Dropbox and purchased Attendance2, you can import the entire file (from the Dropbox) as a new class and experiment. Alternatively, if you want to create your own new course, you can import the “Statuses,” “Take settings,” and “Report settings” from my file as well as set class meeting times, change the start and end dates for reports, import a roster, and then be prepared to take attendance and record participation.

I consider Attendance2 to be an indispensable tool for my teaching needs because it gives me the ability to view student photos and quickly learn students’ names, instantly create spreadsheet reports, and regularly email reports to my students. While my review may make Attendance2 seem technical and complicated, using the app required a relatively small investment of my time on the front end, in order to save significant time in the long run. A colleague assessed the usefulness of Attendance2 by saying “I’m never going back!”

Attendance2 can be purchased from the iTunes App Store, and the developer’s supporting information is at http://www.dave256apps.com/attendance2/