[K12OSN] OT - Student Entered Attendance System

Huck dhuckaby at paasda.org
Mon Jun 23 23:58:20 UTC 2008


as a matter of fact I bet(being a web programmer) that you could just 
write a simple 'check-in/check-out' module for Moodle...

--Huck

Jay Pfaffman wrote:
> Moodle knows what students are and has logging.  You could have
> students log in to say that they were there (checking the IP of the
> host).  How they'd say they were leaving is less obvious, but the
> infrastructure that Moodle provides makes it a good starting point.
> 
> On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 5:06 PM, Steven Santos <steven at simplycircus.com> wrote:
>> I once worked in an after school program that faced a situation not unlike
>> yours.  What they did was give every student what amounted to a poker chip
>> with their name on it, a string through it (to hand around their neck) and a
>> magnet on the back of it (later changed to Velcro).
>>
>> When a student came in in the morning (AM care), they would take the chip
>> off the big board in the outer office.  When they entered a room, they would
>> put their chip on the classroom board.  When they left to go to another
>> room, they would take the chip off the board, and take it with them to place
>> on the next board.
>>
>> In the case of an emergency, the teacher would just take the board off the
>> classroom wall and have an accurate attendance. Another teacher would take
>> the remaining chips off the main board to know who is not in school, and
>> then they could do a quick comparison to get who is unaccounted for.
>>
>> that system has been in use in that program for over 25 years, and it is
>> still in use today. Sometimes computers are not the best solution to these
>> kind of problems.  On the other hand, this an RFID tag embedded in each of
>> the chips and a reader in each of the boards may be another way to
>> accomplish this AND be able to track it...
>>  _____
>>
>> Steven Santos
>> Director, Simply Circus, Inc.
>> Email: Steven at SimplyCircus.com
>>  Mail: 14 Pierrepont Road
>>       Newton, MA 02462
>> Phone: 617-527-0667
>>  Web: www.SimplyCircus.com <http://www.SimplyCircus.com>
>>
>>
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: k12osn-bounces at redhat.com [mailto:k12osn-bounces at redhat.com]On
>>> Behalf Of Carl Keil
>>> Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 4:08 PM
>>> To: k12osn at redhat.com
>>> Subject: Re: [K12OSN] OT - Student Entered Attendance System
>>>
>>>
>>>> Seems crude, but aren't you talking about an RFID warehousing system?
>>>>> On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:58 AM, Carl Keil <carl at snarlnet.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hey Kind Folks,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I've been asked to create something and I thought I'd pick
>>> the collective
>>>>>>> brain before possibly entering into the wheel reinvention game.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does anyone know of a computerized system for keeping
>>> track of attendance
>>>>>>> that would function with the kids themselves (k-12)
>>> entering their own
>>>>>>> comings and goings into the system?  As I sit down to
>>> design this I'm
>>>>>>> imagining all kinds of data integrity nightmares with
>>> kindergarteners
>>>>>>> clicking "sign in" and "sign out" buttons that are next
>>> their (or someone
>>>>>>> else's) name.  This would be some sort of kiosk by the
>>> front door.  I'm
>>>>>>> thinking that if I use a web interface (I am a web
>>> programmer), I'll use a
>>>>>>> thin client for this.
>>>>>>> This is for a free school, where kids can enter and leave
>>> the school at
>>>>>>> different times.  There is no "home room" or designated
>>> check in time.
>>>>>>>  Right now, kids sign in on paper, but it is making
>>> reporting and tracking
>>>>>>> trends difficult.  I'm toying with the idea of using
>>> facial (and possibly
>>>>>>> voice) recognition software.  So, a kid comes in, sticks
>>> their mug into a
>>>>>>> camera and clicks a button that either says they are
>>> coming or going.  If
>>>>>>> the picture can't be recognized, it is stored and flagged for human
>>>>>>> identification.  I have no idea how to do that though.
>>>>>>> One other design problem is that we need some record of
>>> who's in the
>>>>>>> building that we can grab if there's a fire or other
>>> emergency.  That's
>>>>>>> where the sign-in sheet on the clipboard really shines.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Any brainstormy thoughts at all about pitfalls or
>>> solutions would be
>>>>>>> helpful at this point.  Anyone else have a situation
>>> similar to this?
>>>> There are many pitfalls, the biggest being smart kids - don't ever
>>>> underestimate the ability of a four year old to deceive.
>>>>
>>>> Single scan (forget the in/out buttons, just have the current
>>> state ready)
>>>> will tell you just that something got scanned, so there is a
>>> problem right
>>>> there. The kids can scan in and -not- enter or leave.
>>>>
>>>> All the tokens not attached permanently can be exchanged ....
>>>>
>>>> Can you do something of a bit futuristic nature, since the future will
>>>> happen soon? What I have in mind is "chipping" the kids with tiny RFID
>>>> chips. Works for my cats. I had to change the design from a
>>> single scanner
>>>> with the door mechanism to three scanners, so that I really know where
>>>> they are. I've seen cats and kids change their minds and back out after
>>>> opening the doors to go in -:)
>>>>
>>>> Of course the above was somewhat in jest, but there is no good solution
>>>> without the use of biometrics, and even those can be fooled.
>>>>
>>>> One inexpensive way is to count heads going in and out - web cam, simple
>>>> software. Make sure you push the video to an external server. In case of
>>>> an emergency, you'll now -how many- kids are in, to find out
>>> -which- kids,
>>>> you'd need to view the video. As far as I know, this is acceptable level
>>>> of data for emergencies.
>>>>
>>>> Good luck, julius
>>> The first thing I asked the school's director was if it would be OK to
>>> chip the kids.  This is exactly like herding cats, which, apparently,
>>> you have some experience with.  I've since realized that even chipping
>>> the kids and/or video surveillance won't work.  The kids at this school
>>> have the option of playing outside if there is an adult out there to
>>> supervise.  This isn't considered "checking out".  The kids really do
>>> need to click or swipe something to signify their intention to
>>> stay/leave.  Since these kids can't be relied on to bring ID badges
>>> every day and tattooing bar codes is a wee bit too futuristic, I'm
>>> heavily leaning towards fingerprint swipers.
>>>
>>> Can anyone recommend a linux friendly, affordable, USB, fingerprint
>>> reader?  One that can read through gloves, mittens, masking tape and
>>> layers of assorted jams and jellies?  My wife loves the idea of a hand
>>> sanitizer station next to the finger print swiper, cut down on colds and
>>> flus and track the kids all in one fluid motion.
>>>
>>> Thank you everyone for your help thinking this through.
>>>
>>> ck
>>>
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