How Can I Take Attendance?
Myplace offers an Attendance module. This is a 3rd party plugin that allows staff to define sessions that students are expected to attend.
Attendance can either be taken by the staff leading the session or students may be allowed to self-register their attendance, via the Myplace activity or via a QR code that is provided to them during the session.
Further details on how to use this plugin can be found at https://docs.moodle.org/310/en/Attendance_activity
Recording Attendance via Myplace
This guidance is reproduced from the Faculty of HaSS Policy and Guidance for Recording Attendance.
This guide provides instructions on how to set up student recorded attendance within your MyPlace class. As per the HaSS Student Attendance and Engagement Policy, attendance will be monitored to support student wellbeing and visa compliance. The set up recommended below will allow administrative support teams to do so effectively and efficiently.
Further details on the HASS policy is available on line HaSS Student Attedance and Engagement Policy Information
Setting Up Attendance
Step 1
To aid with reporting, it is recommended that you only have one attendance activity per class which encompasses ALL teaching activity. Do accommodate this, first set up your groupings on MyPlace to reflect any teaching activity for which the class is split into separate groups (e.g. tutorials). Please refer to the MyPlace support page on groupings for further info.
Please note, for jointly delivered classes the recommended practice above may not be optimal as it would require unique QR codes to be displayed to each class. If so, please continue to set up full and group teaching activity as separate activities.
On the main class page, click Turn editing on (top right corner). Click Add an activity or resource under the appropriate section on your page. Select Attendance from the pop-up menu which appears.
Step 2
You can now enter your settings. For reporting purposes, give the activity a meaningful name (e.g. [CLASS CODE] - Attendance). The recommended changes from default settings are:
In Grade settings, change the Grade category to Administrative. This will prevent the attendance activity from interfering with the overall class total. If attendance should be weighted, disregard and refer to the MyPlace support page on gradebook setup.
In Common module settings, change Availability to Make available but don't show on course page. Do not select Hide from students as this prevents self-recording.
In Common module settings, change Group mode to Separate groups.
As per the note in Step 1, this set up may not suit all classes. If so, keep this setting as No groups if it is relevant to a full class activity.
Once all settings have been adjusted, click Save and display.
Step 3
You will now be in the attendance activity page. Before adding sessions, you should first navigate to the Status set menu (left hand side of page, under Administration). Tick Automatically set when not marked next to Absent. Click Update to save this change. Return to the attendance activity page.
Step 5
Under Student recording, tick Allow students to record own attendance to display further options. Tick Include QR code. This will generate a unique QR code to enable students to access the page for recording attendance. To prevent false recording, it is mandatory that you set a password for the session. There are multiple options for this:
Create a custom password via the Student password field.
Generate a random password by ticking Random password.
Tick Rotate QR code, which will refresh the QR code at intervals. This option would not be compatible with copying the QR code into slides or a printable and must be displayed directly from MyPlace only.
The password will be automatically entered for a student when they scan the QR code. Change Automatic marking to Set unmarked at end of session. Finally, tick Automatically select highest status available.
Step 6
Once all settings are entered, click Add to complete set up. Complete steps 4-5 until all teaching activity is represented. Make use of the option to add multiple sessions as possible.
Recording Attendance
Step 1
As you add sessions, you will see these appear in the attendance activity page. Each session will have a unique QR code which can be accessed by clicking the highlighted icon.Step 2
You have multiple options to display the QR. It can be displayed directly from MyPlace (which is essential if using the Rotate QR code option. Otherwise, this can be treated as a static image and copied into a presentation or onto a printable.
Step 2
You have multiple options to display the QR. It can be displayed directly from MyPlace (which is essential if using the Rotate QR code option. Otherwise, this can be treated as a static image and copied into a presentation or onto a printable.
Step 3
As students scan the QR code, they will be able to log attendance. Please note that with some larger teaching spaces, the students' distance from the screen can present an issue. To account for this, the image size can be adjusted manually. If displaying directly from MyPlace, adjust the browser zoom. Instructions on this can be found below:
Step 4
Attendance can be viewed and manually updated via the highlighted icon (please note that this icon changes after any attendance has been recorded). Any changes must be saved by clicking Save and show next page.
Additional Settings
Early Recording
Students can be granted access to record attendance prior to the session start time. This is enabled when setting up the session. Under the Student recording settings, input the time you want this to be available for early recording for Open session early for marking.
IP Address Sharing
When adding sessions, you can restrict the number of submissions from the same device. Under Student recording, click Show more. Using the Prevent students sharing IP address setting, you can choose to restrict submissions from the same device for the duration of the session (choose Yes) or for a specified time (choose Specified time in minutes to release IP and enter a time in the field to the right). The example to the right shows settings which would prevent multiple submissions from the same device within 10 minutes of each other.
Please note that using this setting may cause issues if taking attendance for a remote session, as students may be on a shared IP address.
Self Marking Availability
In the Status set menu of the attendance activity, you can input the time in minutes that an option is available under the Self-marking availability column. Click Update to save any changes. The example to the right shows the option to be present being available to students for 10 minutes from the start time of the class.
FAQs
Do groups need to be used if there are multiple groups?
As students can only record their own attendance while the session is live, it will be necessary to reflect any group activities which occur at different times. Groups must be set up before they can be selected for an attendance session.
What if a student is unable to mark their own attendance (e.g. due to a phone issue)?
If a password has been set up, the student could go into the session on MyPlace and enter this. However, for this to be an option, the attendance activity cannot be hidden from students. Alternatively, staff can manually update the student’s attendance (detailed under Using Attendance - step 3).
Where can I find out more?
There is further guidance available on the Moodle support page.