Post on 11-Aug-2018
Event and Exam Attendance
Made Easy Using Mobile
Devices
University of Toronto Mississauga
Office of the Registrar
July 7th 2014
Wendy Norman and
Cesar A Mejia
University of Toronto
Full range of undergraduate and graduate programs
80,000 students
10,000 staff
Tri-campus system
University of Toronto Mississauga
30 km west
2nd largest division of U of T
12,500 undergraduate students
Arts, Science, Business, Medical
Agenda
Taking Examination Attendance before FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act)
Attendance Taking Risks
SEAT 1.0 (Student Exam Attendance Tracker)
SEAT 2.0
More Than Just Exams
ATS (Attendance Tracking System)
The Original Way (before FIPPA)
Signature Sheets – before The Freedom of Information & Protection & Privacy Act (FIPPA), we had one class list for every 100 students that was taken around the exam room for students to sign when student cards (TCards) were verified.
After FIPPA, we created a “quick fix” by attaching a signature sheet to the front of each examination paper
Accessibility Forms
Signature Sheet
Signature Sheet & List (Quick Fix)
Accessibility & Deferred
Risks of Taking Attendance
Attendance paper could be lost (FIPPA concern)
Students could see student # and name of others while signing sheet
Student might sign for someone else (accidently or intentionally)
Data organization and entry prone to errors and very time consuming
Petitions dependent on attendance could be delayed
Using a barcode scanner
Using a
Using a barcode scanner
Using a
Using a barcode scanner
Using a
SEAT 1.0
Student Exam Attendance Tracker (SEAT) Uses the exam timetable and student TCards to allow Chief Presiding Officers (CPOs) to scan attendance against the class list for a given exam.
Hardware Samsung UMPC Q1 Ultra, Intel A100 600Mhz, 1 Gig memory, 60 Gig HD running Windows XP. USB Infrared scanner.
Software WAMP – Windows Apache Mysql PHP 1.7.2
Setup Device must be synced to get updated exam timetable and save scan results to the server. Scanned data is stored locally. UMPC encrypted. BIOS password protected.
SEAT 1.0
SEAT 1.0
The process before each exam
Tablets are charged
Tablets are synchronized
Tablets are placed on cards and assigned to CPOs
The process after each exam
Tablets are charged
Tablets are synchronized
SEAT 1.0
SEAT 1.0
SEAT 1.0
SEAT 1.0
Attendance Results
Attendance Results
SEAT 1.0
Advantages
• Ability to quickly identify issues if the exam count is incorrect
• Report of who attended exam is quick to compile
• No paper attendance record which could be lost
Disadvantages
• We had to pick up the Device from each exam and sync the data with the server
• Device could be lost or broken
• Data may be lost due to improper use/tampering
SEAT 2.0
SEAT 2.0 Seat modified to use the wireless network allowing real time access to the exam timetable as well as recording attendance without syncing
Hardware The Samsung UMPC with USB IR scanner were used at first and then finally the Nexus 7 tablet with the Motorola CS3070 Bluetooth scanner
Software RedHat 5.9, Apache, PHP, MySql on a 1U Dell PowerEdge 1950
Setup Bluetooth scanners are paired with the tablets
SEAT 2.0
Tablets are changed once a day
The process before each exam
Tablets are placed on carts and assigned to CPOs
The process after each exam
Nothing
Nexus 7
SEAT 2.0
SEAT 2.0
Advantages
• Can now use UTORid and password which allows us to display student photos
• Network access allows real time data, No more syncing!
• CPO can now keep the tablets in the exam room due to better battery life and no data being stored on the device
• Battery life on Nexus 7 Tablet is much better and only requires charging overnight
Disadvantages
• Use of wireless network may cause issues if connection is lost
• Scanner may become unpaired if user holds down the wrong button
• Difficult setup for non-exam type events
Attendance Tracking System
Can be used by any UTM Staff to take attendance
Not tied to course lists or exams
Guest Lists allow restricted attendance
Can facilitate open events where everyone is welcome
Administration can be done by the user
Any tablet can be used (BYOD)
Scanning is intuitive
Where Do People Use ATS?
Term Tests
Seminars
Information Sessions
Orientation week events
Drop in appointments and advising
Ticketed Events with a guest list
Sports
ATS - Hardware
Nexus 7 with Google Chrome
Motorola CS3070 Bluetooth Scanner
Any mobile device with a web browser that is paired (Bluetooth) with a scanner can be used instead
ATS - Administration
Clients can create Events (with a Guest List or not)
Clients can give users roles such as Admin or Scanner access
Guest Lists can be used for multiple events
Attendance results can be downloaded to Excel.
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
ATS - Scanning
Scanners login using their T-Card and PIN
They simply choose the event and begin scanning (Only upcoming events from the day are visible)
Manual input is available if T-Card cannot be scanned
Attendance list can be viewed on the tablet
Multiple tablets can be used without needing to merge the lists
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Demo
Attendance Numbers By Event
252
63
21 14 21 1
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Number of Events
Att
en
da
nc
e 0-100
101-200
201-300
301-400
401-500
501+
Size of Guest List
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600S
ize
of
Gu
es
t L
ist
Percentage of Events With Guest List
21%
79%
Guest List
No Guestlist
Different ways people are using ATS
Time To Scan
00:00:00
00:07:12
00:14:24
00:21:36
00:28:48
00:36:00
00:43:12
0 100 200 300 400 500
To
tal
Sc
an
Tim
e
Event Attendance
ATS – Future
Scan using camera
• Can be done with an App
• HTML 5 support for using the camera this way is still not there yet
Printable Tickets
• Tickets could be issued for recruitment events where students do not have a student card
Thanks!
Questions?
Wendy Norman wendy.norman@utoronto.ca
Cesar Mejia cesar.mejia@utoronto.ca