Event and Exam Attendance Made Easy Using Mobile Devices University of Toronto Mississauga Office of the Registrar July 7 th 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 2 nd 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 Attendance Numbers By Event 300 250 252 200 0-100 101-200 150 201-300 100 50 0 63 21 14 21 Number of Events 1 301-400 401-500 501+
Size of Guest List Size of Guest List 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0
Percentage of Events With Guest List 21% Guest List No Guestlist 79%
Different ways people are using ATS
Total Scan Time Time To Scan 00:43:12 00:36:00 00:28:48 00:21:36 00:14:24 00:07:12 00:00:00 0 100 200 300 400 500 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