I liked the idea of the attendance module when we first introduced it, it fixed a common complaint for instructors, how to take attendance with the Moodle gradebook. My like turned to infatuation this fall when I began to use it in my on-campus course.
I appreciate how easy it is to set up and take attendance for every class session; I can customize the settings, adjust the points, excuse for snow days and student emergencies, and even make notes that the students and I can see.
Taking attendance, luckily, is as easy as marking everyone Present in one easy click, and then adjusting one or two students as needed.
I have not had any students question my attendance or try to argue that somehow I missed them in class, it has been wonderful.
But I didn’t “fall in love” with the module until I discovered the Sorted Grid view.
I was looking for a way to grade group participation/project work that was happening on a weekly basis and I didn’t want a list of 15 items cluttering up my Moodle gradebook. So I added a second Attendance module and renamed it Weekly Projects. I renamed the variables to reflect my rubric. This was close, but a bit cumbersome to grade, until I found the Sorted Grid view! I can arrange students in columns and easily grade participation.
This makes the Attendance module a viable option for any re-occurring work in your course. Have an idea on how to adapt this module, I’d love to hear it!
Tutorial: Adding the Attendance Module.
I’ve never graded attendance, but I’ve tracked it. This looks like an easier way to do the tracking job than creating a manually-configured Excel spreadsheet every semester, and it offers a possible advantage – students might be less likely to skip class or arrive late if they see their attendance record in the grade book.
How widespread is this feature at NMC? Has anyone tried it without a grade?
I have used the attendance module for two semesters now and love it! The students are graded for their attendance, though, so I have not done it without a grade. I like being able to write comments if a student is absent too frequently. It holds them accountable for attendance every class meeting.
I highly recommend using the attendance module for your classes.
After attendance is marked for a student in a session, can the mark be removed? Here’s a scenario explaining one reason to remove an attendance mark:
In class session 7, Jane is marked absent, earning 0 points out of the maximum 5 points available for that session. Later in the day, Jane sends a message saying that she was in a fender-bender on her way to class. I’d like to exclude her grade for session 7, basing her running grade on the average she earned just for “regular” sessions.
If I configure a low grade value for “excused,” her grade will be pulled down by the excused absence. If instead I configure a high grade value, her overall attendance grade may be pulled up by the excused absence.
If I can remove her mark, the module would automatically adapt as desired. However, it looks like I cannot do that. Has anyone designed a good solution?