Welcome to the World of Online Learning!!!
We have SO MANY opportunities in our online classes, but there are still administrative duties that we have to complete. One of those seemingly trivial but important tasks is Taking Attendance. How can we do that?
In our regular, face-to-face class, we can create a seating chart and then just check off the empty desks on the chart. Unfortunately, in Zoom (and other online networks) seating charts aren't available. Therefore we must find some other ways to take attendance.
I have tried a number of interesting strategies for taking attendance. We have used QR codes that lead to Google Forms. We have had students type "Here" in the Chat Room and saved the Chat Room for later review. Sometimes we have taken screen captures of the students in who are in class for later reference. We have even tried having all of the students wait in the waiting room and checking off the attendance sheet before admitting them.
HOLD ON!!! I have found the SUPERIOR method for taking attendance!!
Use the Zoom Reports feature!!
While this may seem like an obvious answer to the task, not too many people know about the extensive Zoom Reports that are available. They tell you WHO attended, WHEN they joined, WHEN they left AND the content can be exported to a spreadsheet.
Instructions on How to Take Attendance during a Zoom Class
Access the Settings on Your Zoom Web Portal.
- Access this through the zoom.us website address used by your school, or you can access it from your profile on your Zoom Client App.
- Select Settings and then View More Settings.
- If you don't see the left-hand column when you access More Settings, widen your window to full screen. Zoom doesn't show the left column is the window where it is displaying is too narrow.
Select Reports in the left column. (If you don't see the left-hand column, widen your window to full screen. Zoom doesn't show the left column if the displaying window is too narrow.)
Click Usage and it will open a list of reports generated for meetings between specific dates.
- Select the dates to find the report you want.
Click on the Number of Participants for your desired meeting to view the class list. It should be blue.
Attendance List: You will find a list of all of those who attended. It will tell you when they started, when they ended, and how many minutes they were there. This can be exported to a spreadsheet in .CSV format if you want to alphabetize the names or store them for later reference.
There you have it. Have you tried this before? If not, give it a shot and tell us how it worked.
How have YOU been taking attendance with your online classes?
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ATTENTION: I just learned that the Canvas LMS team learned about this option and they have built it into their attendance system. I don't know anything more than that, but look into it. Blackboard hasn't shown the foresight to incorporate it into their system. 2/15/21
