The Attendance is a Moodle activity which allows teaching staff to mark the attendance status of a student during a class. Optionally, teaching staff can set up grades associated with attendance if necessary. Attendance activity can exist in a course as a block as well. Instructions how to add a block to the Moodle course are in the Block Drawer page.
The Attendance block is the most efficient way to use the Attendance activity. Use it to record students’ attendance at classes or activities, to report on attendance, or to change the attendance settings. In the student view of Moodle, this block will display the attendance report for an individual student.
Create an Attendance activity
Attendance activity can be added as any other activity or resource in Moodle course via the activity picker. Note that you may add as many Attendance instances as you like, and that each instance may have multiple sections. Be sure to give the instance a name that indicates what it will be used for; for example, "Lecture Attendance". If you will be using groups in your course, set the 'Group mode' setting accordingly, because even if groups exist in the course, you will not be able to use them within the Attendance activity if you select 'No groups'.
Click 'Get Started' to view the step-by-step guide.
Setting Attendance Categories
The attendance categories, also called ‘Status set’ must be set to use this activity. This is an essential step regardless of whether the activity is graded or not.
Click 'Get Started' to view the step-by-step guide.
Create sessions
After an Attendance activity is created, teaching staff must add sessions which determine when a student's attendance is to be recorded. This can be done by clicking 'Add session' from any Attendance page. Multiple sessions can be created at once for reoccurring classes, and teaching staff can allow students to mark their own attendance by entering a passphrase or scanning a QR code during class.
Click 'Get Started' to view the step-by-step guide.
Manage sessions
Managing sessions can be done through the actions icons located on the same row as each session from the main Attendance activity page. Here teaching staff can open attendance, provide students passwords for self marking, edit and delete session times.
Click 'Get Started' to view the step-by-step guide.
Enable Group Mode
Group Mode can be enabled in an attendance activity to split the attendance taking of groups to their respective tutors/assigned persons.
Instructors and Teaching Assistants are not affected by this and can give attendance to everyone.
Click 'Get Started' to view the step-by-step guide.
Taking / Marking Attendance
Attendance can be taken based on the set attendance categories (previous step) and can be done to all students, or each student individually.
Click 'Get Started' to view the step-by-step guide.
How to export attendance?
You can export attendance in the attendance activity by clicking on the 'Export' tab in the activity. Export formats include Excel, OpenOffice and text.
How to message students about their attendance?
In the 'Report' tab in the attendance activity check the checkbox beside a student, click send a message and write a message to a student.