Online attendance

Question

Hi all! We use new analytics for online attendance. It seems it isn't capturing records for several students across multiple grade levels and classes. It is turned on in all courses, everything seems to look good on our end. Any thoughts on what is happening here and how to rectify?

Rachael_Smith · Answer

There could be several potential issues causing this problem. Check out what ChatGPT suggests:

Data Collection Configuration

Make sure to review the configuration settings of the analytics system to verify that it is set up to collect attendance data accurately. To enable and configure Canvas for this data analytic feature, here are some important steps to think about and to make sure you’ve covered:

Attendance Tool Configuration

Make sure that the Attendance tool is enabled and configured for the courses where attendance tracking is required. This involves setting up the tool within the course settings.

Attendance Grading Scheme

Make sure you’ve defined how attendance will be graded, whether it's based on points, percentages, or another grading scheme. Configure the grading settings to align with your institution's attendance policy.

Attendance Settings

Make sure to configure attendance settings such as how often attendance will be taken (e.g., daily, weekly), the start and end dates for attendance tracking, and whether students can mark their own attendance.

Attendance Categories

Make sure you’ve defined the different categories for attendance (e.g., Present, Absent, Tardy) and then calculate how each category will be weighted in the overall grading scheme.

Attendance Recording Options

Make sure you’ve defined how attendance will be recorded, whether it's manually by the instructor, automatically based on student activity, or through a combination of both methods.

User Roles and Permissions

Make sure you’ve verified all instructors (and others as needed) have the necessary permissions to access and manage the data

Transparency

Figure out if you want students to see and track their attendance record and if you want to generate periodic reports for specific date ranges, individual students, or entire classes.

System Updates

And then finally, what about any recent updates or changes made to the LMS or network?

There could be several potential issues causing this problem.

Data Collection Configuration: Review the configuration settings of the analytics system to verify that it is set up to collect attendance data accurately. To enable and configure Canvas for this data analytic feature, here are some important steps to think about and to make sure you’ve covered:

Attendance Tool Configuration
Make sure that the Attendance tool is enabled and configured for the courses where attendance tracking is required. This involves setting up the tool within the course settings.

Attendance Grading Scheme
Make sure you’ve defined how attendance will be graded, whether it's based on points, percentages, or another grading scheme. Configure the grading settings to align with your institution's attendance policy.

Attendance Settings: Make sure to configure attendance settings such as how often attendance will be taken (e.g., daily, weekly), the start and end dates for attendance tracking, and whether students can mark their own attendance.

Attendance Categories
Make sure you’ve defined the different categories for attendance (e.g., Present, Absent, Tardy) and then calculate how each category will be weighted in the overall grading scheme.

Attendance Recording Options
Make sure you’ve defined how attendance will be recorded, whether it's manually by the instructor, automatically based on student activity, or through a combination of both methods.

User Roles and Permissions
Make sure you’ve verified all instructors (and others as needed) have the necessary permissions to access and manage the data

Transparency
Figure out if you want students to see and track their attendance record and if you want to generate periodic reports for specific date ranges, individual students, or entire classes.

System Updates
And then finally, what about any recent updates or changes made to the LMS or network?

Reference:
OpenAI. ( 2024). ChatGPT (March 11 version) Attendance Analytics - Things to Think About re: Best Practices. [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/bf4adcf1-7c20-4e89-ae4b-5de3eec02e6a.

Reference:

OpenAI. ( 2024). ChatGPT (March 11 version) Attendance Analytics - Things to Think About re: Best Practices. [Large language model].

Jeff_F · Answer

Hello @DinaDreistadt  - with something such as this I would consider documenting several examples and then create a support ticket with the help team at Canvas.

Though your note leads me to think that only certain students are not showing, if it is in fact entire New Analytics for the course(s), then this discussion has several solutions -

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Question-Forum/New-Analytics-not-working/m-p/197819