Gather Classroom Data and Encourage Learning with the Attendance2 App
[We’re pleased to welcome Cathy Finger of St. Mary’s College. Professor Finger published a review entitled “iOS Application, ‘Attendance2′” in the April 2015 issue of Journal of Management Education.]
While teaching introductory accounting at a liberal arts college, I found that students were more engaged if I monitored student attendance and rewarded students with points for professionalism (such as attendance, punctuality, and no classroom disruptions). I was facing a term with four accounting classes, each with three class meetings per week, and dreaded the necessary recordkeeping. By chance, a colleague showed me the Attendance2 app for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, and iPad). After using it for two years, I have found this tool to be indispensable for teaching because of the time it saves me and the information I now have available at my fingertips. I also believes that the app could help scholars collect classroom data for research. I wrote my Resource Review for the Journal of Management Education to inform other business professors of the app’s existence and features.
The abstract:
The iOS application (app) Attendance2 allows instructors to record attendance and class participation electronically while viewing students’ photos, making the process more efficient and reliable. Instructors can then quickly summarize the data in a spreadsheet report. The app has flexible settings so instructors can tailor their data collection to meet their specific teaching needs. It can be a useful tool for instructors across the curriculum, including business instructors, who do not want to be buried in record-keeping tasks but still want to motivate attendance or to reward class participation. I describe the app’s features, discuss ways it can be used in the classroom, and discuss the costs and benefits of using the app.
You can read “iOS Application, ‘Attendance2′” from Journal of Management Education by clicking here. Did you know that you can have all the latest research from Journal of Management Education sent directly to your inbox? Just click here to sign up for e-alerts!
