Moodle: Take attendance

Add the Attendance activity to a course to enable teachers or students to record attendance (during or after class) and students to view their own attendance records in Moodle. 

Create the Attendance activity

Each Attendance activity can have multiple sessions. Instructors typically create one or one for each types of course meetings (e.g., lecture, lab, discussion section) and attendance  

1. On your course page, click the Turn Editing On button (if it isn't already on). 
2. Navigate to the section of your course where you want to add the Attendance activity and click + Add an activity or resource.
   
3. Select Attendance and click Add.
4. The default name is set to Attendance. (Optional) You can update the Name of the activity. Moodle will use this name on your course page and in your Gradebook.
5. Use the Grade drop-down menu to set the maximum points the attendance activity will be worth in the Gradebook.
6. Click Save and return to course.

Add sessions

1. Click on the Attendance activity to open it.
2. Click Add session.
3. By default, the activity will create sessions for all students. If you have defined groups and have chosen to use them in your course’s Attendance activity, then you will have the option to create sessions for a group or all students.
4. You can add a single session or multiple sessions for each Attendance activity. Adding multiple sessions is recommended for classes that meet regularly. To create a single session:
   • Choose Add session.
   • Select the Date and Time for the session you wish to add.
   • To customize the name of each session, you may add a description (for example “Lab Session 1”). If you leave the description field blank, it will default to “Regular class session.”
5. To add multiple sessions:
   1. Follow the steps for adding a single session described above.
   2. Select Multiple Sessions.
   3. Check the box Repeat the session above as follows.
   4. Since most classes do not meet seven days a week, select the checkboxes for the days the class meets.
   5. Choose how frequent your sessions will be on the Repeat every option. If your class meets every week, as is typical, then you should select a frequency of 1 week, which is the default. If your class meets every other week, then select a frequency of 2 weeks, and so on.
   6. To allow students to record their own attendance, click on the Student Recording option and check the box Allow students to record their own attendance.
      
   7. To save your sessions, click Add.

Edit existing sessions

Once sessions have been added to an attendance activity you can change meeting dates, times, and descriptions from the Sessions tab.

1. On your course page, click on your Attendance
2. For each session, there is a set of actions, including Take attendance (play icon), Edit session (gear icon), and Delete session (trash icon).
   
3. For sessions for which you have already recorded attendance, you will see a green arrow instead of the Play button.
4. Use the Take attendance (Play icon) to record attendance for a session.
5. Use the Edit session  (gear icon) to update the settings for that particular session.
6. Use the Delete session (trash icon) to delete a session.

Questions?

If you have any additional questions or problems, don't hesitate to reach out to the Help Desk!

Phone: 610-526-7440 | Library and Help Desk hours
Email: help@brynmawr.edu | Service catalog
Location: Canaday Library 1st floor