When talking about technological innovations in schools, it often leaves out plans for attendance management. The entire process is mainly regarded as something no-nonsense and straightforward. However, in reality, attendance tracking and management is a taxing responsibility. There are a lot of loopholes in the manual system that are bypassed easily.
It’s about time schools and academic institutions, in general, invest in attendance management automation or attendance systems.
What is an RFID Attendance System fo Schools
One of the preferred options of attendance systems is the RFID attendance system. RFID stands for Radio-frequency identification. At its core, this attendance system uses radiofrequency to determine the attendance record of the users.
Radio-frequency technology has long been used as a radar to detect objects. Its innovation due to the advancement of technology, in general, made it possible to be useful for the educational sector.
So, How does this system work?
The essential tools needed for this system are the towers or consoles and the tags. Both pieces of equipment are embedded with RFID.
Installation of RFID Towers and Consoles
In the school setting, primary entranceways and exits have towers/consoles. The towers are situated in strategic locations to provide maximum coverage. RFID consoles, on the other hand, are usually installed on posts in these areas where they are easily accessible and visible.
RFID consoles are also the best bet when used to limit access to certain areas. Storage rooms and other offices can have their own consoles installed. A handful of people will be registered as the authorized entrants only. Students and other staff can’t blindly walk into these areas. This is just one of the added benefits that come with this automation system.
Use of RFID Tags
The counterpart tool is the RFID tags. These tags are technically the replacement of the traditional school IDs we are all familiar with.
These RFID tags are embedded with the user’s personal details and designation that are seen as the barcode on the tag. All the details will then be processed by the installed management system and generate reports out of them.
Most tags are stick-on codes that can be placed on the traditional school IDs. At the same time, others can act as stick-on patches on school uniforms. These stick-on patches are advisable for elementary kids to reduce the possibility of losing or damaging them.
How it Records Attendance
There are two basic ways how this system works.
First off, the card RFIDs and consoles go together. The user will tap the card on the console every time they exit or enter a specific area. This is the preferred method when limiting access to particular rooms. Moreover, this process is more common among offices and corporate settings.
On the other hand, RFID towers detect signals from the tags. These towers are situated near the entranceways, and the student will walk between them. Once detected, the attendance management system will tag them as present or late.
The attendance management system will collate, organize, and generate daily attendance reports that are easily accessible for the school administration. The video below shows a step-by-step process on how you can access said attendance reports.
TOP Benefits for Academic Institutions
Encrypted Data
There are instances when students lose their IDs. As this happens regularly, it is also a constant threat to the user’s security as essential basic information is plastered on the card. The name, contact number, and home address are all on display. The worst can happen if the card falls into the wrong hands. and can be locked for extra protection.
This imminent threat is avoidable with the use of RFID tags. Say, for instance, you dropped your RFID tag. If someone was able to pick it up and tao it on their RFID console, they could not access your information as all details are encrypted. Your organization and go the extra mile of locking the data storage to double the security layers.
This added layer of security ensures that all your students and other members of the institution are safe from unknown predators that may take advantage of the data from the traditional IDs.
Lesser Cost for ID Material
Instead of producing new ID cards every school year, each student can be assigned one RFID tag until they graduate or transfer schools. Changing the data can be done internally without changing the student’s physical tag.
Aside from that, RFID tags are durable. It can endure external points of pressure without breaking or damaging. It is safe to use for little kids who love rough house playing. There’s no need to replace the tag consistently.
Efficient Attendance Tracking
A single RFID tower can track and detect hundreds of tags at the same time without error. If a single person carries out this task, it will not be possible. Or, if they succeed, the accuracy will not be at par with the tower.
With this system in place, you don’t have to worry about tracking which students arrived on time or way past the set deadline. The reports, later on, will give the school admin a general view of the attendance. You also don’t need to spare extra minutes during the homeroom period just to check if all the students are present. It’s one less task for the teachers.
Aside from this efficient monitoring during peak hours, an RFID attendance system can also track the access activity in areas that are often less monitored than others. These areas often include storage areas and activity areas that are situated farther away from the main gates.
With the data at hand, the school admin can make necessary decisions, such as adjusting the route for the security guards to ensure that students stay safely away from these spaces.
Easy Integration With Internal Systems
Lastly, one of the main benefits of using an RFID attendance system is the easy integration with other internal management systems.
A stand-alone RFID system uses the internal data storage of existing student management software to act as its central database. With this framework, there is a seamless exchange of data between the software suites.
Aside from that, attendance systems also serve as extensions of school management systems. The attendance reports are accessible through the school management software. The same software can also analyze the available data gathered by the RFID attendance system.
Of course, there are school management software suites that have their own RFID attendance systems.
List of RFID Attendance Systems Providers for Schools
1. GoSchooler
GoSchooler is an all-in-one school management software that offers comprehensive solutions to all school admin needs. It provides an RFID attendance system where they provide both the software and hardware units for.
The software has a distinct Attendance feature where you can quickly check the daily attendance without going through the reports. It also has separate attendance tracking records for the students and employees. Other attendance-related tasks such as filing for leaves are also classified under the software’s attendance feature.
On top of that, GoSchooler has a team dedicated to install, maintain, and repair the RFID hardware. You don’t have to worry about procuring your equipment. Acquiring the management software means acquiring the necessary hardware units as well.
The same goes for the RFID tags. GoSchooler provides the tags and handles the data encryption. Indeed, you never have to worry about the technicalities as the team will handle all of them.
2. Daphne Systems
Daphne Systems is one of India’s top providers of RFID technologies and solutions.
It offers a wide variety of RFID tracking technologies, attendance systems included. Its RFID attendance system provides tags to each student and employee to track the ins and outs of the school’s premises. It provides a high level of efficacy as errors rarely happen. It also minimizes the load that teachers carry on a daily basis.
Aside from their RFID attendance system, they also provide a student visibility system. In essence, this visibility tracker is a more detailed version of an attendance system. More than tracking the ins and outs of the students within school premises, the visibility system provides more frequent and accurate updates to the parents.
This visibility system acts as a mediating solution between overly cautious parents and students who are learning to become more truant day by day.
Aside from the mentioned RFID technologies, Daphne Systems also offers file tracking solutions, vehicle tracking, and library management, among others.
3. Smart Attendance System (Sri Technologies)
Sri Technologies is a wholesale service provider that produces RFID hardware for schools, primarily. It offers a wide selection of services that includes time attendance tracking, RFID-based attendance systems, and even web hosting.
They provide brand-new RFID units, tags, and repair damaged units. To access the reports, all the data from the attendance systems are sent to the cloud server through GPRS. All reports and data are easily accessible through the attendance system.
As they also offer web hosting services, Sri Technologies can build your school’s website and integrate the attendance system into it.
Key Takeaways
Installing RFID attendance systems is one of the many innovations that you can invest in to build a smart school.
It is a no-nonsense solution that eliminates the daily task of attendance monitoring. It reduces a fraction of the teacher’s mountain load of daily tasks. The automation also incorporates with the school’s existing digital methods seamlessly.
With the use of RFID towers placed in strategic locations, daily roll calls are foregone. A pair of these towers detect hundreds at a time with pinpoint accuracy. You don’t even have to double-check the reports to see if there are any mistakes.
There are also two types of RFID system providers. But for school management, it is highly recommended to invest all-in-one school management software with RFID attendance systems to maximize the functions of both systems altogether.
