You can use iClicker to take attendance, even if you do not plan on using it to ask questions and poll your class. It’s a free service and doesn’t require students to purchase a clicker. Taking attendance relies on students having a mobile device, such as a tablet, phone, or computer, and an account with iClicker.
To set up iClicker attendance, you’ll need to have an iClicker account, set up an attendance-only class with iClicker, and set up roster and grade sync for iClicker & Canvas.
Once you have your course set up, you should sync the roster with Canvas daily through the add-drop period. You can even sync the roster during class, which can help when a student claims they cannot access your course. You will need to remind students daily to “check in” to your class during the time you have allotted for attendance, otherwise they may forget and inadvertently be marked absent. A good practice would be to put a reminder slide in your presentation that will show about 10 min into your lecture.
Attendance data can be downloaded as a .csv file, and imported into Canvas, entered into speedgrader, or just kept private as a way to identify who is and is not coming to class.
See below for tutorials and information to share with your students.
Instructor Tutorials
- Create your iClicker account
- Check the Wi-Fi strength of your classroom
- Create your attendance-only course
- Set up Roster and Grade Sync with iClicker and Canvas
- View and Manage Attendance Data
