The attendance activity can be used for automatic or manual tracking of attendance for your classes in Moodle.

Adding the activity

To add the attendance activity:

Turn editing on
Click on add a new activity or resource
Choose the Attendance activity
Adjust the title, grading, and groups
Click Save and Display or Save and Return to Course

Define the statuses

Statuses need to be defined first to best understand how to use the activity. The default statuses are Present, Late, Excused, and Absent. There are default point values, but these can be adjusted. More statuses can be added as well.

To define the statuses:

Click on the Attendance activity
Navigate to the Status Set tab
Determine the statuses that will be employed
Define the point values for these statuses
(Optional) If using student submitted tracking: define how long the students have to submit each status. If using Present and Late, limit the amount of time a student mark themselves as present.
(Optional) If using student submitted tracking: define which status will be set if the student does not submit to the attendance activity. This will likely be Absent.

Create the class sessions

Creating the class sessions is the next step in the process to tell Moodle when the course is meeting.

To create the sessions:

Click on the Attendance activity
Navigate to the Add session tab
Define the date and time of the first class period
Open up Multiple sessions and define how often the class meets and when the last class session is
(Optional) If using student submitted tracking: Under Student recording, check the box to allow students to record own attendance
(Optional) If using student submitted tracking: Set Automatic Marking to Set unmarked at the end of session. This setting should have been defined in step 6 of Define the Statuses
(Optional) If using student submitted tracking: Set Student password to Random password
Click Add at the bottom of the page

Using the Attendance activity

If manually tracking attendance:

Click on the Attendance activity
Navigate to the Sessions tab
Click on the blue play or triangle icon under Actions for the current session
Manually mark each status (Note: you can set all to present and then adjust from there)

If using the student submitted tracking:

Click on the Attendance activity
Navigate to the Sessions tab
Click on the Key icon under Actions and write the password on the board
Manually mark any student with an excused absence (if applicable)

Student:

Click on the Attendance activity
Click on Submit Attendance for the current session (Note this can only be done after the course has been started as defined by the teacher under Create the class sessions)
Type in the password written on the board at the front
Choose the applicable status
Choose Save changes

Video

Here is a video breakdown of the entire process from the teacher and student perspective.

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