Qwickly Attendance in Blackboard

Overview

Instructors have the ability to track attendance through Blackboard using Qwickly Attendance. Qwickly Attendance is a course tool that enables instructors to take attendance that can be automatically graded in the Blackboard Grade Center. Instructors can take attendance themselves using an attendance list or allow students to check in from their browser.

Details / Instructions

Configuring Qwickly Attendance

Qwickly Attendance can be accessed in a Blackboard course by selecting QwicklyAttendanceLTI under Course Tools on the left panel. If you are launching the tool for the first time, you will prompted to configure several settings. To get started, select Begin Set-Up. 

Update 8/27/2020: Some users are reporting an error like {"code":"Unauthorized","message":"Site login required"} when accessing Qwickly Attendance from the Course Tools area. We are still investigating, but there are workarounds if you run into the same issue. If you have a Tools link in the top-left panel in your course, QwicklyAttendanceLTI-Student should be available there. Even though it says “student”, you will see the instructor side. You can also add a link directly to the tool using the “+” icon in the top-left of the screen and selecting Tool Link. Change the drop-down menu to Qwickly attendance, name the link, decide whether to make the link visible to students, and select Submit. Once the attendance tool loads, continue by selecting Begin Set-Up.

• Student Grouping
  • Choose whether to group students by their user group or as a single list.
• Default Style
  • Select your default style for taking attendance. This view can be changed later while taking attendance.
  • Selecting Check In will allow the students to check themselves in.
• View Preferences
  • It is recommended not to select Show Unavailable and Disabled Students in Record.
• Grade Center Integration
  • Select whether to create a Grade Center Column based on the attendance recorded by the tool.
• Check In
  • If you do choose to allow students to check themselves in, you can decide whether there is a time limit for check in once the check in period has started.
• Absence Email
  • Select whether students are notified of their absence by email.
• Attendance Statuses
  • By default, there are three statuses for students' attendance each day: Present, Absent, and Excused. You may disable any of these statuses or define your own.

Select Save Settings when finished.

Using Qwickly Attendance 

Qwickly Attendance can be accessed in a Blackboard course by selecting QwicklyAttendanceLTI under Course Tools on the left panel.

Instructor-entered attendance:

• If you are taking attendance the same date/time as the class session, leave Session Date and Time as Current Time. Otherwise, select Custom Time and set the date of the class session.
• Mark each student as Present, Absent, or Excused, and optionally provide a comment.
• Select Submit Attendance

Student-entered attendance: 

Note: Students will need to have access to the Qwickly Attendance Tool before they can check in. To make the tool link available, hover over the + icon at the top-left of the screen and select Tool Link. Name your link (e.g., "Attendance") and change the Type drop-down menu to QwicklyAttendanceLTI-Student. Make sure to select Available to Users and select Submit.

• Select Check-In
• Select Start Check In
• If you chose to use a PIN when configuring Qwickly Attendance, it will appear so that you can share it with your students.
• Manually select End Check In after the students have had a chance to check in, or wait for the timer to expire if you configured one in Qwickly Attendance settings.

See Also