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Enable Qwickly Attendance on Course Navigation

Important note: By default, Qwickly Attendance is hidden from the course navigation.  Please check the course navigation to check that the tool hasn’t already been enabled.

To enable Qwickly Attendance, follow these steps:

1. Select Settings from the left-hand navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Settings menu will open.
2. Select the Navigation tab on the Settings page.
3. Find Qwickly Attendance in the Navigation tab, under the 'Drag items here' to hide them from the students' list.
4. Select and drag Qwickly Attendance into the top navigation list.
   1. Select the Options kebab (3 dot icon). The options menu will open.
   2. Select Enable on the options page. Qwickly will be moved to your navigation list.
5. Select Save at the bottom of the page. The menu will reload and you will be returned to the course details.

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Initialize Qwickly Attendance

Once enabled, initialize Qwickly Attendance in your Canvas course as follows:

1. Select the Qwickly Attendance on the left-hand Navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Qwickly API Key menu will open.
2. Confirm your user information and allow access to the Qwickly API Key page. If the information is correct, select Authorize. The Qwickly Attendance menu will open.
3. Select Begin Setup on the Qwickly Attendance page. The Settings menu for your course will open.
4. Configure the settings and add sessions on the Settings menu for your course. When you are ready, click Save. For more information on optional settings, see below.

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Settings

There are three navigable sections under the Settings menu.

1. Preferences: Sorting, View, Check In, Check Out, and Scheduling Sessions
2. Attendance Statuses: Built-In Statuses and Custom Statuses
3. Grading: None, Session Based, or Absence Based

Preferences

This section allows you to choose overall settings for taking attendance.

• User Sorting: Choose how to sort attendance lists (by first name, last name or username).
• View Preferences: These settings affect how certain information is displayed in the tool.
  • Show Absences on Take Attendance Screen: Students’ absent/present status will be displayed next to their names. Check this to see who has been marked present/absent.
• Student Grouping: By default, all students from all sections are displayed in a single list for attendance.
  • If you have combined courses or a course with multiple sections and want to take attendance separately for each section, select By Course Section.
• Check In: The Check-in function allows students to check in from their own devices. You can require students to enter a PIN or scan a QR code and set a time limit for check-ins.

Note: Students need the Qwickly Attendance App (for QR codes & PINs) or the Canvas Student Mobile App (PINS) to access this feature. Students can download both apps from their iOS or Android App store. Students can check in using a web browser on a computer with a PIN, Check out the tips below for using the Check-in function. If you decide to use student check-in, pick the authenticator (PIN or QR code) you want to use, if any, and set the duration for the check-in period.

Note: Due to known issues, we only recommend using Chrome or Firefox. We do not recommend using Safari as a browser for using Qwickly. 

• • Check in Timer: Setting to any number greater than zero enables a timer for the check-in sessions.
  • No PIN or QR Code Required: Select if you do not want to use this function.
  • Require QR Code: Students must check in with the Qwickly Attendance App.
    • Note: This option shows a new QR code regularly to prevent students from sharing codes. However, the instructor must keep the QR code visible on the screen for the entire check-in period.
  • Require PIN: Setting to require a randomly generated four-digit PIN to be entered for Check-in mode. 
• Check Out: This feature allows instructors to select a previously created Check In session to check out of. Use this if you want to verify that students are still in the classroom throughout the class. This requires running 2 check-in sessions during the class.
• Schedule Sessions: This allows pre-created Attendance sessions using a course schedule. Taking attendance is still required either in List view or by Check-In. This option does not automatically start Check-In sessions.
  • Select Add Sessions.
  • Enter the date range in which the sessions will occur (Start and End Date).
  • If sessions will repeat throughout the date range, select the days in which you would like them to repeat.
  • Select Create.
•  Select Save Settings to save when finished./li>

Attendance Statuses

• System Statuses: Control and customize which statuses are used in your class and create custom statuses with custom points.
  • System Statuses On/Off: Use the toggle button to the left of each status. Note that values for system statuses can’t be changed. Instead, turn the status off and then create a custom status.
  • Late Status: By default, this is worth 85%.  However, you can alter that by disabling the default status and creating a custom status with your preferred percentage.
  • Excused Status: Is worth no points, but it is also not counted as an absence. For example, if you take attendance 20 times during the semester and a student is excused 1 time, the student’s overall attendance grade will be based on 19 sessions, rather than 20. See About the Excused Status for more information.
• Custom Course Statuses: Create your own custom status for this course.
• Select Save Settings to save when finished.

Grading

• No grade sent to Canvas Grades: Leave both options unchecked. Attendance can still be tracked, but it won’t appear in Grades. Use this option if you prefer a combined participation/attendance assignment instead.
• Session-Based Grading Column: Use this to award points for attending a session. Choose to award total points for attendance (e.g., 100 points for the entire semester) or points per session (e.g., 10 points each time you take attendance).
• Absence-Based Grading Column Use this to award or deduct points per absence. Criteria entered here will be reflected in the Canvas gradebook, not in Qwickly’s attendance records. One way to set this up is to set total points and then make each absence worth negative points. For example, 100 points for the entire semester and -5.00 points for each absence.  You can also excuse a specific number of absences.
• When finished, select Save Settings to save.

Note: If you make changes to the grading (points or type of grading column) after taking attendance, you may need to manually sync grades to update the changes in the Canvas gradebook.

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Taking Attendance

List View

1. Select Qwickly Attendance on the left-hand Navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Qwickly Attendance menu will open. (If you don’t see this, see Enable section above)
2. Select List n the Qwickly Attendance page The List menu will open.
3. Select Absent, Late or Excused for a student to change the status. On the List page, by default, all students are marked as Present.
4. Select Submit Attendance when done taking attendance. The menu will reload and the Attendance has been taken confirmation message will appear.

Scheduled Session

1. Ensure the Qwickly Attendance tool is enabled in your course navigation (see the 'Enable' section above). Schedule your sessions before taking attendance (see the 'Settings: Preferences: Schedule Sessions' section above).
2. Select Qwickly Attendance from the left-hand navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Qwickly Attendance menu will open.
3. Select Attendance on the Qwickly Attendance page.
4. Select the attendance mode (Check In/List/Seating Chart) under the Attendance section.
5. Select the Scheduled Session under Date and Time to view the date next to it.
6. Take your attendance (see Taking Attendance: List/Check In/Seating Chart for more instructions)
7. Select Submit Attendance when you’re done. The menu will reload, and a confirmation message will appear indicating that attendance has been taken.

Student Self Check In

Notes:

• The Pin/QR Code options are set in Settings (See Settings: Preferences: Check In)
• Students can check in using the free Qwickly Attendance App (required for QR code check-in) or the Canvas Student App on their mobile devices. For the first class, use List view for attendance. Recommend students to download Qwickly Attendance or Canvas Student App for the next class; they work on iOS and Android. Avoid using Safari for check-in via a web browser. See the Troubleshooting section below for help.
• Edit an attendance record to change the student's status if needed. Select the cell for the date and student, change their status and click "Update."
• Ensure the code remains visible on the screen long enough for students to scan it if using the QR code to check in,

Pin

1. Select Qwickly Attendance from the left-hand navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Qwickly Attendance menu will open. (If you don’t see this, refer to the 'Enable' section above.)
2. Select Check In on the Qwickly Attendance page. The Check In menu will open.
3. Select Start Check In on the Check In page. If you chose to use a PIN, the randomly generated number will display on the next screen. If you are using the timer, it will automatically begin counting down.
4. Let the timer run out or end the check-in session at any time.

QR Code

Important: If using a QR code at check-in, the QR code can only be scanned with the Qwickly Attendance App. Students will not be able to scan the code and check-in from a mobile browser or from within Canvas.

1. Select Qwickly Attendance from the left-hand navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Qwickly Attendance menu will open. (If you don’t see this, refer to the 'Enable' section above.)
2. Select Check In on the Qwickly Attendance page. The Check In menu will open.
3. Select Start Check In on the Check In page. The QR Code will display on the screen.

Note: Keep the QR code on the screen for students to scan during check-in. The QR code changes randomly every few seconds for security.

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Records

Attendance Records

1. Select Qwickly Attendance from the left-hand navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Qwickly Attendance menu will open. (If you don’t see this, refer to the 'Enable' section above.)
2. Select Records in the Qwickly page. The Attendance Records menu will open.
3. On the Attendance records page:
   1. Recorded attendance appears by date for each student.
   2. Absences in the right column for each student.
4. You can update student attendance, and include comments.
   1. Select the cell you want to update to update the attendance for a single student in a session. The Record details window will open.
      1. Select Visible to student to make updates visible to students.
      2. Enter your comment.
      3. Select the attendance status you want to update to.
      4. Select Update when you’re done. The update will save and the window will close.  
5. Select Download (the down-arrow icon) to download the records data as a CSV file. The Record Export window will open.
   1. Select the data points you would like to include in the report. When you have the data points selected, click Download. The download will begin.
   2. Select the X button to close the Record Export window.

Sync Grades

Important: Qwickly will automatically sync grades back to the Canvas gradebook if you have enabled grading in settings. However, if you make a change to the grading (points, absence grading vs session grading), you may need to sync grades manually after the change.

1. Select Qwickly Attendance from the left-hand navigation menu in your Canvas course. The Qwickly Attendance menu will open. (If you don’t see this, refer to the 'Enable' section above.)
2. Select Records on the Qwickly Attendance page. The Attendance Records menu will open.
3. Select Sync Grades on the Attendance Records page. The Sync Grades confirmation window will open. Select OK to proceed.

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Common Concerns

1. I have TAs that take attendance in my class.

TAs that have been added to the Canvas course with Grading privileges via SPIRE will have the same level of access to Qwickly as Instructors.  Their view will look identical to yours as an instructor.

Strongly suggest turning on Student Grouping: By Course Section setting (see Settings: Preferences: Student Grouping)