Attendance tracking system
DCFirst Claim
1. A method for gathering and validating attendance data, including the steps in the order of:
- providing a plurality of uniquely encoded tags, the tags adapted to be borne by an attendee;
scanning the plurality of tags as the attendees pass into an attendance area without manipulation of the scanner or the tag;
creating a provisional attendance report at least partially from information acquired by the scanner from the tags;
said creating step including the step of comparing a class list of who is expected to be in attendance with a present list of which tags of the attendees are scanned in the attendance area by said scanning step to determine who on the class list is absent;
communicating the provisional attendance report to an attendance tracker individual in the attendance area;
personally visually inspecting the attendance within the attendance area by the attendance tracker regardless of whether any expected attendees are absent in the provisional attendance report;
identifying differences between the provisional attendance report and results of said inspecting step; and
modifying the provisional attendance report to correct the differences of said identifying step to establish a second attendance report, the second attendance report being more accurate than the provisional attendance report.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automated attendance monitoring system is disclosed. The system includes (i) identification tags, with wireless communication capabilities, for each potential attendee, (ii) scanners for detecting the attendees'"'"' tags as they enter a given room, (iii) at least one server in communication with the scanners, (iv) handheld computing devices for use by attendance trackers, such as teachers, to verify a provisional attendance report generated by the scanners and server, and (v) software running on the server for receiving and managing the attendance data received from the scanners, and for generating attendance reports. Although particularly well-suited for tracking attendance in schools, the present invention can also be used in a variety of other settings where there is a need to track the whereabouts of a number of individuals.
62 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A method for gathering and validating attendance data, including the steps in the order of:
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providing a plurality of uniquely encoded tags, the tags adapted to be borne by an attendee; scanning the plurality of tags as the attendees pass into an attendance area without manipulation of the scanner or the tag; creating a provisional attendance report at least partially from information acquired by the scanner from the tags; said creating step including the step of comparing a class list of who is expected to be in attendance with a present list of which tags of the attendees are scanned in the attendance area by said scanning step to determine who on the class list is absent; communicating the provisional attendance report to an attendance tracker individual in the attendance area; personally visually inspecting the attendance within the attendance area by the attendance tracker regardless of whether any expected attendees are absent in the provisional attendance report; identifying differences between the provisional attendance report and results of said inspecting step; and modifying the provisional attendance report to correct the differences of said identifying step to establish a second attendance report, the second attendance report being more accurate than the provisional attendance report. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification