Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
In this present era where technology is rapidly advancing and school population is
increasing; students’ health, safety and academic performance are major concerns of
parents inside the school premises and classroom. As the population is increasing rapidly,
people need to be identified and it is also a must to schools, universities and to institutions
and companies as well. Therefore, it is highly essential for every educational institution to
provide every student an identity card. Not only for entering the school premises or
company but could also generate an attendance for monitoring purposes.
Attendance of a students and class discussion play a vital role in the process of
learning in higher education. Class attendance, is an effective way in monitoring the
progress of a students. According to Merriam–Webster Dictionary (2018), attendance is
the act or fact of attending something or someone. Consequently, it is significant to keep
such record for evident data of attendance and for monitoring the learning progress of an
individual. Numerous studies have shown that students’ and class participation are among
the predictors of academic outcomes; the student earns higher final grades because of
attending classes regularly (Kirby and McElroy, 2003).
Many lecturers are still doing the old method of passing and signing of attendance
sheet around the class. This may distract the students’ attention from listening to the
discussion. “For many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.”Pareto. An old conventional method often times fails to provide accurate and secured list
(Silvestri, 2003). Moreover, it is time-consuming calling the students’ name one by one, a
possibility of human error may occur by writing on an attendance sheet, signing attendance
on behalf of absent classmate and a possible loss of attendance sheet.
To monitor the progress of a student, it is important to have a fast, reliable and
efficient tool. Moreover, managing a large number of students in a classroom it is more
effectual to use new technology to check, store and monitor student’s attendance,
guarantees parent or guardian that their children are safe inside the school premises and
not anywhere else, loitering and cutting classes.
The study was conducted from the idea of reliable, fast, and easy to use attendance
checking and to develop a better, accurate, and efficient system with a user-friendly
environment. Address the old method, time consuming attendance checking that makes
teachers less productive. This study hopes to eliminate or lessen the problems of manually
checking of attendance by simply using the application to scan the QR code and store and
update the attendance on a database for monitoring and security of the students. The
possible outcome would be a more productive teacher and enthusiastic collaboration inside
the classroom.
The researcher come up with the Development of a Quick Response Code Identity
Card with Policy-based Attendance Checker System on Smartphones, for a better
monitoring of attendance, security and health of students. ID card contains a summary of
information of every student indeed. Through this technology, more vital information need
to be included on this simple identity card – information such as medical details of the
students (short medical history, blood type, organ details, etc.) are important to school
administrators and physicians. A Quick Response Code, QRC technology can be utilize to
develop a Smart ID system as security, precautionary measures and to aid the monitoring
endeavor of parents and teachers assuring that the students’ safety and classroom
performance. QRC, technology is more advanced than the BARCODE; QR code, contain
up to 4000 alphanumeric characters and absolutely free, while BARCODE can cost about
Php 0.70 and lesser information than QRC technology. For the data input the binary, kanji
or alphanumeric symbols can be used for the encoded information.
A copy of the identity card can be stored on a smartphones to serve as back up
Identification Card; because many people not only students left their IDs’ but not their
smartphones. The system is a PC-Based System capable of sending a (Short Message
Service) SMS message that will be forwarded to a configured mobile phone number of
their parents confirming that their children were already in school or inside the classroom.
In the event of class suspension, parents will also receive an SMS message from the
professor. A possible outcome is a positive parent-teacher-relationship on the learning
progress and safety of the students. In case of medical information is needed the QR Code
could generate an important medical information of the person, giving the physician the
right information to administer medical attention. The work can be done using the smart
phone that can take and read image of QR code, user must have camera phone and right
kind of software installed into mobile phone.
Objectives of the Study
The general objective of the study is to develop an application that can be used for
checking, recording and monitoring of students’ attendance using Android, IOS and Web
technology.
Specifically, the study aims to:
1. Design an Quick Response Code Identity Card with Policy-based Attendance
Checker System on Smartphones with the following characteristics:
a. Provides a database for the application;
b. Provides offline queuing of information;
c. Acquires offline and online data through mobile Wi-Fi technology;
d. Provides an attendance report;
e. Provides a user-friendly environment for QRC;
f. Provides an SMS message for parents or guardians for monitoring;
2. Create the system software using:
a.
Microsoft Visual Studio for coding;
b. Visual Studio support different types of programming language including
C, C++, VB.NET, basic.NET;
c. SQL server management for connection of database; and
d. Semacode or QR Reader to scan QR code, Semacode is faster and free;
e. SMS Gateway Provider Nexmo, ITextMo, iSMS Philippines and others
for monitoring;
f. Adobe Photoshop to create the picture and design for the system:
3. Test and improve the system in terms of functionality and reliability; and
4. Evaluate the performance of the system-based ISO 25010 evaluation
instrument.
Scope and Limitations of the Study
The study proposed a smart identity card with back up on smartphone and act as an
alternative identification card. Generate important information for school administrators,
physicians and teachers. Advance method in checking attendance and recording.
Monitoring application by parents and guardians for student, an SMS message will be
forwarded to notify that the student is inside the classroom or absent. Policy-based; a policy
is imposed against the number of absences and tardiness of students.
The technology can be used as classroom attendance, a QRC scanning device is
used to scan the image and only the basic information of the student will appear on a
monitor to affirm if the bearer is the right student. Attendance will automatically save in
the teacher’s attendance database.
Normally, QR Code is made up with the black modules, square-like pattern on a
pure white background and provides the functions which have 5 major parts; Three Position
Detection Pattern, Timing Pattern Code, Data Area, Buffer Zone or Quite Zone and
Alignment Pattern.
Three Position Detection Pattern. At the three corner out of the four corners the three
codes are located which are called position detection pattern are three position detection
pattern.
Timing Pattern Code. In order to identify the location of each and every cell inside the
QR code, the timing pattern code is greatly used. All the things are done by the decoder
application.
Data Area. Into data area the error correction codes are inserted where the each and every
cell is saved in the form of binary number.
Buffer Zone or Quite Zone. This zone is used for isolation of code from the information
of different packaging.
Alignment Pattern. When code is being curved then the QR coder make the correction for
the distortion. The alignment corner is in the corner of lower right.