New Software Tracks Students

New software can track the attendance students in a British vocational off-campus learning program — and inform immediately when they're not there.

A new vocational learning program has begun for students between 14-19 in Britain. Offering diplomas in IT, media, construction, engineering and health, it’s offered to students who are based in schools, although the education is undertaken off-campus, at schools or elsewhere. And that leaves the tantalizing possibility of non-attendance.

However, new software might make that glaringly obvious. The Guardian reports that Collaborative Learning Manager, a new piece of technology, can track the attendance of students and instantly inform authorities when they don’t show up for lessons.
Developed by Perspective, the idea is very simple. At each lesson, instructors will register the students there, and with a simple click the information is sent to the Vocational Education Support Agency, which can immediately inform schools and parents of non-attendance.

Why is that important? Schools have legal responsibility for the pupils, even if their learning is off-campus.

Peter Barnett, Perspective’s director of collaborative learning, said:

"There is a big issue with the attendance or non-attendance of learners. It’s a safety thing. One local authority told me: ‘We are not on top of where kids are 100% of the time. It’s an accident waiting to happen.’"

The software is already in use in a number of areas and that is now being broadened.