Schools
High School to Implement Swipe-Card Attendance System
The technology will help Ocean City High School track students.
When students arrive at Ocean City High School next year, they'll be required to swipe a student ID card to create an electronic attendance record that will follow them throughout the school day.
In each period during the day, teachers will be able to check actual attendance against the record of which students should be in class.
The new technology will make cutting class a much more difficult proposition and make taking attendance a much easier task. The new system will replace one already in use this year.
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The Ocean City Board of Education heard a presentation on Wednesday night on Swipe K12 School Solutions technology that will be used.
Students will swipe cards at two stations at the front entrance to the high school. As they do, a teacher monitoring the system will be able to see a photograph from the student ID and check to make sure that it matches the student swiping the card.
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Students who forget their IDs will be able to visit two other stations in the attendance office to receive temporary IDs or even time-stamped late passes.
The swiping stations will create a database of attendance records, and a web-based application will allow teachers and school administrators to see records and run reports.
Ocean City High School will be the only school in the immediate region using such a system. Other schools in New Jersey have similar technology but use fingerprint-scanners instead of swipe cards.
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