Example workflow Education

How a Lecturer Can Take Attendance by Scanning Student ID Cards

Scan each student card at the door with an iPhone or iPad. After class you have a spreadsheet with every student ID, the arrival time and, if you import your roster, the student's name.

This page shows how DataScan can be set up for this task. It is an illustration, not a report about a specific customer. All codes and values on it are examples.

Download and Start Free Trial
7-Day Free Trial • iPhone, iPad & Android • Cancel Anytime
Staff member using an iPhone to scan student ID cards for attendance at the door of a university lecture hall

The problem

Roll call in a large lecture eats into teaching time, and a sign-in sheet passed along the rows comes back with illegible names, missing entries and the occasional signature for a friend. Someone then has to type the sheet into the grade book.

Many universities already print a barcode or QR code on every student ID card. That code is enough to record who walked in and when, without dedicated card readers or an extra system to roll out.

Attendance data is personal data. A phone-based setup keeps the decision with the institution: the school decides which IDs are scanned, which roster is loaded onto the device and where the exported file goes.

The setup

Continuous Scan records each card as soon as it is in front of the camera. Importing the course roster into Lookup Scan adds the student's name to the export and shows it briefly after each scan.

Scan mode Continuous Scan
Barcode Column Header Student ID
Lookup data Course roster as a comma-separated CSV: Student ID first, then Name and Program, imported in Lookup Scan from a file or URL
Enable Cross-Reference On, so the student's name appears in a short pop-up after each scan
Cross-reference with Lookup Data On, so Name and Program are added to the export
Prevent Duplicate Scans On, so a card held in front of the camera twice in a row is recorded once
Summarize Duplicate Scans Optional: one row per student with first and last scan time
Barcode Types The type printed on your ID cards, for example Code 39, Code 128 or QR

Step by step

  1. Import the roster Export the course list from your student system as CSV with the student ID in the first column and import it in Lookup Scan. Each phone or iPad used at the door needs its own import.
  2. Start a session before class Open Continuous Scan and tap Start New Scan. Export the previous lecture first, so every lecture ends up in its own file.
  3. Scan cards at the door Students hold their card in front of the camera as they enter. The pop-up shows the matching name, so you see at a glance whose card was read.
  4. Export after class Send the session as CSV or Excel file by email, to Files or by SFTP. The file name can include the date so each lecture gets its own file.
  5. Work out absences and late arrivals In your spreadsheet, compare the export with the full roster to see who is missing, and filter the Timestamp column for scans after the start time to see who came late.

What you get out

With the roster imported and cross-reference switched on, each scan becomes a row like this:

Column Example value What it holds
Student ID 20231457 The code on the student card
Timestamp 2026-10-06 10:03 When the card was scanned; can be split into separate Date and Time columns
Name Example Student Second column of your roster CSV
Program Mechanical Engineering Further roster columns are added in the order of your CSV

With Summarize Duplicate Scans switched on, the export lists each student once with Count, First Scan and Last Scan.

Fits well if…

  • Your student ID cards carry a barcode or QR code.
  • You teach groups large enough that roll call or sign-in sheets take up noticeable lecture time.
  • Your attendance records end up in a spreadsheet or can be imported from a CSV file.
  • You want attendance data to stay on devices the school controls.

Try It in Your Next Lecture

Import a roster, scan a few cards and look at the export. The free trial includes every feature.

Start Free Trial
7-Day Free Trial • iPhone, iPad & Android • Cancel Anytime