Barcode-Attendance-Monitoring-System

1.1 Background of the Study

Monitoring is one of the great responsibilities of a teacher. This includes writing lesson plans, teaching lessons to his/her students, and recording the performance of the students. Teachers have a lot of things to do in everyday routine, due to this everyday task, they consume much time in doing paper works and preparing some devices as they are required to do, because they perform these tasks manually. The researchers will create an automated monitoring and attendance system for students using barcode reader. Using the barcode reader, the teacher will have access to the profile of each student, which will be recognized by reading his or her identification card.

At the same time, this system will send message to the parents to notify them that their child is within the school premises. Since the students will just put their ID’s direct to the barcode reader, the teacher will have no more hustle in monitoring the attendance of his/her students. Moreover, the school can assure the security of their students because it will recognize the attendance of each student. The parents are also assured of the presence of their child in school. There is a need to develop a new system because of the complaints of most of the teachers about their everyday tasks. The new system will provide an easier process for the teachers in monitoring the students and in notifying the parents through SMS. Therefore, the number of tasks to be done by teachers will be lessened.

1.2 Statement of the Problem
As we conduct an interview, teachers always complain about their difficulty in accomplishing manual tasks. As a result, they sometimes cannot finish their daily tasks on time. Thus, the researchers decided to design and create a system using barcode reader, which will be utilized for student monitoring, and reduce the manual tasks of the teachers. The researchers are guided by the following questions:

1.2.1 Does the device or system have the ability to monitor the attendance of the students using barcode reader? 1.2.2 Does the device or system have the ability to display the profile of the student? 1.2.3 Does the device or system have the ability to monitor students as they enters/leaves the school automatically? 1.2.4 Does the device or system have the ability to monitor the attendance of the students every subject period? 1.2.5 Does the device or system have the ability to send SMS to the parents’ mobile numbers about the presence of their children with in the school and when they leave the school? 1.3 Objectives of the Study

At the end of this study, the researchers are able to:
1.3.1 To design a system that is able to monitor the attendance of the students using barcode reader.

1.3.2 To design a system that is able to display the profile of each student. 1.3.3 To design and build a system that is able to monitor the attendance of the students as they enters/leaves the school automatically. 1.3.4 To design and build a system that is able monitor the attendance of the students every subject period. 1.3.5 To design and build a system that is able to send message to the parent’s mobile numbers about the presence of their children with in the school and when they leave the school.

1.4 Significance of the Study
This project study focused on three major aspects in terms of its significance: 1.4.1 The School
This “Gil B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using barcode reader with SMS Notification” will surely attract parents to enroll their children in Gil B. Manalo High School. This “Gil B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using barcode reader with SMS Notification” can be one of the assets of the Gil B. Manalo High School. Since barcode reader is more affordable than any other devices, the school administrator can afford to have this device installed in school.

1.4.2 The Teachers
The teachers can no longer experience the hustle of checking their student’s attendance but can easily monitor the attendance of their students through the use of automated process of reading barcodes of ID’s using barcode reader.

1.4.3 The Parents
The parents can be assured of the presence of their child in school because the system will send message to the parents that their son/daughter is in school. This is chased on the reading of ID’s using barcode reader.

1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study
The GBM HS. Students Monitoring and Attendance System using barcode reader with SMS Notification will be used by the client which is the Gil B. Manalo High School. The students, teachers, and parents are the focus of this study. 1.4.4 Monitoring using barcode reader

Every student who will enter and leave the school will be monitored by reading the barcode of their identification card using a barcode reader.

1.4.5 Monitoring the attendance of the students using barcode reader
Every subject period, the students will be monitored by reading the barcode of their identification card using barcode reader. 1.4.6 Informing parents via SMS notification
The parents will be informed through SMS as their child enters and leave of the school. 1.4.7 Instantly view and/or print up-to-date records/reports
The input data about the student will be recorded instantly and the subject teacher can view and/or print the records.

The system development will start in the month of August 2014 and will end in the month of January 2015. The success of the project is measured by the features of the system which will be completed, implemented, tested, documented, and delivered.

1.6 Conceptual Framework
Figure 1.1 shows the conceptual framework of the GBM H.S. Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification. The process involved in as follows: ID’s of the students will be put directly to the barcode reader in order to detect/read the barcode of each student ID. As the barcode reader reads the barcode of each student ID, the system will send notification to the parents’ mobile number as their child enters and leave the school through Short Message Service (SMS).

Figure 1.1 Conceptual framework of “GBM High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification“.

The identification cards of student have their barcode, which are used us a key into the database. The barcode reader will read each barcode. The students will place their ID cards in the barcode reader as they enter and leave the school, as well as during their subject periods. The input data will now be placed in the computer database. All of these input data will be saved in the computer database. A printer will be connected to the computer if ever needed. This will enable the teacher to print an output of all the records of the students as he/she wishes to do since the data are saved in the computer database. A GSM module is connected to the computer, which will serve as the medium of communication between the user and the computer. The GSM module will send a message to the parents’ mobile number through SMS when their child enters and leaves the school.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES AND RELATED SYSTEMS

This chapter provides the researchers with readings or related literature to enrich their knowledge about the project. 2.1 Related Literature
A student barcode is used to identify attendance patterns / problems in large practical groups and lectures in the Biosciences. The project produced a working system, which scans a student card within a teaching event, and records appropriate student details into a database. A separate program monitors the events and the database to produce email reports to staff and students where attendance is unsatisfactory. The system is built using a test data set. The software is available to be implemented on a suitable platform.

The system requires a MS-SQL server with IIS and ASP support. The source code, documentation and executable are available for download and installation. Attendance is the act or fact of attending (being present at) school. In addition, attendance is used to define the number of persons present in a particular day at school. An attendance policy provides the guidelines and expectations for students’ attendance at school as defined, written, disseminated, and implemented by the school. Depending on the school, attendance may be entered by the class representative or by the teachers, or possibly, both. Attendance can be recorded in many ways such as using web based, RFID, biometrics and bar code scanner.

Since most of the  applications developed nowadays require the worldwide accessibility, web based system is the most common attendance system available. One of the higher institutions in Malaysia has used RFID to record the attendance of their students and to send the record to online server for an online accessibility. There are many educational institutions which use RFID technology to record their student attendance. Easy connection of data into internet makes RFID technology the most common technology used in recording student attendance. However, RFID technologies incur high cost and need experienced people to handle the system. On the other hand, biometrics technology involves the tremendous use of technology in the domain of attendance reporting and tracking. Most of the biometrics technology use thumb print as a sign of system entry.

This allows a fair and reliable attendance to be recorded since there is no platform for any attendance cheating. Biometrics utilizes the fingerprint apart from thumb print method. Fingerprint peripheral is used to record the attendance which is sent to the system using wireless technology. Image recording is another recent method used in recording attendance. Movement recorded in internal surveillance camera is used as a sign of attendance entry in one of the workplaces in China.

These advanced technologies require high costing and well trained system developer. Use of bar code scanner is popular among educational institutions which are not financially supported. This system does not require any well-trained people to install and fix. Bar code scanner is used as a medium to record the attendance of students in one of the secondary schools in Malaysia since their student card have barcodes. (http://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/projects/gent.aspx ) Downloaded (July 20, 2014)

Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component of phone, Web, or mobile communication system. It uses standardized communication protocols to allow fixed line or mobile phone devices to exchange with short text messages.

SMS is the most widely used data application, with an estimated 3.5 billion active users, or about 80% of all mobile phone subscribers at the end of 2010. The term “SMS” is used for both the user activity and all types of short text messaging in many parts of the world. SMS is also employed in direct marketing, known as SMS marketing.

SMS as used on modern handsets, originated from radio telegraphy in radio memo pagers using standardized phone protocols. This was defined in 1985 as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) series of standards[4] as a means of sending messages of up to 160 characters to and from GSM mobile handsets. Though most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages, support for the service has expanded to include other mobile technologies, such as ANSI CDMA networks and Digital AMPS, as well as satellite and landline networks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Message_Service

Related Systems
2.2 Student Intervention Monitoring System (SIMS)
The Student Intervention Monitoring System (SIMS) is a software program designed to monitor interventions and help educators provide an additional support for children who are not learning. Created by the Madison Metropolitan School District with support from the Department of Public Instruction, this electronic tool contains interventions selected to individualize support for students. An emphasis has been placed on early intervening services to remove barriers to learning and to promote student success. SIMS is a systematic way to share information between teachers and to monitor student progress over time.

This tool can be used to promote dialogue between the students and the teams of educators. While the tool is currently populated with interventions, strategies for attendance, behavior, language, arts, and mathematics, should be customized to fit the instructional framework of an individual district. There is no single way to use SIMS. Initial use of SIMS may look different in each district depending on readiness and district needs. http://rti.dpi.wi.gov/rti_sims2

Students Identification Monitoring System using Barcode and SMS technology The main objective of the proposed system is to improve and develop the entrance and exit monitoring system of Araullo University PEN. (http://prezi.com/rixjazzc696b/student-identification-monitoring-system-using-barcode-and-s/) Downloaded (July 30, 2014)

Student Attendance Monitoring
The University Senate has agreed to adopt a unified University policy on attendance monitoring for all home and international students. This is to ensure equity of treatment across the whole student population and enable attendance monitoring to be an effective tool for identifying any problem at an early stage and offering students with appropriate support. Departments are therefore required to monitor attendance and review engagement with the programme of study, for all home and international students. (http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssd/sam)

Downloaded (July 30, 2014)

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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methods used in order to attain the objectives of this project such as research design, research procedure and project development.

3.1 Research Design
The researchers will conduct research and interview in order to formulate the project to be proposed and to be developed for Gil B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification. The researchers intend to implement, install, and develop this system at the Gil B. Manalo High School.

3.2 Research Locale
The researchers will start this project on Gil B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification at Notre Dame of Kidapawan College. The final testing of this system will be done at Gil B. Manalo High School.

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3.3 Research Procedure
The procedure shows the physical and programming phase of Gil B. Manalo High
School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification prototype. 3.3.1 Physical Phase

Gil B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification is composed of a barcode reader which serves as an input device for the identification card data of the students, a broadband stick for the SMS function, a computer with Windows 7 OS and that has MySQL-connector-odbc-5.3.2 and Xampp database for the computer.

Figure 3.3.1a Barcode Reader
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Figure 3.3.1b Broadband Stick

3.3.2 Programming Phase
The entire program of the system will be designed using the MySql and Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Ultimate. MySQL is a programming language for adding, accessing, and managing content in a database, MySQL is a popular choice of database for use in web applications. Visual Basic is a third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft for its COM programming model first released in 1991. Microsoft intended Visual Basic to be relatively easy to learn and use. A programmer can create an application using the components provided by the Visual Basic program itself. The figure below shows the programming language that will be used to program the database of the B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification.

Figure 3.3.2a MySQL Database

Figure 3.3.2b Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Ultimate

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3.4 Project Development
The systems development life cycle (SDLC), also referred to as the application development life-cycle, is a term used in systems engineering, information systems and software engineering to describe a process for planning, creating, testing, and deploying an information system. The systems development life-cycle concept applies to a range of hardware and software configurations, as a system can be composed of hardware only, software only, or a combination of both.

Figure 3.4 Waterfall Model

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3.4.1 Requirements
The researchers will conduct research and interview of the client to gather necessary information and to know the process on how to monitor the students and to assure their parents about the presence of their children within the school premises. It is observed that the students in this school are prone to escaping and cutting classes. 3.4.2 Design

The researchers will design a system based on the requirement for the Gil B. Manado High School, which is the client. 3.4.3 Implementation
The researchers will program a database for the Gil B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using MySQL and Microsoft Visual Basic Ultimate. 3.4.4 Verification/Testing
The researchers will conduct a series of tests until the correct output will be reached before installation of the system, which is Gil B. Manalo High School Students Monitoring and Attendance System using Barcode Reader with SMS Notification. 3.4.5 Maintenance

The researchers will conduct an evaluation of the teachers regarding the maintenance of the system at Gil B. Manalo High School.

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Nonfunctional Requirement
1. Operational Requirements
1.1 The system will monitor the attendance of the students and if the student enters and leaves the school using their ID’s. The identification card of each student has its barcode. 1.2 The system will notify the parent of each student as the student enters and leaves the school, and if the student skip any subject period through Short Message Service (SMS). 1.3 The system will provide up-to-date data of the attendance of the students. 2. Performance Requirements

3. Security Requirements
4. Cultural and Political Requirements
No special cultural and political requirements are anticipated.

Functional Requirements
1. Monitoring using barcode reader
1.1 The system will need a database of basic information about the students (e.g., name, year and section). 1.2 As the student enters/leaves the school, and every subject period, he/she will place their ID cards in the barcode reader. The input data will be recorded in the computer database. 2. Informing parents via SMS technology

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2.1 The system will notify the parent of each student through SMS as the student enters and leaves the school and if there’s any absences in his/her class. 3. Instantly view and/or print up-to-date records/reports

3.1 The input data’s in monitoring and attendance of the students will be recorded instantly. 3.2 The teachers or subject teacher can view and/or print the records.