Post on 20-Aug-2020
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AutomaticSMSAttendanceProgram(ASAP)
0. ProjectAbstractThe project aims to help the government to maintain an accurate database of studentsattendance dynamics as well as enabling schools manage communications between theschoolmanagement and parents. Itsmain purpose is to enable the government to havequalityreportsonthebehaviorofschoolattendanceinthecountryingeneral,butalsoinprovincesandevenspecificschools.Thegovernment thenwillbeable touse thedata tocreateaccurateinformationmostlyneededincreatingpoliciesforeducationinparticular,but also for other purposes. We thank IDIN to provide us this opportunity to use ourexpertise and talents to bring this proposed solution into trial. We also thank all theinstitutionssupportedusontheground,includingBoysSchoolofTajpura,ITU,andlastbutnotleast,IDDSLahoreandtheorganizingteamwholargelymadeallthishappen.Wefeelhighlyhonored.
1. BackgroundWithhighstudent-teacherratios,teachershavelimitedtimeandenergytodedicatetopersonalizedteachingandstrongerrelationships.Instead,taskslikegradinghomeworkandmarkingexamstakeuptoomuchattention.Weworkedwithteachers,studentsandstaffattheBoysSchoolofTajpurainLahoretocreateanICTsolutiontofreeuptimeforteachersandtoallowthemtofocusonteaching,whilealsobuildingbettercommunicationlinkagesbetweenteachersandparents,togetthemmoreinvolvedintheirchildren’seducation.
2. InformationGatheringWebeganbyspendingadayattheschoolandmeetingwithteachers,parentsandstudents.Duringourteacherinterviews,whattheymentionedwasduringtheDecemberexamresultsmostparentscomeandafterthat,notsomuch.Mostparentsstruggletoengageeveniftheywanttobecausetheyareilliterate.Someteacherswantedmoresupportfromthegovernmentandsaidthatthegovernmentdidnotprovideenoughattentiontoschools.
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TheteamvisitingTajpuraSchoolforBoys
3. Persona(typicaluser)Teacher'sname:SirRashid(acompositeofteacherswhowespoketo)
SirRashidisamiddleagedteacherwhoteachesmathsattheTajpuraSchoolforBoys.Heloveshisjob,butfacesmanydifficultiestoexerciseit.Everyday,SirSadhidteaches6to8classesintheschool,thenrunstoaprivateacademy,whereheteachesuntil10pm,sincehisearningsarenotenoughtosustainhisfamily.Heworriesthathe'snotabletoprovideindividualattentionothisstudents,astherearesomanyhe'sresponsiblefor.Whenhisbeststudentshaveproblems,helikestocontacttheirparentstotryandhelpthem,butmoreoftenthannot,isunabletoreachthem.
4. ProblemFramingStatementTeachersareteaching6-8periodsadayinaclassof60-80students,alongwithjobsatacademiesaswellashouseholdresponsibilitieswhichleavethemwithminimaltimeforadministrativetasks.Onetimeconsumingtaskiscontactingparentsindividuallywhenastudentisabsent.Wewillcreateacommunicationplatformthatwillallowteacherstocontactparentsaboutattendanceissuesallowingthemtosavevaluabletime
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5. ProblemFramingTreeReduceTimeforattendanceandincreaseIndividualstudentattention
1. UseMachinetotakeattendancea. Smartphonereadablecurecodewithdatabaseb. Entrancebiometricreaderwithdatabasec. EntranceRFIDwithdatabase
2. Reducenumberofstudentsperclassa. Dividetheclassindayandnightshiftsb. Reducethenumberofkidsenrolledc. Increasethenumberofteachersandclasses
3. Passattendanceregisterbooktostudentsastheclasscontinuea. Passattendancetostudentswhileclasscontinueb. Studentscometochecktheirnamesasclasscontinuec. Studentswarenametagsandspecialattendancetakergoaroundandcheck
theirnamesontheregister
5. ValuePropositionWeaimtohelpteachersbymakingattendanceprocessmoreefficientandreliable;ontopofthat,wewilladdressthecommunicationgapbetweenteachersandparents.
6. SummaryofDesignProcessWemetasateamtodiscussdifferentpossibilitiesandchallengesintheeducationspace,whichwecanpotentiallytackle.Thesediscussionsstartedwithanaspectof:• Whatarethepossibilities?• Whataresomeofthebiggestchallengesfromourownpersonalexperiences?• Wherecanwehavethemostimpact?Theaboveconversations,plustheguidelinesandbackgroundbriefweweregiven,ledusinthedevelopmentofourhypothesis,onthebeforesitevisitsandthequestionswewantedtoasktotestouthypothesissuchas:
1. Attendancecantakeupto10min.2. Therearenoworkingcomputersatschool3. TherearenoITsbeingused4. Teachershavenotimetopreparetoeveryclass5. Teachersforgetwhattheyareteachingeveryclass6. Studentsarenotgettingindividualattentionduetohighstudenttoteacherratio
etc.Onceinthesitevisits,weintervieweddifferentstakeholders.Weconversedwithteachersandtriedtounderstandtheirpainpointsandproveourhypothesisrightorwrong,leadingtoabetterunderstandingofthescopeofissuesandareaswherewecoulddevelopsome
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ICTsolution.Theseconversationswereopenendedtoallowustogetafreeflowofconversationandweusedourquestionsastoolstodirecttheconversationonly.Teachersmentionedthatthebiggestchallengetheyfaceisover-crowdedclassesthatleadtootherissues,suchasnothavingtimetoaddressindividualstudentsproblemsorreachingtotheirparents.Wedidabrainstormingsessionwheretheideaswerealloverthespectrumfromextremetopractical.Thesessioninitiallywasjustwritingdownanythingwethoughtcansolvetheissuesweuncoveredinsitevisitsfromsnailmailletters,todronesorappleguns.Thereweresomecrazyideas,aswellassomereallysimple,soweclusteredthesolutionsintobuckets,sowecouldfigureoutthethemes.Thenextbrainstormingsessioninvolvedselectingideasonascaleofpracticalityandawesomeness,whichresultedusinleftwitharoundeightideasandthenwediscussedwhatwewantedtomoveforwardwith.AGantt/ratingchartwasthencreatedandweratedeachsolutionondifferentverticals.Weshortlistedthesolutionsbasedonourinterest,feasibility,usability,scalability,cost,andpartnerinterest.Wetalkedwithpartnerswhocanpotentiallyhelpusrollitout.Thisdiscussionallowedustoseewheretherewerepossiblesynergiesandwhatispracticalasasolution.Initiallywehadseveralideasfortheinputbutafterdiscussionwithoneofthestakeholderstheywerelookingtorolloutstudentidcards,sowethoughtifwecancombineaninputsystemwiththestudentidcardsthenwewillhaveaneasierpossibilitytogetbuyin.Wedevelopedaprototypeforthesolutionthatwefeltwasmostfeasible.OursystemcanhaveanykindofinputbutwechooseQRcodesbecauseitcouldbecombinedwithgovernment'srolloutofstudentIDprogram.WechoseSMSasoutputtoparentsasmostoftheparentshaveaccesstofeaturephonesandarealreadyusedtoSMStechnology.Atthisstagethissystemcanbedeployedinareasbeyondeducationaswellandweseepartnerinterestaswell.
7. ConceptSelectionWecomparedthedifferentideasthatwecameupwithagainstabaselineofanautomatedemailsystemtoseewhichperformedbetterandworseondifferentmetrics:
Idea Price Timetoimplement
Learningcurve
Timesavings
Additionalcapabilities
Technologyavailability
Teaminterest
AutomaticEmail
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SnailMail + -- -- ++ -- -- ++
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WebPortal + + ++ -- -- 0 --RFID 0 + -- -- ++ ++ --FingerprintTracking
0 + -- -- ++ + --
SMS - 0 -- 0 - - --
8. DesignRequirements
UserNeed Whatareyougoingtomeasure
Howareyougoingtomeasureit?(units)
GoodValue BetterValue
Efficiency Howlongittakestotakeattendance
Minutes <5 <3
Intuitiveness Timetotrainateachertousethesystem
Minutes <60 <30
Affordability Upfrontcost USDperschool <$1000 <$500 Runningcosts USDperschool
peryear<$1 Free
Usability Numberofnewprocessesandtechnologies
3 1
Setuptime minutes <1 0Reliability Breakdowns Breakdowns/year <4 0 Bugs Bugs/year <5 0
9. Howitworks1.TheteacherhasasmartphonewiththeASAPapploadedonit
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2.ThestudenthasabadgewithaQRcodeinsidethats/hepresentstotheteacheronarrivingintheclassroom
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3.Ifachild’sbadgeisnotscanned,anSMSwillautomaticallybesenttotheparent
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10. UserFeedback
Parentengagementandattendancedatacredibilityisabigchallengeandstakeholderswantasolution.Therehavebeenseveralinstanceswhereparentswerenotawarethattheirchildrenhadskippedschool.ThegovernmentisplanningtorolloutastudentIDprogramandpilottablets.Asystemthatcanengageparentsonattendanceissueswillbeveryhelpful.
11. ProjectContinuity
Theteamdecidednottocontinueworkingonthisproject.Althoughthetechnologyreceivedpositivefeedback,theteammemberswerenotabletocontinuedevelopment.
12. Stakeholders OurpointofcontactatBoysSchoolofTajpurawasAizazAnwar,ateacherandalumnusofITU.
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13. TeamMembersAneeqaIshaqNaraSchenkelHassanBhattiVictorNyang’aRedonSkikuliKristaNordin(DesignFacilitator)