A massive issue in the educational industry right now is the wasting of educational instruction time for tasks such as attendance, making announcements, giving reminders, explaining to a student what they missed, a student requesting their mark or what assignments they are missing, and so on.
“Tap-In” is an NFC (Near Field Communication) app potential idea that I came up with that allows teachers to have various tasks completed when their students tap their phone against a small box similar to a credit card reader as they enter the classroom.
Click on the link below to learn more:
Please feel welcome to give any constructive feedback on this idea, pros and cons, potential issues or challenges, and personal opinions to perhaps one day make it a reality.
Hi Miguel,
Thank you for this – great idea. I like the idea of simplifying tasks such as attendance within classrooms, and I feel like this aligns with the directions we are moving in with using technology to simplify our tasks.
I also like how it could include a chatroom, similar to Teams, so students could have their community outside of school and have support.
The only thing I wonder about is having students have their phones (then again, I am not a teacher and do not know the world of having cell phones in the classroom) and having them be less engaged due to having their phones with them and relying on them. But again, maybe they have them anyway now… 🙂
This is a mobile accessible tool however with so much online bullying and safety being a primary concern, how is this app better than Microsoft teams? You can also track student progress by assigning multiple tasks in Teams. As it relates to communication between teachers and students, I personally would not feel comfortable messaging being a part of this app. I think teachers will be wary to buy in because most of it already exists in addition to the privacy concerns.
Interesting and useful idea. I certainly remember all the time that those little things would take up in my classroom teaching days. With some of this though, like missed work, I assume that is already solved by online classroom work boards. And with some things, I assume it requires teacher input in advance of the classes arrival, predicting their needs. In the video you shared, it said NFCs are not compatible with all devices. Has that changed? If not, that could be an obstacle?
Also, as an aside, while I appreciate the colour and creativity of your slides, if you decide to pitch this professionally you might want to tone some of them down, as some were difficult to read and others sparked my concussion symptoms, due to flashing images.
Hi Miguel !
As a teacher, I definitely see the need for this system in my classroom. Taking attendance and dealing with students walking in late really disrupts the flow of a lesson. I also spend a lot of my time doing follow-ups with students who were absent or haven’t handed in their work. This was especially difficult during the pandemic, with frequent covid testing resulting in multiple absences. In the past, I have made an Excel spreadsheet for each of my groups to organize absences and late-work follow-ups to make sure there was no patterns I should be aware of. Working at a school with a one-to-one program, where every student is provided with a device to use for the duration of the school year, Tap-in could be incorporated straightaway. I have read the previous responses and understand not all schools are fortunate enough to have a one-to-one program. However, since this is a forecasting project, I think it is reasonable to think that at some point in time in the future, every school will have a similar program. Great work!
Hey Miguel! I really like your mode of presentation, as it fits with your chosen topic very well; it presents your topic concisely, and in an efficient viewing manner suited for a mobile platform! I echo some of the comments left already by Sam and Anna, in that accessibility to these technologies may become a bit of an issue for some students or teachers. However, that being said, I do think that having a mobile device that has tap functionality will soon be the norm, so this makes sense as a forecasting project. A potential workaround for this chance of inequality among students would be for the schools themselves to begin providing a device that works within their own parameters; many schools, at least in North America that I am aware of, offer iPads or other tablets to their students for their duration of the school year, so utilizing one of these or a similar device loaning program could be a solution to accessibility. As for the human interaction angle, I think that by speeding up these processes, students and teachers will actually have a greater number of opportunities to engage in genuine interaction, as the amount of time that they will have otherwise spent on these menial tasks is now available to them. This in turn means that the interaction that they would have had during a sign-in process or similar task would be freed up for them to have a more genuine interaction rather than a brief comment whilst preforming another task.
Hello Anna and Sam, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I knew this question would come to light. First of all, I agree, not all students have a phone, but lets be real, only 1 out 30 kids (even in middle schools now) don’t have a phone and now even younger kids have a phone: “The study found that 53 percent of kids have their own smartphone by the time they are 11 and by age 12, more than 69 percent of kids have one. The research also showed that 19 percent of eight-year-olds already have their own smartphone”.(https://tinybeans.com/smartphone-tween-teen-usage-age-of-first-phone/) By the time this technology is a possibility this may not be a concern. Second of all, this is not a replacement of traditional ways, its simply an available tool for teachers for maximizing class time; just like using a program for keeping scores and student records is a tool instead of on pen and paper. The student is still allowed to interact with the teacher and the teacher should know who to take attendance of if they don’t have a cellphone. Third of all, as a teacher I am conscious of cellphone policies, and students are allowed to bring a phone to school, simply not use it in class. Overtime, students would get used to this technology and benefit from its purpose. This idea has nothing to do with overuse of cellphones in the class, simply a quick tap as they enter their room for attendance, announcements, catch-up material, communication, and other features to allow for more INSTRUCTIONAL time. This is the time to interact with the students and build connections, not during attendance or announcements/reminders or waisted time nagging at a kid that missed class. I hope this answers your thoughts and concerns!
Hi Miguel,
I love this idea, and it would save time, allowing for free time and additional interaction with students. However, as Sam raised, not all students have mobiles; some parents do not want their children to have a mobile or cannot afford such devices. How do you foresee overcoming this problem? Perhaps you could have devices available for those students specifically for classroom use. While it may allow for additional interaction with the teacher to do other activities, the technology can also distance students and teachers. Overall, I like the concept and think it would be a good addition to the classroom because there are mundane and menial tasks that can be taken care of by a simple Tap-In.
Hi Miguel, Thanks for sharing. Do you think this sort of technology would make education more impersonal? The menial tasks you reference are definitely time consuming, but I wonder if part of the task is more about the interaction between the educator and the student than the task itself.
Although we live in a world where mobile technology is ubiquitous, what can done to address inequalities (when a student doesn’t have a phone to tap)?