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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)