How can I use ICON's Gradebook to record attendance?

Unfortunately, there aren't any simple, elegant methods for recording absences and including them in the final grade calculation. But here are some approaches other instructors have taken:

Some instructors create a separate grade column for each class period. The Checkbox grade item type works well for this because you can simply click on Check all Items and then de-select the names of students who are absent. Students receive either 100% or 0% of the credit allotted for that day's attendance. If you are using the Weighted Grade System, you could group these items together in an Attendance category, assign the category a certain weight toward the final grade (e.g., five or ten percent), and instruct ICON to distribute that weight evenly across all items in the category. If you are not using the Weighted system, you could count the absences yourself or create a Formula grade item to count them for you (keep in mind that ICON won't include Formula grade items in the final grade calculation unless you are using the Formula Grade System).

Creating a separate column for each class date can result in a lot of scrolling for you and your students, especially if your class meets three or more times a week. A simpler approach is to create only one grade column, say, a Text grade item, in which you keep a running tally of student absences. You could just manually update the number of absences as the term progresses (e.g., replace "1" with "2" after the second absence). If you want students to know when they missed, you could enter the dates instead (e.g., "8-27, 10-2, 11-19"). When the term is over, you would need to count these absences yourself, since ICON cannot compute the content of Text grade items.

Suppose you don't want to bother with formulas or weights. You simply want to add or deduct points based on the number of absences.

You do this in the Edit Final Grade screen. Here's how:

  1. When the term is over and all your grades have been entered, click Enter Grades - Final GradesEnter Grades - Final Grades above the Final Grade column.
  2. Click Recalculate All IconRe-Calculate All (unless you have instructed ICON to keep the final grade updated automatically).
  3. Select Final Calculated Grade and click Calculate twice and click Save.
  4. Click Transfer All iconTransfer All.
  5. Manually add or deduct points in the Adjusted Grade column. If you need to refer to your Grades List, you can open ICON in another browser window and view it there.
  6. Click Save.

We welcome any other suggestions you may have for recording attendance in ICON.

2 April 2008