TM4T Using Your System 3.2.10 - Admin Work: Rollcalls & Registers

Let's agree vocabulary first: a 'register' is a legal requirement in UK schools twice a day. A 'rollcall' may optionally be taken in other lessons.

A register must be done by the book, calling out our angels' names and hearing their howls of reply.  Even this simple task, though, can be improved in terms of efficiency.

For most teachers, the register itself takes no time at all - what does take time is following up on absences; reminding students about notes, checking whether a student has-hasn't provided a parental excuse. The reason it takes time is because many teachers take the register using the wrong screen. They use a screen that looks something like this:

Then, at the end of the week, they chase up student absences using a screen that looks like this:

The trick here is really simple: most school adminstration systems allow you to take a register using a screen line this:

This means that while you are taking a register, you can also chase up on previous absences. You have all the information displayed on the same screen, and you can effectively merge the two processes: 'taking a register' and 'tracking absences'.

The efficient procedure for rollcalls - as opposed to registers - is even more simple. There is no obligation to call out names. Simply print out a seating plan in teacher view. Like this:

As you walk into the classroom, simply spot the empty desks: you should be able to mark up your seating plan before you reach your desk.