Ask the Experts: Doug Ahlers, Vice President of Operations, InCom Corporation
Doug Ahlers is the Vice President of Operations for the InCom Corporation.
Brittan Elementary School called InClass’s® wearable RFID tags “safety badges.” Does this accurately describe the purpose of the system?
No — but it does describe one of the many values the system has to offer. The InClass® system is an automated electronic attendance taking system designed to improve attendance taking and reporting accuracy, while saving teacher and administrator time. InCom’s proprietary RFID badge holders have a pocket where the school can insert the student’s identification card. The school supplies the card. Brittan Elementary School, a K-8 grade school, planned on having students wear identification cards for security reasons. The principal saw InClass® as another benefit which he could implement at the same time.
Along with automated classroom attendance taking, InClass® will:
- Tabulate the ADA and complete reports for the district, state, and federal governments.
- Determine real time location of students (most current room location).
- Monitor arrivals and departures from the classroom.
- Communicate bulletins and notices to the teachers and students without paper.
- Track individual student attendance, absences, and tardy behavior for proper management.
- Enhance security.
What spurred development of InClass®?
The need for quick and accurate attendance spurred the idea. All public schools receive their funding based on student attendance. Schools are penalized financially when inaccuracies in attendance records are identified during audits. A common problem throughout all public schools is attendance taking errors. Errors plague all current methods of taking attendance, from human error, to smooth talking students that talk there way out of absences (cuts) or a tardy. InClass® addresses these various holes in the attendance taking process.
Teachers also spend a tremendous amount of time taking attendance. InClass® allows the teacher to do a quick double check on the attendance accuracy, edit the record using a PDA, and quickly send the verification back to the system.
The system was developed by school teachers, teacher input, administrator input, and technology personnel who work for school districts.
Has your company’s recent appearance in the news chilled interest? Will InCom® continue to focus on the education market?
Not at all. Schools and businesses from around the world have had the chance to see what the system really does, and understand its original purpose. As we all know, the general media tends to “sell” news. The actual abilities of the InClass® system were stretched from being able to track a student from anywhere in the world to broadcasting the student information for anyone to see. InClass®, nor any other passive RFID system, is designed or able to do any of this type of tracking. InClass® uses a 16 digit number to identify a student. Student information is not resident on the RFID system. The number is not broadcasted, but rather read when the student passes under a reader equipped doorway. The system can only identify which classroom the student is in or has most recently been in. Once the student is in the classroom, InClass® can not monitor the movement inside of the room. InClass® can not monitor student movement on the playground or off campus. InClass® simply gives the teacher another set of eyes to monitor the doorway and report attendance. InClass® also gives the administration and teachers the ability to print attendance reports quickly. Entities from around the world have inquired about the system because of these perceived benefits InClass® has to offer. InCom® continues to work with school districts nation wide to help them improve attendance taking and security issues. Private schools have also contacted InCom®, with their specific request to be able to account for students and staff entering and exiting the school.
Are attendance and location tracking systems like InClass® on their way to ubiquity in education facilities?
As society advances, so must schools and school systems. As budgets tighten, it is more important than ever to be able to have an accurate count of student attendance. Lost revenue in some schools can mean the discontinuation of sports, clubs, and vocational courses. The general public, along with their governments, are placing more accountability on education and educators. Educators around the world are looking for every tool available that will allow them to do their job better and more efficiently, while reducing the drain on teacher time devoted to nonteaching activities. The average person would be amazed by the amount of time teachers must spend performing nonteaching tasks in our schools.
Even private schools, who may not need to report attendance for ADA funding, have contacted InCom® regarding their needs to address attendance and security issues. InCom® has answered their specific needs with another product called OnCampus™. OnCampus™ is InCom’s solution to monitoring when a student or staff member enters or leaves the school campus. School district superintendents, administrators, teachers and even some in the educational media have predicted that systems like InClass® will become the standard in the United States.
