Explains the two-way integration between the SMS and VisTab: VisTab receives student/class/group lists, and can post sign-in/sign-out events back to Attendance with codes and notes.
Some helpful information on how VisTab and the SMS work together.
The integration between the SMS and Vistab is two way.
- Vistab will receive lists of students, classes and groups to populate the Vistab device. This is turned on in : Admin>School Settings and scroll down to External Providers where there is a tick box to allow Vistab to access the above information.
- Vistab can also post records of sign-in and sign-out events back to Attendance so that the appropriate attendance code can be recorded, along with an attendance note. This needs to be turned on by Vistab.
The students’ attendance records will be updated according to the following rules.
- Sick in Vistab - marked absent for the rest of the day with a code of M (Medical).
- Vistab Doctor or Dental appointment - marked absent for one period with a code of D (Doctor/Dentist appointment)
- Vistab Family - marked absent for the rest of the day with a code of E (Student is absent with an explained, but Unjustified, reason)
- Vistab Sport – marked absent for one period with a code of Q (Attending a school trip or camp)
- Other/Unknown/Free text – marked absent for one period with a code of ? (Absent for unknown reason)
If a student signs in for the following reasons:
- Late – they will be marked as L (Late) for the current period
Notes:
- The post-back from Vistab will not overwrite attendance codes that have been entered by teachers, with the exception of ?/unknown.
- In all cases an attendance note will be added to the student for the current date, recording the details of the sign in/out and any note entered by the parent or student in Vistab, regardless of whether an attendance code was written. If the student signs in or out multiple times in a single day then any existing attendance note will be appended to.
- If a student signs back in after signing out sick, then the absence codes that would have been entered for the rest of the day when they signed out will be reverted to unmarked for the remaining periods of the day.
- If a student signs back in after a doctor or dental appointment after being absent for more than one period, then they will be marked as absent with the D code for the intervening periods.
- There is some “fuzzy logic” around what is considered the current period, if a student signs in late in the morning less than 10 minutes before the first period starts, they will be marked as late for that period.
- The post-back from Vistab when a sign-in or sign-out occurs every 15 minutes so may not be instantaneous (currently this process occurs after 10:30am