Canvas Instructor Troubleshooting

Why am I seeing students marked as “(na)”?

This is common when using sections. It indicates that the student is enrolled in the course, but not this section. This may also be seen in other situations where the student although enrolled in the course, is not expected to attend that session.

This will also occur if a new session is created for the course in the past. To prevent historically added sessions impacting attendance calculations, students are not added to new historical sessions automatically.

To add students to a session manually select the Add student icon (to the left of 'Cancel'), then select the students that should be added to this session.

Tell me about withdrawals

The Attend LTI uses the last active date that was observed for a student, as their withdrawal date. Students can be deleted or deactivated from a course or section in Canvas and the Attend LTI will recognize them as withdraw. Changes from one section to another are also respected and reflected accordingly. A withdrawn student is indicated by a W icon. For attendance from the date of withdrawal student’s attendance will be set to a withdrawn status automatically unless otherwise configured by administrators.

The calculations do not look correct

First check session weightings. These may be affecting the calculations if they are not setup correctly.

Attendance statuses are also set globally to have a certain impact on calculations. It can be worthwhile checking that the attendance statuses are setup correctly with your Canvas administrator.

My timetable is locked, or what does that mean?

When timetable data comes from Canvas or your SIS, the calendar in aPlus+ will typically be locked. This is to ensure that there is only one system of record for timetable data. If you have a situation where you need to edit the timetable directly in aPlus+ then please speak to your Canvas administrator to get your timetable unlocked.

The USB scanner is not reading the cards correctly

Cards typically need to be mapped to students. If a card is not showing a student when scanned, then further configuration may be needed. Please speak to your Canvas administrator.

The USB scanner is recognizing students but is not marking them as attended correctly, or I am seeing a message saying “No matching session”.

The USB scanning works in conjunction with scanning rules that are controlled by your Canvas Administrator. Typically these are based on a time window with respect to the session start time. 15 minutes before and after the class start time for example.

If you believe that the scanning is occurring in the correct time window, and are seeing the “No matching session” error, then please check that the student is correctly enrolled in this course and section (if applicable).

The USB scanner is not reading cards onto my device

USB scanners will typically work with all devices other than iPads or iPhones. A simple test is to try scanning a card into any text editor such as notepad or an email. If the card scan does not appear on screen then you may need to contact your support desk to get assistance.

Students are sharing the session code allowing their friends to register their attendance without coming to class.

Try the “Manual time window” option when enabling the code entry window. Leave it open for a reduced amount of time. The code entry screen can also be IP address blacklisted and whitelisted, preventing students from being off campus when entering the code. This may not be an option if you are using the system for any online courses. IP addresses are also recorded in the session attendance history.

I need to see codes for my sessions further into the future.

This is configurable by your Canvas administrator.

Students are claiming that they tried to enter the code, but were blocked by a message telling them that the code window has expired.

Have them take a screenshot of their phone screen so that we can see the time that they made an attempt.

How can I see a history of how attendance was recorded for a session?

Navigate to the Sessions view of your course. Find the session, and select the dropdown arrow on the top right of the session. Then select “Attendance History”. IP address tracking can be enabled for the code entry option, but you may need to speak to your Canvas administrator to have that activated.

Attendance Assignments in Canvas Gradebook are not calculating correctly

Please have your Canvas administrator to check that the attendance statuses that represent absent and tardy are correctly set in the plug-in Settings.

I cant't seem to see the Time in and Time out fields when taking attendance.

Simply select the clock icon at the top right of the attendance collection page, and it will expand the page to show time in and out. Remember you can use actual times, or shortcuts such as +15 in time in for 15 mins late, or -25 in time out for left 25 mins early.

My teaching assistant cannot seem to access my Zoom or MS Teams meetings to bring in attendance.

This is by design to protect privacy. Only the organizer of the Zoom or MS Team meeting can import the attendance from the call.