HelixSchool: Geo-location Attendance System

HelixSchool is a specialized mobile application designed to streamline and automate student attendance using GPS coordinates and modern location services. By leveraging geofencing, the platform accurately determines a student's presence within a designated area, simplifying daily workflows for educational institutions.

Core Technology

The application's core functionality is built around geofencing, ensuring attendance is marked only when the student's device is physically located inside the assigned geographical boundary.

Key Functionality and Logic

Feature

Description

Attendance Timer

The main attendance timer on the home screen only starts once the user's location is verified to be inside the assigned Geo-Fence.

Initial Location Check

Location is checked upon app launch. If the user is outside the geofence, a rapid check is performed every 30 seconds.

Presence Verification

Once the timer starts (user is inside the Geo-Fence), the location check interval slows to once every 5 minutes to conserve battery life while maintaining presence verification.

Real-Time Attendance

Student attendance is marked in the database separately for every lecture. A continuous, active check-in status throughout the lecture duration is required for the student to be marked present.

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Importance of Background Activity

Continuous location fetching is crucial for the reliable and accurate marking of attendance for segmented lectures.

• The system must keep fetching the location to ensure the student remains inside the geofence for the duration of each class.
• This constant verification is what enables the system to register a separate, active check-in for every lecture period.
Troubleshooting and Verification

• Students can verify their assigned area by navigating to the Maps section within the app.
• If check-in issues occur (often due to Google location service drifting), the recommended procedure is:
1. Go to the app settings.
2. Click on "Stop background activity."
3. Click on "Reset check-in."
4. Completely close the application and re-open it. Repeating this process may help re-establish a stable, accurate location lock.