Frequently Asked Questions

Is Acadly free for FT-MBA Goizueta Business School instructors and students?

Yes.

Who else has used Acadly?

Acadly is used at more than 700 universities across the world. At Emory University, it has been used for attendance automation since Spring 2019. If you would like to connect with the Acadly team one-on-one for a demo, feel free to schedule a call using this link.

How does Acadly's attendance work?

Acadly discovers students in professors' proximity using a mesh-network technology that uses Bluetooth and WiFi.

Is it compulsory for students to be connected to the WiFi?

No. Acadly works even if students are connected to the internet via mobile data / LTE.

What devices do my students and I need to use?

 

For students: If Acadly is being used for attendance tracking in a course, students are required to download the Acadly app (available on Android and iOS) on their phones. Automatic attendance will not work unless they have the app open on their phone. Students can access other features (such as class activities, learning resources shared by the instructor, and class discussions) on the Acadly web app as well.

For teachers: All features of Acadly are available for instructors on the web as well as on mobile. Automatic attendance, manual edits, class activities, and resource sharing will all work on both the web and mobile apps. We recommend that instructors download the app for easy authoring on the go. 

Can students get marked as present if they aren't inside the classroom?

No. If a student is not inside the classroom, their device will not connect to the mesh network and they will not be marked present.

What if a student does not have a phone or if it's switched off?

No worries, they can let you / your "Class Assistant" (you would need to set one using Acadly) know and you can manually mark them "Present" as well.

Since when has Goizueta Business School had an enterprise agreement with Acadly?

Since Fall 2023. However, Acadly was first used at Emory University in Spring 2019. 

What is the range of Acadly's automatic attendance? Will it work in a large class?

Yes. There is practically no upper limit to the class size, thanks to how the mesh network technology works. Acadly has been used in courses with as many as 450 students too, and there's no reason why it can't work for even more!

Does it work inside Canvas or as an independent app?

Acadly works as an independent app available on the web, Android app, and iOS app. It does not connect with your Canvas course at the moment. 

Does this process run continuously and drain my battery?
 

No. The attendance process, once started by the instructor, runs for about 2.5 minutes and then ends automatically. The Acadly app automatically switches the radios on your phone off once the attendance process is over to minimize energy consumption.

Does this use GPS?
 

No. The Acadly app does not use GPS and does not track the physical location of anyone. On Android devices, the app does ask for permission to access GPS, but that's because of an Android quirk which combines Bluetooth / WiFi scanning permissions along with "location" permissions. However, while the app has to ask for this permission due to technical reasons, GPS data is neither collected nor stored by Acadly at any time.

What else can Acadly do?
 

Acadly can be used for in-class polls, quizzes, discussions, Q&A, word clouds, and even to share files and videos with students. All this data can be exported to Excel files as well.

What is the purpose of Acadly's Zoom integration?
 

Acadly can also be used to teach online or blended synchronous (or HyFlex) classes, using the product's Zoom integration which works with any Zoom license. The demo videos are linked below.

Where can I see full demos of everything Acadly does?
 

Here you go! Click the thumbnails below to play the demo videos.