In order to take attendance in a Moodle course you may add the activity to your course. The attendance activity may be graded and will automatically create an item in your Moodle grade book when it is added to the course.

To add the attendance activity:

1. Turn editing on
2. Click Add an activity or resource
3. Choose Attendance from the list and Click the Add button
4. Change the activity name if desired and choose grade level, or choose no grade to just take attendance and grade separately in the grade book.
5. Click Save and return to course
   Note: In addition to the activity, there is also an Attendance block that you can install. Using the block will provide you quick access to taking attendance and the attendance settings.

It is possible to add all the class sessions at one time by following the steps below.

1. Click the link for the Attendance activity you just created. Below is an example of the page you will see.
2. Click the Add tab.
3. Check Create multiple sessions.
4. Enter the course start date (day/month/year) and time (hh:mm).
5. Enter the duration of class (hh:mm).
6. Enter date of semester conclusion.
7. Check days on which classes are held.
8. Select Frequency. In most cases this will stay at 1. 
   If your class will meet every week, select 1; if it will meet every other week, select 2; every 3rd week, select 3, etc.
9. Click Add session.
10. Click Continue.

It is most likely that extra class meetings were created when the sessions were added. It is possible to remove the extra sessions by following the steps below.

1. Go back to the Attendance settings. Select Sessions (1) and then click All (2). You should see a list of all the sessions for your course.
2. Check the boxes corresponding to the class dates that you would like to remove (those that occur inside each break).
3. Scroll to the bottom and select Delete from the drop-down. Click OK, then Continue. If you make a mistake you can add the sessions back again. 

The settings allow you to customize the marks you use for taking attendance. You may have as many or as few variables as you like.

To change these settings:

1. Click the Settings tab
2. Change the default variables or click Add  to add your own.
3. When you are finished click Update

Tip: You can set up an attendance activity to track class participation in addition to or instead of attendance.

There is an optional attendance block available to you. This block provides a simple and easily accessible way to take attendance in a course. Note that you must have already added an attendance activity to a course in order to use this block. 

To add the block:

1. Turn Editing on.
2. Find the "Add a Block" block, click the drop-down menu and select Attendance.
3. Optional: Position the block where you choose.

Note that attendance may be taken within the activity or from the block. To take attendance:

1. Open Attendance and click the green button associated with the appropriate class day.
   Tip: Click the Weeks box to see classes in the current week.
2. Click the ‘P’ heading for Present and then click the Late, Excused or Absent buttons for the students who have been Late, Excused, or Absent. 
3. You may optionally add remarks for each student.
4. Click Save attendance when done.