How do Smart Cards Improve Student Life?

Today, people are ready to accept anything that would make their tasks easier. They are always in search of all-in-one packages. Smartphones are a good example of this. And, that tendency to embrace all-in-one packages is exactly why smart card solutions by Edsys would be relevant in student life.

Many tasks related to school can be accomplished effectively with the help of these smart cards, which are embedded with RFID chips. So, if implemented, how do these smart cards solutions improve student life? Let’s take a look.

1. Influence on student tracking systems

Student and school bus tracking devices have gained immense popularity at present as they tend to be a great relief in terms of the concerns parents have about their children’s safety on their ride to school and back. Smart cards by Edsys also serve the same purpose. With the help of smart cards,

It is possible to track students and school buses easily

Whereabouts of the students can be notified real-time via automated SMS alerts
Management Information System (MIS) reports can be generated
Data regarding students, parents, vehicles, and drivers can be stored, which can come handy for future needs

2. Marking attendance in class

Taking attendance logging process a step ahead with smart cards will simplify the life of both students and teachers. Student id cards if tagged with active RFID can be used to mark attendance. Just a swipe over the card reader placed at the entry point of the classroom will register the presence of the student. Active RFID cards are much advanced and do not demand proximity with the reader.

3. Changing interaction at Canteen/Cafeteria

Sometimes, students, after reaching the canteen, realize that the money they brought is not sufficient to buy food. Such situations can be avoided using a smart card.

Smart cards can be used by students to make purchases
Amount for which items were purchased, would be deducted from the card
Students have the facility to check the balance left in their smart cards
Parents get notified on the purchases made

4. Makes it easier to Collect Fees

Every parent knows what a tedious task it is to pay their child’s school fees. Every time, they have to provide their child’s roll number and other details, which barely stay in their memory, to pay the fees. school Smart cards prove to be useful there. Parents can easily access payment information with the help of smart cards. Also, it is possible to top up the smart cards at the fee collection counter of schools.

5. Simplifies the way you use Library

In most schools, students are expected to carry a library card and show it to the librarian each time lend/return a book or when they are reading the book in the library itself. In case they lose that card, they may have to pay a fine to get another card. Smart cards mean less chaos for students in that case. They can use smart cards to lend/return books. Students can also use their smart cards to mark library attendance.

6. Safer, easier transactions at Book stores

Students can easily purchase the books
they need from the school book store using smart cards
List of items bought by the students would be recorded
Parents get notification of items purchased by students

7. BMI records

Smart cards help students check their height and weight using smartcards on BMI scales. When the child swipes his smart id card on the sensor and his information along with his details get stored into the school database. Schools can identify students suffering from height and weight issues and help them improve their diet and lifestyle.

8. School Dismissal

Schools are in a terrible need of organizing their dismissal processes. This activity can be made way simpler by adding smart cards to the picture. Parents can be provided with active RFID cards. These cards are to be carried by parents when they come to pick up the child. The RFID card reader placed at the gate identifies the parent and notifies the child about the parent’s arrival. The child is only allowed to leave the class when the parent has reached inside the campus.

9. Library on wheels

A futuristic concept where libraries will no longer be a closed arena but a mobile vehicle! The vehicle shall visit the school once in a week and allow students to borrow books with the aid of their smart identity cards. The main aim of this is to eliminate the phobia of deserted library rooms and promote reading more often. Smart cards definitely will help in achieving this goal.

Advantages of Smart Cards

Smart carts are of great advantage, in terms of school-related purposes. The advantages of smart cards include:

Access made easy

ID Cards that use magnetic strips require students to swipe through an ID card reader manually. Students will have to wait in long queues to swipe. The cards tend to be damaged easily, as well. Smart cards do not require swiping and hence no long queues, making it more convenient for students.

Lasts longer

It is a common scene in schools that students replace their damaged ID cards at least once in an academic year. This can cause loss to the parents as well as the school, in terms of money. With school smart cards, which are made of durable materials such as PVS and polyester, students would not encounter such a problem. This can help them in saving money in terms of ID card replacement annually.

Save money, time and effort

The use of a single card to serve various purposes will be equally useful for students, parents, and schools. It helps in easy and cost-effective management.

Track student activities

With a large number of students present in a classroom, it is not possible to find out whether any of the students have bunked classes. However, it is possible with smart cards and if the student is present, it is possible to find out the amount of time a student spends in the class.

Library management made easy

Students can use smart cards to mark attendance in the library. They can also use it for lending/returning books and in case, there is an overdue, students can pay it through smart cards.

Electronic payment

Students can use smart cards to pay at the canteen for the food items/ beverages they buy. They can also use the cards in the school book store to buy the necessary items they need, of which the notification would be sent to parents.

Track students

Concerns of parents and school authorities regarding the safety of students on their journey to school and way back home can be addressed using smart cards. Whereabouts of students can be tracked in real-time using smart cards. School bus tracking is also possible with smart cards.

User-friendly interface

Though some software is said to be effective and useful to users, they lack a simple interface that they are able to understand and use comfortably. Therefore, the smart card software is developed in such a way that its interface is user-friendly and easy to understand.

Smart card solutions from Edsys have numerous advantages. Their ability to serve various purposes is useful to students, parents and school management in everyday school life.