Computer Vision-Driven Classroom Analytics: Real-Time Attendance Verification and Student Focus Monitoring for Data-Informed Teaching Decisions

Abstract

Purpose – Student attendance and learning activity monitoring are essential for ensuring instructional quality and academic accountability. However, conventional attendance methods remain inefficient, error-prone, and vulnerable to manipulation, while existing Computer Vision-based solutions often require high computational resources and focus on attendance or engagement separately. This study aims to develop an integrated, lightweight Computer Vision-based system for automatic student attendance recording and real-time focus monitoring suitable for resource-limited educational environments.
Methods – This study employs a classical Computer Vision approach integrating Haar Cascade for face detection, Local Binary Patterns Histogram (LBPH) for face recognition, and rule-based eye detection for focus classification. The system automatically records attendance, tracks focus duration, and generates real-time digital reports. System performance was evaluated under controlled classroom conditions using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score.
Findings – Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system achieves high recognition reliability, with face detection and recognition accuracy reaching 100% in small-scale testing. The system operates efficiently with low latency and minimal computational requirements, while successfully monitoring multiple students simultaneously and generating structured attendance and focus duration reports in real time.
Research limitations – The evaluation was conducted on a limited number of students under controlled conditions, which may restrict generalisability. Further testing in larger, more diverse classroom settings is required to validate system robustness.
Originality – This study presents a unified and resource-efficient solution that integrates attendance validation and real-time focus monitoring within a single platform, offering practical value for schools seeking scalable and affordable learning analytics systems.