What is a class set?

You as the teacher purchase a bunch of Captur paddles, enough to distribute one to each student in your largest class. At the beginning of each class, you distribute the Captur paddles. At the end of the class, you collect the Captur paddles from your students, and then you bring them to your next class.

A teacher complained to me the other day that some of his students weren't handing their Captur paddles back in at the end of class, so he was faced with a diminishing supply. "What should I do?", he asked. Practically speaking, there are steps you can take to avoid this situation.

One paddle, one student

One solution is very straightforward. Here's what you do:

1. Purchase (or create) enough paddles for your largest class.
2. With a permanent marker, write a number on each paddle. So, if your largest class has 40 students, you'll take one paddle, and write a "1" on it. The next one, you'll write a "2" on it, and so on. Make sure that each paddle has a unique number.
3. Assign a number to each student. Write a number next to each student's name on your attendance sheet. Start at the top and write a "1". The next student is "2". Et cetera. When you're ready to use the Captur paddles, tell the students that you're going to be giving each one a number, and that they should remember this number. Tell each student the number you have written next to their name on the attendance sheet.
4. Distribute the paddles to the students. When you want to use Captur in your classes, you have two choices: 
   1. Spread out your Captur paddles on a desk or table top, with the side that you wrote the number on face-up. Students can come forward to collect their paddles.
      - or -
   2. Hand out the paddles as you take attendance.
5. The numbers on the leftover paddles should match the students who are absent on your attendance list