I don't know if any of you actually took time to read the article, but it doesn't say anywhere that the professors have to use it to take attendance. They said it was collected and the professors could decide to use the data - maybe some will use it for attendance, and maybe some won't. However, I think it's safe to say that having the new technology is not going to make the professors switch their idea about attendance, it just makes it more convenient for those who already take attendance.

At Georgia Tech, for some classes we had PRS systems, which were RF audience polling machines, and each student's was registered to their GT ID number. The professor then 'took attendance' by checking to see if the PRS registered with your ID number answered atleast one question. Most people found out that you could take someone else's PRS to class, and what a lot of people did - a group of friends would switch off who would bring the 5 PRS's to class. We also have RFID cards which make things much easier around campus, from getting into buildings to signing in at career fairs. And honestly, I'd rather have those for attendance classes, have them just scan my RFID ID card rather than buying a $50 answering machine - and it would be easier for people to skip class honestly - putting an extra card in your pocket is easier than answering a question on finicky hardware, or listening for someone else's name.

Summary: It's something which makes something tedious easier and quicker, RFID cards have many other helpful uses on campus, and for the paranoid types you can wear your aluminum foil hats and carry your aluminum foil wallets.