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Track student arrival with iOS automation, Google Sheets & email alerts

Workflow preview

Track student arrival with iOS automation, Google Sheets & email alerts preview
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Important notice

This workflow is provided as-is. Please review and test before using in production.

Overview

This workflow automates real-time student tracking using iOS Shortcuts and geolocation data, notifying both teachers and parents based on geofenced logic.

🎯 What This Workflow Does

  • Receives student location updates via webhook (iOS Shortcuts)
  • Detects if the student has arrived at school
  • Logs arrival data to Google Sheets
  • Sends email alerts to teacher and/or parent based on location

🔄 Workflow Steps

Step Description
Location Update Webhook Triggered via iOS Shortcut when student location updates
Process Location Data Extracts coordinates and metadata
Student Arrived? Checks if student entered school zone
Log School Arrival Adds arrival data to Google Sheet
At School? Double-checks geofence condition before notifying
Notify Teacher Sends email if student is confirmed at school
Notify Parent Sends email to parent (can vary based on geofence logic)
Success Response Returns a 200 response to the triggering device

🧠 How the Logic Works

  1. The student’s phone runs a shortcut when near school.
  2. Sends coordinates to webhook.
  3. Workflow compares coordinates with predefined geofence (e.g., radius around school).
  4. If inside school zone:
    • Log arrival
    • Notify teacher and/or parent
  5. Else:
    • Optionally notify parent only

📱 iOS Shortcut Sample (Trigger Setup)

  • Automation Trigger: Arrive at Location (e.g., School)
  • Action: Run Shortcut → Make Web Request (POST)

POST URL:

https://your-n8n-instance.com/webhook/location-update

Body Example:

{
  "student_id": "STU042",
  "student_name": "Anaya Joshi",
  "lat": 19.0760,
  "lng": 72.8777,
  "timestamp": "2025-08-06T08:05:00"
}

📊 Google Sheets Logging

Student ID Name Date Time Status
STU042 Anaya Joshi 2025-08-06 08:05 Arrived

⚙️ Setup Requirements

  • n8n Instance with webhook support
  • Google Sheet with appropriate columns
  • iOS Shortcut setup on student device
  • Teacher and Parent Email Addresses configured in workflow