Observations are a much anticipated feature of brightwheel Premium (launched in July 2017). This feature enables educators to log student observations in accordance with a set of state standards or learning frameworks. Each time you log an Observation, you can also measure progress against specific developmental milestones.
After many interviews with brightwheel teachers, and a hefty influx of feedback, we’ve learned that tracking a child’s development is both an essential and cumbersome process. The observation tool makes documentation faster, easier, and more efficient than ever before. Logging observations streamlines reporting on state standards and learning frameworks - creating a centralized data-warehouse of a child’s development. Observation logging also makes it easier for teachers to capture & share a child’s progress with parents.
Observations can only be logged via the brightwheel app and cannot currently be added via the web.
Note: Not all state standards are currently available on the brightwheel platform, but they are coming soon! Learn more here.
Using the Observation Tool
Watch this video for a comprehensive overview on how to log an observation, select the learning standards/frameworks for your school, and how to run an observation report.
Table of Contents
- Add an Observation
- Add Observations from Lessons
- Track Progress
- Share Observations with Parents
- Edit or delete an Observation
Observations can only be added from brightwheel’s mobile app. To log an observation, follow the steps below:
Add an Observation
- Go to Learning from the home screen, tap Observation
2. Select students for which you’d like to add an observation & tap Next.
3. Select your preferred framework, click the gear icon in the upper right corner. Once you've selected the correct framework tap the back arrow in the upper left of your screen. Note: If you need to toggle between frameworks (for example, you usually use CA Learning Standards, but occasionally you need to switch to DRDP), Note that this setting change will only to the device you are using at the time.
4. Select the milestone with which you’d like to affiliate the observation. Note: you can search by keyword or filter by milestone domain & category.
5. Tap a milestone to add it to your observation, then tap Record Progress to view the activity, before saving.
6. You can also add notes and/or photos/videos to the observation if you’d.
7. Tap Log Observation to save this record.
Note: If you wish to log observations for multiple milestones all at once, simply tap the “+” next to Milestones, again.
Add Observations from Lessons
With brightwheel's Lesson Planning feature, teachers and staff can create individual lessons to organize and structure their day. You can even log Observations for Milestones addressed in a given Lesson! Here's how:
- From the Learning tab tap on the Lessons icon
- Search for the Lesson you are intending to log an observation for and tap on it
- Tap on Add Observation at the bottom of the screen
- Select the students you wish to log this observation for and tap Next
- Add any additional notes, pictures, or edit as needed; once ready tap Create
Track Progress
- Once you’ve selected the milestone (step 4 above), mark the child’s progress by tapping the “+” sign under Progress.
- Once complete, tap Record Progress
Share Observations with Parents
All Observations default to the Staff Only view when logging, but you are welcome to uncheck the Staff Only box if you’d like the observation to be visible to parents. In addition, you can approve staff only posts in bulk to share with parents, see more on this here.