Quick Add Record an Observation

Record an observation using Quick Add

Summary: Quick Add is the fastest way to record an observation about a child, or a general note for the whole class, in the moment. It lives at the top of every page. Click Quick Add, choose the Record Observation tab, set visibility, optionally add a photo, choose the date, and select the child or children, including all children for a class-wide update. Type your note, then click Save. The entry appears on the Activities page. When you include several children, each child gets their own separate copy of the note, which you can later edit one child at a time.

Who can do this

Any teacher can record an observation for the children in their classroom. No special role is required.

Step-by-step

1. Open Quick Add. Click the Quick Add button at the top of the screen, then select the Record Observation tab.
2. Set the visibility. Choose whether to share the entry with parents or keep it as a private note. Sharing makes it eligible for the child's activity report. See "Understanding visibility" below.
3. Add a photo (optional). You can attach a photo to the observation. This is optional and can be skipped.
4. Choose the date. Select the date for the observation.
5. Select the child or children. Choose a single child, several children, or select all children for a general classroom update.
6. Type the note. Enter the observation or update you want to record.
7. Save. Scroll down and click Save. The entry appears on the Activities page.

Understanding visibility

The visibility setting controls whether the observation can be shared with parents. It is worth being precise about what that means.

• Shared with parents means the entry is eligible to appear on the child's activity report, when the scheduled activity report runs (your school sets the time), if your school uses the activity report feature. It does not push the entry out to parents in real time. Nothing is sent the moment you save.
• Private means the observation is kept as a private note and will never be shared with parents.

How an observation for multiple children is stored

When you record one observation for several children, or for all children at once, each child included gets their own separate copy of the note. It starts out as the same note for everyone, but the copies are independent.

That means you can later edit just one child's version and update only that child's note, without changing what the others say. So a general classroom update is quick to record for everyone, and still flexible enough to tailor for an individual child afterward.

A few things worth knowing

• Selecting all children is the quickest way to post a single class-wide update, such as a weekly classroom note.
• Because each child gets a separate copy of a shared observation, editing one child's note never affects the others.
• Everything you record is editable. If you make a mistake, find the entry on the Activities page and edit or delete it.

Related articles

• Record a lesson using Quick Add
• Record a tracker using Quick Add
• Editing or deleting an entry from the activities feed
• Activity reports: how and when entries reach parents

Watch the video

Here is a short video covering this topic for additional reference.