Observations in Playground Web makes it easy to create visually stunning observations to track and report on the achievement of learning outcomes and share this learning journey with parents!
To access observations, head to Playground Web and click on 'Observations' in the left-hand menu.
Create a Document:
- Click 'New'
- You can choose to create a new blank observation or duplicate a previously existing Observation and make changes from there.
- Start observing!
Want to make the most out of your Observations? Check out our guide below for tips and tricks to make your documentation as meaningful and engaging as possible!
You can edit, duplicate, archive or delete an Observation created by any Educator by clicking the three dots on the right-hand side and selecting the action you wish to take.
Add images to your observation by clicking the blue tile under "Media". This will allow you to select images from your desktop to add into your observation. The current capacity for photos is 16 per observation and they will appear in the same order as they load.
You can now tag children in Documents in three ways:
Individually
To tag a singular child, head to your Observation and use the left hand side menu to find 'Children'. Use the search bar or scroll to find the child then click and drag their name into the document.
In Bulk
To tag children in bulk, head to your observation and use the left hand side menu to find 'Children'. Under Shortcuts, click and drag the icon which reads "Tag All Children" with a purple + button. This will tag all the children active at the centre. You can further filter this list by selecting a room, allowing you to bulk tag by room. This feature is especially helpful when completing group documentation!
In Attendance
To tag children in bulk based on their daily attendance, head to your observation and use the left hand side menu to find 'Children'. Under Shortcuts, click and drag the icon which reads "Tag Booked Children" with a blue + button. This will tag all the children with an active booking for that day at the centre. You can further filter this list by selecting a room, allowing you to bulk tag by room bookings. This feature is especially helpful when group documentation for date specific learning experiences!
If you need to remove a tag, you can press the 'X' button located near the child's name under the 'Children' menu or within the 'Children Tagged' section at the bottom of the observation. To remove a Bulk Tag, under Shortcuts click and drag the icon which reads "Untag All Children" with a red x button.
In Observations, child accounts which have opted out for photos at the enrolment stage or have had changes made in Office, are easy to locate. This accounts will have a "No Photos" label which appears in red when selecting from the Children list.
If you have chosen to tag a child which has a "No Photos" condition on their profile and chose to publish, before you publish you will see a remind pop up to confirm this is the case.
If this has occured as an error, you can untag the child or you can press continue to publish to parents.
Observations allows you to tag feelings which may be relevant to the observation you are creating. To tag a feeling, head to the Feelings tab of the left hand menu and click to select those which apply. These will then appear under the "Observed Feelings" section.
Observations lets you tag the Learning Outcomes you currently have switched on for your centre. This means you can tag the learning outcomes being worked towards or achieved during the experiences observed and documented and then report on this using functions such as Learning Analysis.
Educators have the ability to recommend expert content to parents when creating observations. Educators can select a piece of content from the library or use the “Recommended” tab to attach content that is automatically filtered based on the learning outcome they have tagged on the observation.
Once the educator has attached media to the observation, it will appear on the observation for parents and in the “Recommended” section of the Learning Tab in the Home App.
Reflections are educator only comments which can captured in the relevant Observation. These comments are not shared with parents and are only available to users with access to Playground Web. Each comment will be time and date stamped and display which educator made the change. Comments can also be replied to directly to better track conversations.
This feature can be used to track internal discussions surrounding child development, family situations, performance reviews; or other comments and concerns which may be need to be documented in a private and confidential space.
To add a Reflection, use the left hand side to find the Reflections Tab. Press the blue + button to add a new reflection. After you've typed your message, hit send. To reply to a Reflection and add a thread, click the reflections and use the box to type in your reply and hit send.
Reflections cannot be seen by/shared with parents.
Click the blue button labelled 'Publish to Parents' located in the top right hand corner, which allows you to save any changes made to the document you are editing whilst also sharing it to the families of the children tagged.
In order to publish an Observation, you will need to make sure at least one child has been tagged. Unlike other forms of documentation on Playground Web, this is a mandatory field for Observations.