Admin Tools

Walkthrough & Pulse Guide

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Admin Workspace and observation tools

The main Admin Tools page launches Walkthrough and Building Pulse separately. Each app has independent observations, settings, and teacher rosters. The first time each app opens, relevant records and settings are copied from the original combined workspace without changing that original data. The combined workspace remains available for legacy data.

Admin Tools opens Walkthrough Home or Building Pulse Home, not an observation form. The home screen identifies the current app and provides a card to open its capture form. The Home button returns to that app's home; Admin Tools returns to the admin directory. Help links keep the current app so the guide's back button returns to the correct home.

Use Settings Toolbar for the current app's roster and options, Admin Data & Review for saved records and recovery, and Share & Receive for manual transfers between devices. Site-wide API-key settings and direct AI requests have been removed; admin settings remain available within each app. Returning home or switching panels preserves drafts; save before reloading or closing. To copy only teachers between the two separate apps, export/import the teacher roster in Settings. Sharing files stay within the sending app. The legacy combined workspace is only for accessing original combined records, not the normal destination for either separate app.

Settings Toolbar: Walkthrough vs. Building Pulse Settings

Open Settings Toolbar from the admin navigation bar to configure the current app. The legacy combined workspace still offers both settings sections:

Start with a classroom visit

Select a teacher, check the observation time, choose a lesson phase, then click observed tags and add notes. Quick snippets append to your notes. Save Observation stores the visit in this browser. Copy Summary copies the current form, even before saving.

Capture a building sweep (including Classroom sweeps)

In Building Pulse Settings, use the zone buttons above the look-fors to configure each area. New look-fors belong to the selected zone. To share an existing look-for, select another zone, check Use in this zone, and click Save. Uncheck and save to remove it from that zone. Existing definitions from before zone assignments remain available in all zones until you change their assignments. Labels, input types, archive, and delete apply across all zones; saved snapshots are unchanged.

In Building Pulse, choose an Area / Zone. Only active look-fors assigned to that zone appear. Changing zones replaces checklist values after confirmation if values have been entered; notes and location stay in the draft. When Classroom is selected as the area, a Teacher selector appears so you can attribute that classroom check to a specific teacher. Record values for your custom look-fors and click Save Building Log. Editing a saved sweep loads its original snapshot, even if definitions or assignments have changed; selecting a different zone loads that zone's current checklist.

Review and share

Trend charts label every plotted observation date at a slant. Each dot summarizes that date; dates with equal averages remain separate points.

The review and Teacher Feedback pages expand to use the available screen width. Cohort, teacher coverage, and feedback visit-history tables use compact, wrapping columns on laptop screens; on smaller screens, scroll within a table to see its remaining columns.

Teacher, group/cohort, custom teacher subset, and inclusive local date filters apply together to the log list, summary cards, analytics, and CSV export within the current app. Walkthrough also offers lesson phase and recorded-tag filters; Building Pulse offers an area filter. A custom teacher subset replaces the single Teacher selection; the group filter intersects with either selection. Clear the subset or use Clear all review filters to broaden the view. CSV includes each teacher's current groups. The legacy combined workspace can show both Classroom Walkthroughs and Classroom-linked Building Pulse sweeps.

Walkthrough patterns, coverage, and coaching notes

Edit multiple roster rows, then select Save roster changes once to save all name, group, archive/restore, and deletion changes together. The button appears when changes are pending. Leaving Settings or closing/reloading the page warns about unsaved roster changes; moving within the app keeps your pending edits.

Add optional groups in the roster using Name | Grade 5, Math, or edit a teacher's groups alongside their name and save. Groups are case-insensitive for matching, limited to 20 per teacher and 60 characters per group, and describe current membership, not membership at the time of a visit. Roster exports and backups preserve groups. Roster-only imports add new teachers but keep existing teacher details; use same-app Share & Receive to review and confirm updates to existing groups.

Daily walkthrough charts show average recorded tag counts or the share of filtered visits recording a selected tag. Tables show the numerator and denominator. A recorded-tag filter limits all denominators to visits containing that tag, so its own rate will be 100%. Unselected tags mean not recorded, not absent. Brief visits, changing lesson phases, uneven teacher sampling, and changed tag definitions limit comparisons. More recorded tags is not necessarily better. Blue shading describes frequency, not effectiveness; teachers are listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Environment/Instruction averages use each visit's saved instructional classification, not today's category lists. Older records without a category snapshot use the original built-in Instruction tags. A tag recorded in different historical categories is labeled mixed. Historical phases and tags remain visible even after settings changes.

Walkthrough earlier/later differences split whole observed local dates into two chronological halves; the later half includes the extra date when the date count is odd. At least two visits are required in each half; otherwise the comparison is unavailable. The report shows the split date and sample sizes. Tag differences use percentage points and weight every visit equally, not every teacher equally. This is descriptive, not a statistical trend test, growth score, or proof of adoption.

Teacher coverage includes active teachers with no matching visits. Archived teachers appear when explicitly selected (including through a group) or when they have matching visits. Recency is calendar days from today's local date to the last matching visit, not an all-time measure or an overdue flag. Group rows follow the selected teacher scope and can overlap, so do not sum them.

Choose Visit history for a teacher to see their chronological phase/tag matrix and coaching note excerpts within the review filters. Teacher Feedback shows that teacher's full history independently of review filters; its printed report includes the matrix and excerpts, and its copied report includes chronological visit history and excerpts. Digests quote the five most recent matches per category from glow/grow markers and action phrases such as "Next step:", "Try", and "Consider". They are deterministic text matches, not AI advice, a complete summary, or an action-completion tracker. Open each source note for context. Copy visit summary copies the saved visit, not an unsaved form.

Review times and filters use your device's current local time zone. CSV Date (ISO) values use UTC (ending in Z). Changing time zones can change the local date on which a historical observation appears.

Teacher Feedback is a preview, not an authenticated or access-controlled portal. Anyone using this browser profile can view all records. Avoid student-identifying information and sensitive personnel notes. Protect CSV, JSON, copied, and printed records as additional copies of sensitive information.

Understand recorded observation rates

Yes rates count Yes responses divided by recorded Yes plus No responses. Not observed is excluded, not counted as No. Check response counts and sweep counts before interpreting a rate. These brief observations are not a representative building-wide evaluation.

Daily tally totals sum the selected tally from sweeps containing it on each local date. Zero is recorded data; an absent item or date is missing data, not zero. Chart positions reflect elapsed calendar days and lines connect consecutive observed days only. Open the chart data table for exact values and sample sizes.

The earlier/later comparison splits chronologically ordered sweeps with observed Yes/No responses into two halves (the later half includes the extra sweep when the count is odd). It compares the average sweep rates in percentage points, with equal weight for each sweep. It is not a statistical trend test.

Edit and customize safely

Switching panels keeps observation drafts. Saving applies edits; Cancel editing discards edits and returns to the saved log list without changing the record. Reloading or closing the page may prompt about unsaved form changes; browser prompts are best-effort, not draft recovery. Save before leaving.

Archiving a teacher preserves their identity and history and can be reversed. Teachers with saved records cannot be deleted. Archiving or deleting a look-for definition removes it from future sweeps; saved snapshots keep their original labels, input types, and values. Phase and tag changes also preserve historical records.

Older Classroom sweeps may have been saved without a teacher. These records load as Teacher not assigned rather than blocking access to your data. They remain in building analytics, backups, and sharing files, but are not attributed to any teacher's feedback. In Building Pulse, open Admin Data & Review, edit the sweep, and select the correct teacher before saving changes. New Classroom sweeps also require a teacher. An explicitly stored teacher ID that does not exist in the roster is still treated as invalid data; no teacher identity is guessed.

Protect and recover local records

No observations are sent to a backend or AI service. On this site's origin, Walkthrough uses the localStorage key toolifyTeaching.adminWalkthrough.v1.walkthrough, Building Pulse uses toolifyTeaching.adminWalkthrough.v1.pulse, and the legacy combined workspace uses toolifyTeaching.adminWalkthrough.v1. Download full JSON backups regularly from Admin Data & Review > Backup & Restore (recovery only). Sharing does not require making or restoring a backup.

  1. Choose Download full JSON backup, verify that the file was saved, and keep it in an approved secure location. CSV is a filtered export, not a restorable full backup. Unsaved drafts are not exported.
  2. If browser data is invalid, first choose Download stored data for recovery. Preserve this raw file before replacing anything; it may need repair and is not necessarily a valid backup.
  3. Use Restore JSON backup with a known-good Walkthrough & Pulse version-1 backup (up to 10 MB). Review current and incoming record counts before confirming replacement. Legacy version-1 backups without custom settings are supported. Unsupported versions must be opened with a compatible app; keep the file rather than clearing it.
  4. If saving fails because storage is denied or full, keep the page open and preserve the draft separately. Existing saved records are not replaced by a failed write. Download a backup of saved records before changing browser storage settings.

The save and backup-request timestamps cover this page session only. A successful local save is not a backup. A download request does not prove that a file exists or was retained. The app cannot search your downloads or recover records after browser storage has been deleted without a separately saved JSON backup.

Transfer observations from phone to laptop

  1. Save the observations on your phone and open Share & Receive, available even from an observation form. Under Send data, choose all saved observations or choose a teacher and inclusive local date range. All of this app's saved settings, look-for definitions, and full roster (including archived teachers and teachers with no observations) are always included. Filters affect observations only. Unsaved changes are not included.
  2. Tap Send data to use your device's file-sharing sheet where supported. If native sharing is unavailable or fails (including Permission denied), the app requests a sharing-file download instead and explains that nothing has been sent. Check Downloads and send the JSON file using a district-approved method, such as a school-managed drive. If no file appears, choose Download sharing file directly. If district policy blocks both sharing and downloads, contact district IT; the app cannot override those restrictions. Cancelling the sharing sheet does not download a file or change records.
  3. On the laptop, open the same app, choose Share & Receive, then Choose received sharing file. Stable teacher IDs are matched automatically, even after a rename; unrecognized teachers with no matching ID or name are proposed as new. Same-name teachers with different IDs require you to choose a local match or add a separate teacher. Review matches for every teacher in the full roster, not just teachers in observations. Two incoming teachers cannot be matched to one local identity.
  4. The preview shows new observations, records already present, and edited records. If teacher matches need attention, choose Review incoming data after matching them. Identical records are skipped. Edited records default to keeping this device's version; compare versions before choosing an incoming edit.
  5. If settings, look-for, or roster differences are found, review their current and incoming values. Explicitly choose Yes, apply the listed changes or No, keep existing settings, look-fors, and roster details. Applying replaces the listed option lists, updates names, groups, and archive/restore status of matched teachers, and updates definitions with matching IDs (labels, types, archived status, and zone assignments). New teachers are added according to the reviewed matches regardless of whether you accept updates to existing details. New definitions are added when changes are accepted. Local-only teachers and definitions are kept; missing entries never imply deletion. Historical observation snapshots never change.
  6. Choose Add received data to save the reviewed choices together. No changes are saved before this step. Save or copy unsaved drafts first; adding refreshes the forms. Keep the original device's records until you verify the received data. Backup & Restore is separate and is not needed for sharing.

New version-4 sharing files contain selected saved observations, the full teacher roster including groups, and the sending app's settings and look-for definitions. Both devices need this app version to read version-4 files. Existing roster details change only after confirmation, including clearing groups. Older version-3 files still update names and archive status but preserve existing groups because those files do not carry group-update intent. Version-1 files remain supported without configuration changes; version-2 files can update settings and definitions but do not update existing roster details or promise a full roster. Unrelated observations are never removed.

This is a manual append/update, not synchronization: observation and definition deletions are not transferred, and importing an old file can re-add a deleted record. Re-importing unchanged records with the same teacher matches skips duplicates. Definitions are matched by stable ID, not label: independently created definitions remain separate even if their labels match. Files are limited to 10 MB; use smaller filtered transfers if needed. Sharing files are not full backups and cannot be used with Restore JSON backup. There are no QR codes or sharing links.

The app does not upload records to a transfer service. Your chosen sharing app or drive may store another copy. Transfer files are not encrypted by this tool; use school-approved channels, verify the recipient, protect the file, and remove temporary copies according to school policy. Browser/device support for file sharing varies; download remains available.