Before You Start an Observation

A little setup before the lesson makes the whole observation go smoothly. When you choose New Observation, you'll fill in a few details. Just above Start Observation, Elevate offers a quick audio check that you can run or skip.

Session details

• Teacher — choose from your roster, or add a new teacher on the spot. See Managing your teacher roster.
• Subject — pick from the list (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, Physical Education, World Languages, Computer Science, Special Education) or choose Other to enter your own.
• Grade level — the choices come from your school's configured grades. If no grades are configured, all grades from Kindergarten through Grade 12 are shown.
• Language — English or Spanish. This tells Elevate which language to transcribe.

If your district requires teacher consent for transcription, a yellow box may appear after you choose the teacher. The audio check stays hidden until that box is checked. See Teacher consent for transcription.

[SCREENSHOT: New Observation form]

Pre-observation notes

The form includes an optional pre-observation notes box. It's a good place to capture any context from a pre-observation meeting, a specific focus area for that teacher, or something you've been working on together — anything you'd like to keep in mind while you observe. It's entirely optional, but a note here helps ground the observation in what matters most for this teacher.

The audio check

Just above Start Observation, Elevate offers a 10-second audio check that you can run or skip. If you run it, speak normally. The check passes when Elevate successfully transcribes your speech — that's the main thing it confirms. It also listens to your microphone level and warns you if it sounds too quiet or too loud.

If it passes, you're ready. If not, you'll get a specific tip — for example, to speak more clearly, reduce background noise, or move closer to the microphone.

Requirement: Your browser needs permission to use the microphone. If you're prompted, choose Allow. For device tips, see Audio and microphone issues.

When everything looks good, start the observation. Next: Transcribing an observation, or Teacher consent for transcription if transcription is off for this teacher.