Working with Observables

1. Creating and Editing Observables
2. Copying and Pasting Observables
3. Permission Icons and Editing Observables
4. Deleting Observables
5. Creating and Editing Observables Sets
6. Copying and Pasting Observable Sets
7. Deleting Observable Sets
8. Renaming Observable Sets
9. Printing Observable Sets

1. Creating and Editing Observables
To create an observable, follow these steps:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab, then click the Set Up Observables radio button.
2. Choose where you would like your observable to be saved. In the left-hand column labeled "Observable Sets" you should see a folder named "Public Observable Sets" and another folder containing your user name. Unless you have administrative permissions, you won't be able to add observables to the Public Observable Sets folder; if you do have administrative permissions, you will be able to see the folders of all users. Click on the folder where you wish to create the observable set.
3. If you are going to be setting up a new observable set, now is the time to create it (if you're adding observables to an existing set, select that set and skip to step 4). Click "New Set." On the right side of the screen, you'll see a field labeled "Observable Set" with the word "Untitled" highlighted. Enter a more descriptive name for your observable set, and, if you wish, enter the objective of this set.
4. Now click on the "New Observable" button. A pop-up box will prompt you to enter the text of the observable and to select the qualifier set you want to use with this observable. The qualifier set should be able to appropriately describe the learning outcome of this observable.
5. You can create additional observables by clicking the "Add More..." button. Click "Done" when you are finished.
6. You should see the observables you created listed in the "Observables" box. Next to your observables, you should see an icon that looks like an open combination lock. This icon indicates that you created the observable, and that you have permission to edit or delete it (for more on this topic, click here). The qualifier set you associated with each observable should appear in the "Qualifier Set" box below the selected observable.

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2. Copying and Pasting Observables
Observables may be copied from one observable set and pasted into another. This can save you time, and keep you better organized. There are some important things to know about copying and pasting observables.

Once you copy an observable, there are two ways to put it in another observable set:

• Paste (Duplicate) - This command places a duplicate of the observable into the selected observable set. This duplicated observable becomes its own entity: it can be modified without affecting the original observable, and for the purposes of reporting, observations made using it will not be associated with the original.
• Paste (Link to Original) - This command places a link--similar to a shortcut or alias--from the original observable into the selected observable set. This enables you to collect and track data about the same observable in multiple observable sets.

Let's look at an example:

There is an observable set pertaining to physical education standards which resides in the Public Observable Sets folder. One of the observables reads: "Demonstrates an awareness of safety in relation to others."

A chemistry teacher might see this observable and wish to incorporate it into her set of observables related to lab safety. To do this, she would:

1. Select the observable and then choose COPY from the Edit menu.
2. Select her "Lab Safety" observable set.
3. Choose Paste (Duplicate) from the Edit menu
4. An observable named "Copy of Demonstrates an awareness of safety in relation to others" appears in the observable set. The teacher can freely modify this observable, changing its text, or even its qualifier set.

On the other hand, a physical education teacher might see this same observable and wish to use it in an observable set he is creating for a unit on tennis. Because the meaning of the observable remains in the same context as the original, the P.E. teacher may want to use the Paste (Link to Original) command. This way, a report generated on the Physical Education Standards observable set would draw from observations made wherever links to its observable are found. Here's how the P.E. teacher might use the Paste (Link to Original) command:

1. Select the observable and then choose COPY from the Edit menu.
2. Select the "Tennis" observable set.
3. Choose Paste (Link to Original) from the Edit menu.
4. The observable "Demonstrates an awareness of safety in relation to others" appears in the observable set. Editing the observable here will edit the original, and vice versa.

You may notice that you are not always able to paste an observable into an observable set. Please read Permission Icons and Observables to learn more.

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3. Permission Icons and Editing Observables
To edit an observable, follow these steps:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab. Be sure that the SET UP OBSERVABLES radio button is selected.
2. Select the observable set which contains the observable you wish to edit.
3. Select the observable from the Observables box on the right side of the screen.
4. Click the EDIT OBSERVABLE button in the lower right corner of screen. You will see the observable in an editable text field.
5. You may change the text of the observable or the qualifier set you associate with it. Click OK when you have finished making your edits.

You may not have permission to modify every observable you can view. The icon next to the observable represents what you can and cannot do with that observable.

Icon	What It Is	Example
	Unlocked personal observable You can modify or delete this observable	An observable which you created in your personal observable set folder will have this icon. An observable in any user's personal folder,as seen by a user with administrative permissions
	Locked personal observable You do not have permission to modify or delete this observable. You will see this icon if the observable is linked to an observable which originated in another user's personal folder. You cannot modify it because your changes would effect the original observable.	An observable which has been linked from a personal observable set folder into the Public Observable Sets folder An observable which the administrator linked from another user's observable set folder into your observable set folder
	Locked public observable You do not have permission to modify this observable.	An observable created in the Public Observable Sets folder,as seen by a user without permission to modify public observables. By default, only the administrator has this permission.
	Unlocked public observable You can modify this observable.	An observable created in the Public Observable Sets folder, as seen by a user with permission to modify public observables. By default, only the administrator has this permission.

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4. Deleting Observables
To delete an observable, follow these steps:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab. Be sure that the SET UP OBSERVABLES radio button is selected.
2. Select the observable set which contains the observable you wish to delete.
3. Select the Observable from the Observables box on the right side of the screen.
4. Click the DELETE OBSERVABLE button in the lower right corner of screen. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the selected observable.
   

NOTE: You may not have permission to delete every observable you can view (consult the observable icons table for more information regarding permissions).
Also note that you can delete only those observables that do not have recorded observable data associated with them. To delete an observable that has recorded observable data associated with it, you will need to delete either the recorded observations (see "Observation Maintenance") or you will need to delete the Students who have been assessed with this observable. Once the observable data has been removed, you can delete the observable.

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5. Creating and Editing Observable Sets
To create an observable follow these steps:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab. Be sure that the SET UP OBSERVABLES radio button is selected.
2. To the left of the screen there is a column called "Observable Sets." As the administrator, you will see that each Learner Profile user has an Observable Set folder, and that there is another folder called Public Observable Sets. You can create an observable set in ANY of these folders. If you are not the administrator, you will see two observable set folders: labeled with your user name, and the other labeled Public Observable Sets. You will only be able to create observable sets in the folder containing your user name. Let's create an observable set in the folder containing your user name (for administrators, this is the admin observable sets folder). To do this, select the folder containing your user name by clicking on it, then click the NEW SET button at the bottom of the Observable Sets column.
3. In the left column, you will see that the Username Observables Sets folder is now "expanded" (the arrow next to it is down-turned), and this folder contains an item labeled Untitled. In the column to the right (Modify/View Observable Set Details) you will see "Untitled" in the Observable Set field. Click in this field to change the name of the observable set.
4. Once you have changed the name of the Observable Set, press the TAB key to move to the Objective field. Here you can enter the objective or topic of the observable set you are creating.
5. Now you are ready to add observables to your observable set. There are two ways to do this: you can create new observables, or you can copy observables from another observable set into this set. See the section Creating Observables for more information.

NOTE: You can "nest" observable sets within observable sets by selecting the observable set you wish to contain the new observable set. When you click NEW SET, the Observable Set will be placed in the selected set. Using this method, it's possible to create observable sets that contain other observable sets and/or observables.

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6. Copying and Pasting Observable Sets
Just as you can copy individual observables, you can copy entire observable sets. Here's how:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab. Be sure that the SET UP OBSERVABLES radio button is selected.
2. Select the observable set you wish to copy, then choose COPY from the Edit menu.
3. Select the observable set folder that you want to contain the copied observable set.
4. Choose PASTE (DUPLICATE) from the Edit menu.
5. A copy of the observable set will appear nested in the selected observable set folder.

NOTE: When copying observable sets, you cannot PASTE (LINK TO ORIGINAL). To paste in this way, you will need to copy and paste the observables individually.

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7. Deleting Observable Sets
You can delete an entire observable set and all of the observables it contains by following these steps:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab. Be sure that the SET UP OBSERVABLES radio button is selected.
2. Select the observable set which contains the observable you wish to delete.
3. Click on the DELETE SET button below the Observable Sets column. You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the selected observable set and all of the observables it contains.

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8. Renaming Observable Sets
You can rename any observable set that you have permission to edit:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab. Be sure that the SET UP OBSERVABLES radio button is selected.
2. Select the observable set you wish to rename.
3. In the Modify/View Observable Set Details column to the right, you will see the name of the observable set in the field labeled "Observable Set:"
4. Click in this field and type in the new name.
5. Click over to the Observable Set column. You will see that the observable set has been renamed.

NOTE: If you do not have permission to rename the observable set, the name of the observable set will appear gray in the Modify/View Observable Set Details column.

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9. Printing Observable Sets
If you'd like to print out the observables in an observable set, select the observable set you want to print, then choose PRINT from the File menu. Your print out will contain the name of the observable set, the observables in that set, and the qualifier set associated with each observable. If the selected observable set contains other observable sets, then those observable sets will also be printed, each on its own page.

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