Walkthrough
(Sometimes spelled Walk-Through) There are many different names for this process, classroom walkthroughs and classroom observations are the two most popular titles in North America, and learning walks in Britain. Classroom walkthroughs are a form of instructional leadership, and an integral tool for the professional development of educators. Typically they require a school leader such as a Principal, Vice Principal or Administrator to visit classrooms in order to view instructional practices and how the school is running. These observations are then followed by a meeting with the observer and the teacher of an observed classroom for professional feedback.
Performing a Walkthrough with eWalk on the Web
Setting Up the Walkthrough
In the main menu of eWalk, select Manage and then Views.
Under Category on the left hand side of the page, select Walk-Throughs and a window will appear on the right.
In the toolbar of this new window, click on New.
This will open another new window with a list of options for the walkthrough. First, click on the template that will be used in the walkthrough (this will have been an eWalk Template that was previously created).
Select the employee being observed under Subject and finally, name this walkthrough. Click Create to finalize the creation of the walkthrough.
Performing the Walkthrough
The first thing to do is to select the grade and subject as it relates to the teacher being observed. Adjust the start time if incorrect, and begin the walkthrough.
Answer the questions posed in the walkthrough template. When the walkthrough is complete, scroll back to the top and select the Now button next to End Time to properly add the time the walkthrough was finished.
Click Save & Done at the top of the page to finalize the completion of the walkthrough.
Performing a Walkthrough with the eWalk App
To perform a walkthrough with eWalk, an eWalk Template must first be created.
The eWalk 2.0 App for the iOS mobile operating system provides the easiest and most practical source to input data from an observation. Users can input all of the data on their computer, but that just isn't as practical for the purpose of this software.
With an iOS device, users can start the App and log into their MxWeb account using your login information (more information on this is covered on the eWalk App page. Users can then load the template they've created to the App by selecting it from the list of available templates.
Figure 1: The main menu of the eWalk 2.0 App
Step by Step Process
Click ‘New Walkthrough’
Scroll down the list that appears, and select a custom-made Template that has been created by the user. Everything is in alphabetical order, and depending on whether or not filters have been used, in sections corresponding to the focus of the walkthrough (i.e. No-subjects walkthrough, teacher walkthroughs etc.)
If it is an employee specific observation, then select the employee that is to be focused on.
Finally, users can choose their institution
The order the elements are displayed on the walkthrough template is in the same order that the user will have put them in with the editor. If they are not in the right place, then users can simply return to the editor on their personal computer and make the necessary adjustments.
Figure 2: An example of a walkthrough questionnaire on the eWalk 2.0 App
Inputting data is easy here, just perform your observation and fill out each of the questions posed. If a note pad has been enabled for some of the elements, then users can feel free to make notes for further analysis.
When users are finished with their observation, and all of the questions posed have been answered or marked as ‘Not observed’, the next step is to click on the left pointing arrow at the top of the screen.
All of the results from the walkthrough will have been automatically saved to the App. Users can now return to the main menu of the App and click on the ‘Manage’ icon to view all of the recent walkthroughs. Even walkthroughs that were incomplete will be visible in this list.
Viewing Walkthrough Reports
To view the results of a completed walkthrough, the user must return to the main menu of the eWalk app and select Reports. This will open a window, Figure 3 displays a representation of what users will see upon entering the reports section. In this section, the user can select the type of report they would like to view from the list.
Figure 3: The Reports menu on the eWalk 2.0 App
After the type of report the user would like to view has been selected, the following step will have the user select the walkthrough they would like to see this particular report for. After selecting the correct walkthrough from the correct school, users simply have to select Submit in order to view the entire report. Figure 4 displays the graphical representations the user will see in their report.
Figure 4: A graphical display of the results from a completed walkthrough on the eWalk 2.0 App