The FieldNotes beta

How to join

New to FieldNotes

1. Fill in the beta application. It takes a few minutes.
2. We read every application. If there’s a place for you, we email an invitation to the Google account you applied with. Invitations last 7 days.
3. Open the invitation, choose Activate your account and enter the access code from the email. Then sign in to FieldNotes with that Google account.
4. Open Settings and turn on Use the developer preview.

Already use FieldNotes

Open Settings and turn on Use the developer preview. A Preview badge appears next to FieldNotes in the sidebar while it’s on. If you’d like to take part in interviews, fill in the application too, so we know about your school.

Check your school’s devices

The device check tests whether a device can run FieldNotes well. Open it on the device you want to test, such as a Chromebook from a student cart. In about 20 seconds it checks the browser version, the web features FieldNotes relies on, storage, the screen, and whether FieldNotes loads quickly through your school’s network and web filter.

You see the results straight away, and nobody needs to sign in. Nothing is sent unless you choose to send us an anonymous report. Reports help us decide which devices FieldNotes 2.0 has to work on, so the oldest device your students use is the most useful one to test. What a report contains.

Run the device check

What’s in the developer preview

Not much yet. The developer preview is just starting, and it will grow as we build FieldNotes 2.0.

Available now

• The device check, to test the devices your students use.
• A Preview badge next to FieldNotes in the sidebar, so you always know the preview is on.
• Choose who will answer each form (Settings). On the new student experience, Grades K-2 turns on young-learner mode.
• Young-learner mode for Grades K-2 forms on the new student experience: big picture answers, three faces for ratings, a speaker on every question and answer, and a simple send screen. Try it at the young-learner demo. For now, only a research account can open these forms to students.

Coming next, in this order

1. Research on school hardware: interviews, usability tests and device checks. This is where beta members help most.
2. A new design system.
3. A new workspace, editor and results.
4. A new experience for respondents.

Every step is on the road to FieldNotes 2.0.

What to expect

• Preview features can change, have rough edges, or be removed.
• Your forms and responses stay in the same account, with the same privacy protections. The preview changes how FieldNotes works for you, not who can see your data.
• Turning the preview off in Settings takes you back to the standard version.
• For now, people who answer your forms see the standard version, whether or not your preview is on.
• Don’t rely on a preview-only feature for anything high-stakes, such as a graded test.

Students

Students never join the beta and never sign in. They only answer forms their teacher shares with them, just as they do today.

The device check is meant for staff to run. It asks nothing about who uses the device. Leave names and other student details out of the optional note.

The usual rules still apply. Arrange any school or parent/guardian permission your forms need, and contact us before using FieldNotes to collect personal information from children under 13. See the privacy policy and terms.

Interviews and usability tests

Some beta members are invited to a video call. In an interview, we ask how your school runs surveys, check-ins and quizzes. In a usability test, you try a task in FieldNotes, such as building a form, and talk us through it.

• It takes about 30 minutes, at a time that suits you.
• We ask before recording, and you can say no.
• You can skip a question or stop at any time.

We only invite applicants who say yes to interviews on the application form. To change your answer, email us.

Questions

Get in touch

Questions, ideas or something that didn’t work? Email legal@zadmin.dev. How we handle your information is covered in the privacy policy.