Hashtags and Quick Phrases

Hashtags and quick phrases are two distinct systems for speeding up observation recording. They serve different purposes: hashtags mark discrete events across any recording method, while quick phrases autocomplete recurring phrases as you type in recording text fields.

Hashtags

A hashtag is a timestamped event marker you can insert during any recording session. Hashtags are countable and analyzable — you can see how many times #transition-wait occurred across all sessions for a student, and hashtag occurrences appear in your results and write-ups alongside behavior data.

When to use hashtags

Hashtags are useful for marking:

• Environmental events — #bell-rings, #visitor-enters, #fire-drill
• Behavioral prompts — #teacher-prompt, #peer-initiation, #redirect
• Transitions and logistics — #transition, #recess-return, #lunch-end
• Notable contexts — #substitute-teacher, #modified-task, #med-change

Unlike behavior scores (which are tied to a defined behavior in your setup), hashtags can be inserted at any moment without pre-configuration. You can use a hashtag in one session and never use it again, or you can build a library of frequently-used tags.

Recording a hashtag

Press H (or use the hashtag button on the recording screen) to open the hashtag picker. Tap or type a hashtag from your library:

• Predefined tags — sight·line includes built-in categories like “Transitions,” “Prompts,” and “Environment”
• Custom tags — any hashtag you’ve created or used before is available from your history

Once selected, the hashtag is stamped to the current elapsed time in the session. You can insert multiple hashtags at the same timestamp or use them throughout the session.

Example hashtag workflow

Recording a frequency session:

1. Student arrives, press H and select #arrival
2. Teacher starts group instruction, press H and select #instruction-starts
3. Student calls out (behavior #1), press 1
4. At 5:00, behavior rate accelerates and you want to mark it, press H and select #rate-increase
5. Teacher redirects, press H and select #redirect

All these events are timestamped and appear in your results, so you can see which hashtags preceded or followed the calls-out behavior.

Managing your hashtag library

From the Library screen, tap Hashtags. You can:

• View all hashtags organized by category (Transitions, Prompts, Environment, etc.)
• Hide or show categories — toggle categories on/off to reduce clutter during recording
• Create custom hashtags — add your own labels (e.g., #morning-routine, #parent-visit)
• Delete custom hashtags — remove tags you no longer use

Hidden hashtags don’t appear during recording, but they’re not deleted; you can re-enable them anytime.

Hashtags in results and write-ups

When you view session results, hashtags appear in:

• Session timeline — a visual timeline showing when each hashtag occurred relative to behavior scores
• Event summary — total count of each hashtag
• Write-up evidence rail — hashtag events available as citable items

You can cite a hashtag in a write-up (e.g., “Two instances of off-task behavior occurred immediately after the transition-warning hashtag”) to document the relationship between context and behavior.

Hashtag queries

If you record the same hashtag across multiple sessions (e.g., #transition in five different observations), you can run a query on the Comparison screen to see how often that event occurred, average behavior rate around that event, and cross-session patterns.

Quick Phrases

A quick phrase is a saved full-text phrase that autocompletes as you type during recording. As you enter text in any recording note field, sight·line shows a greyed-out ghost suffix that completes the phrase. Press Tab to accept the completion and keep typing, or just keep typing to ignore it.

Quick phrases work in any recording method with a text entry field: during Narrative recording, and in observation notes during Duration, Frequency, Timed Interval, and ABC recording. They are text shortcuts embedded in your entry — not event markers — so they don’t get timestamped as separate data and don’t appear in analysis or results.

When to use quick phrases

Quick phrases are useful for recording when you find yourself typing the same full descriptions repeatedly:

• Common behavioral descriptions — “Peer interaction”, “Task refusal”, “Followed directions”
• Teacher actions and responses — “Behavior-specific praise”, “Verbal redirect”, “Correction given”
• Situational context — “Whole group instruction”, “Transition”, “Independent work time”
• Standard observations — “Student requested help”, “Correct response”, “Verbal prompt”

The default library ships with six categories of phrases (Teacher Actions, Prompts, Opportunities & Responses, Student Behavior, Context, and Supports) covering common observation terms. Use these as starting points, or create custom phrases for language specific to your workflows.

Using a quick phrase while recording

When typing in a text entry field during any recording method:

1. Start typing the beginning of a phrase (at least 2 characters)
2. The phrase must start at a word boundary (after whitespace, punctuation, or the beginning of the entry) — mid-word typing won’t trigger
3. If a phrase matches, a grey ghost suffix appears inline, showing the rest of the phrase
4. Press Tab to accept the completion — the full phrase appears and your cursor moves to the end
5. Press Space, or just keep typing other characters to ignore the ghost suffix and keep typing

Because matching is scoped to word boundaries, you can naturally chain multiple phrases in a single entry. For example, type "Verbal redirect provided. Student responded with and if “Correct response” is a phrase, you’ll see the ghost suffix and can Tab to accept it, then continue typing.

The ghost text only appears when your cursor is at the end of the input and the hashtag picker is not open.

Managing your quick phrase library

From the Library screen, tap Quick Phrases. You can:

• View all phrases — organized by category (Teacher Actions, Prompts, Opportunities & Responses, Student Behavior, Context, Supports)
• Create a new phrase — enter the full text you want to save (no codes needed)
• Delete a phrase — remove phrases you no longer use
• Reorder phrases — use the up/down arrows to move a phrase within its category

Store the full phrase text as you’d most commonly type it or want it to appear. For example, if you often note “Whole group instruction,” save that exact phrase and you’ll see the ghost suffix once you type wh or Wh.

Student-specific quick phrases

You can create quick phrases that apply only to a specific student. From the Library screen, tap Quick Phrases. Student-specific phrases appear at the top of your phrase list with a divider separating them from your global phrases.

When recording for a specific student, both student-specific and global phrases are available for autocomplete. If you’ve created a custom phrase for that student with the same text as a global phrase, the student version is used (deduplicating the suggestion list).

Best practices

1. Pick phrases you actually retype — only save phrases you find yourself typing multiple times across different entries and sessions.
2. Favor distinctive starting letters — if the first 2–3 characters of your phrase are distinctive (e.g., “Behavior-specific praise” starts with Be), the ghost suffix will appear faster as you type.
3. Keep phrases concise — shorter phrases mean faster acceptance and less text to verify after Tab.
4. Review your library periodically — delete phrases you no longer use to keep the list focused and easy to browse.

Hashtags vs. Quick Phrases: Key Differences

Feature	Hashtag	Quick Phrase
Purpose	Timestamped event marker	Inline autocomplete for recurring phrases
When recorded	During any method	Any recording method with a text entry field
Timestamped?	Yes	No (embedded in entry text)
Appears in results?	Yes, as event summary	No, only in narrative text
Countable across sessions?	Yes	No
Cited in write-ups?	Yes	No
Requires pre-setup?	Can use on-the-fly	Can use on-the-fly

Library settings

Both hashtags and quick phrases are managed from the Library screen (bottom navigation). Settings:

• Show/hide categories (hashtags only) — toggle visibility during recording
• Create custom items — add tags or phrases not in the default set
• Delete custom items — remove items you no longer use
• Student-specific library — view and manage items for a specific student

Library items are shared across all students unless you explicitly save a student-specific version.