Leave a Review Tadpoles Parent
Unable to Message Teachers
There is no feature to message teachers which is pretty crucial. Our previous center used Seesaw which was much better. Teachers could send us questions throughout the day (for example, questions about drainage after our son got ear tubes placed, helped alleviate any concerns). Today I wanted to notify his teachers of upcoming absences but have no way to do so. I need to remember to notify them before his 7:30 drop off or for some reason, our only means of communication gets locked. Additionally, I’m unable to like individual photos, only full days (why?) and there’s no feature to comment either. I loved seesaws ability to comment because it helped the class feel like a community. I really wish the daily reports or center announcements were in a separate tab from the photos. And lastly, I wish the homepage gave me a normal, appealing overview. Maybe the most recent photo and report. Or notifications of new items (like photos). It’s filled with random advice that I’m not able to close out of with just clutters everything.Show lessmcinallys
Developer Response
Thank you for your feedback, we'll consider this in our future planning. The ability to send messages with teachers is a configuration option that your center can choose to turn on, or leave off. We'd be happy to help them activate that option!I mean … it’s an app?
So I guess it gets a star for that. But beyond that it’s pretty terrible. It’s buggy - so much so that it makes me doubt the security of the data shared on this platform. And to be clear - the data I am referring to are the photos & videos of our children. Eg: video settings (no sound) are not treated equally on the all vs in email. Seems like a pretty basic product mistake. Often I’ll have access to content & messages on email before the app. App loads super slow. The overall information architecture is poor. As several other reviewers mentioned - there is no logical way to parse messages or see photos, daily announcements, or daily reports in a dedicated place. Everything is bunched together. I’ve used other daycare apps that have been leaps & bounds better than this one.
TLDR: poor design, poor information architecture & questionable backend infrastructure (based on buginess & loadtimes)Show lessnika__
Developer Response
Thanks for your feedback! Please turn off "silent mode" in order hear the video audio. Please reach out to techsupport@teachingstrategies.com so we can gather more details about this issues you're experiencing, which will enable us to troubleshoot them .Terrible App
This app is absolutely terrible. My daughter has been in daycare for two months and it does not work for me. The daycare has tried everything and I have logged out, and even uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Every time I go in to add drop off notes, I get a notification that says, “child is not enrolled.” I’ve had a few times where it worked, but then I goes away and I have the same issue. However, I get the updates at the end of the day, but I have to email the daycare her drop off notes.
I don’t like that you cannot get real-time updates and that the updates only happen at the end of the day. It would be nice to know if she is napping so that if I need to pick her up early, I could time it with that. I need better timing with these things. It’s terrible.
Highly, highly, highly encourage anyone to NOT use this app. Find a better, more reliable app.Show lessAnnaBean15
Developer Response
We appreciate your feedback. Real-time updates throughout the day is a configuration option your center must choose to enable; and we'd be happy to help with that. We'd like to gather more details about the issues you are having so that we can identify and troubleshoot the issues. Please contact us at techsupport@teachingstrategies.com.Basic and flawed
Here are the things that need to change to update my rating.
1) delayed notifications- I constantly get delayed notifications. Sometimes I’ll get an email w a photo first and then hours later get an app notification for the same photo. Or, I’ll get a ‘my child was dropped off’ hours after I dropped him off. The notifications need to be in more sync than they currently are. I’ve actually submitted this as a bug to the company, but their response was not helpful, and I don’t feel like wasting my time further. They indicated that the release of a notification was based on the teacher, but that had nothing to do with the discrepancy I’m seeing with emails, etc
2) the app is slow - putting in my drop off notes is a pain. It takes like 15 seconds just for the app to get ready. In today’s world, the app needs to be quicker than the user and ready before the UI even loads
3) UI - the UI is bleh.
Two stars because it technically accomplishes the basic things, albeit frustrating at times.Show lessWashellah
Developer Response
We appreciate your feedback and the level of detail you provided for the issues you are experiencing.Only two stars?
I just went to update the app for my daughters preschool and saw the rating was two stars. I love this app- it lets us submit her drop off notes in the morning for health and safety, shares photos and videos, has a daily report, an e-library, a portal to connect with teachers directly and quickly, and suggestions for things to do as a family. I can’t fathom what more it could provide for a family. That’s all, peace and thank you!Show lessShayna Sullivan
No sound on videos on iPhone if the ringer is in silent
Videos don't give out sound if the iPhone is switched to silenced. The silence rocker is for ringer silence not for media silence. It only happens in this app.saimon7777
App Needs Attention
This app is okay, but it needs more consistent attention/bug fixes. The biggest issue is that when a teacher shares a note, I’m not able to click on it in the “Memories” tab to read it and that’s the only way to view the notes.
Also, it will sometimes does not work, generally, and I have to delete/reinstall it, which doesn’t always fix the problem. Hoping they can sort it the bugs/issues as I do like the app and the function it serves.Show lessnbyrd12
Difficulties Communicating w/ Teachers
This app is okay. It doesn’t allow you to send notes to the school/ teachers once your child is checked in. We have used other childcare apps at other daycare centers that are better about real-time communication. I wish updates could post as they are happening instead of having to wait until the end of the day. It’s hard to address issues when you learn about it once the day is over.Show lessCC Lancaster
So many issues
This app is quite glitchy and sometimes the login does not even recognize our credentials. Very disappointing!G12456876432
Learning at its best!!!
My child started last summer. She went in as a wild cat and almost a year later she is calm, shares, listens. When she is over stimulated we have the resources from Amazing Transformation to help us guide our child safely to calm themselves down. They are an amazing team that I trust leaving my child with!! This team of professionals are the dream team for our fragile children. That’s why they are called “AMAZING!!!”
Mom (DZ)Show lessjoirneysend
