It scatters
Some on paper, some in a spreadsheet, some only in your head. That's fine until you need a student's whole year at once.
Anecdotal notes for teachers
Keep every student observation, and find it when it counts.
Dodl Notes saves your quick observations, keeps them organized by class and student, and brings the right one back for report cards, conferences, and support meetings.
The moment you'll want for a report card never happens at a convenient time.
Free to install. The core stays free, no credit card.
Built for the notes teachers already keep in binders, spreadsheets, and a drawer full of sticky notes.
Made by a teacher, not an edtech company.
Opens the Chrome Web Store in a new tab.
Why notes slip through
You see it happen. Then it's gone.
You notice something worth remembering most days. The hard part is keeping all of it in one place, and finding the right note the week reports are due.
You become the filing system
When a detail happens once in September and never gets written down, report cards and conferences get a lot harder.
The gaps surface late
Some students have clear examples ready. Others, just a feeling that something happened in October.
From the maker
I'm a teacher. I built Dodl because I kept losing the moments that mattered.
I'd notice something worth remembering in the middle of a lesson, tell myself I'd write it down later, and then report card season would arrive and the detail was gone. Paper, sticky notes, a half-used spreadsheet: none of it survived a real week.
So I built the tool I wanted. Catch the moment in about ten seconds, keep it with the right student, and find it again when reports and conferences come. That is the whole idea, and I still use it in my own classroom every week.
A teacher since 2011, still in the classroom.
How it works
From a quick note to something you'll actually use later.
Three steps small enough to fit a normal teaching week, with nothing new to maintain.
Capture
Save a quick observation from Chrome while the detail is still fresh.
Organize
Pick the class and student as you save. The note drops straight into that student's history, with nothing to sort later.
Review
Open a student's full history before report week or a family meeting, so you walk in prepared.
Use
Turn saved notes into clearer report comments and next steps, with optional AI drafting in Pro.
What's inside
Built for how notes actually happen in a teaching day.
Each one came from a real moment in the day: a small group, a parent meeting, the scramble before reports go home.
Quick Capture
A Chrome popup with a four-part prompt (Context, Observation, Support, Outcome), so a note you write in ten seconds still makes sense in November.
Spotlight
A gentle rotation that surfaces students you haven't noted in a while, so the quieter kids don't slip past. You stay in charge of who and when.
Multi-student save
Save one observation to several students at once. Built for small-group work and the moments a whole table shares.
Quick check-in
Can't write a full note right now? Capture the context, support, or response in a single tap.
Snooze
Pause Spotlight for a student who's out or having a rough day. Kids get sick, and some days go sideways.
Notes Explorer
A full-page view of every student's history, organized by class and student, with search and threaded notes.
Report readiness
Before report week, the dashboard shows which students you have enough notes on, and which need a few more.
Report templates
Build the comment structures you actually use. In Pro, Dodl drafts from your saved notes against your own templates.
Recovery key
Your notes are encrypted on your device. A recovery key gets you back in if you forget your password, with no backdoor.
Sample Classroom
Try the whole thing with a sample class before you add a single real student.
Who it's for
If you're keeping notes about students, this is for you.
Dodl Notes fits a few specific teacher roles. Each one has a guide that goes deeper.
Elementary teachers
Reading, writing, math, and learning behavior: the anecdotal notes of a busy classroom week.
See the anecdotal-notes guideFirst-year teachers
Build a note routine you can sustain without overdesigning the system in your first month.
See the first-year guideStudent teachers and practicum
Document placements, growth, and feedback during teacher-prep program rotations.
See the student-teaching guideSpecial education and case managers
IEP-relevant observation notes, supports tried, and follow-up that stay attached to the student.
See conference documentationELL and multilingual learner specialists
Track student progress across language goals, supports, and instructional moves.
See the observation-notes guideInstructional coaches
Document teacher observations and follow-up across rotations and PD cycles.
See the documentation systemFree core
Save notes, organize by class and student, and review history without paying.
AI optional
Pro adds optional AI insights and report drafting, with a 14-day free trial. Core note-taking never requires AI. See Pro pricing.
Encrypted notes
Note content is encrypted before it's stored or synced, and your privacy choices stay in your hands. How encryption works.
No Google account required
The core workflow uses a Dodl Notes account. Google is only needed for optional Google Docs export.
Works where Chrome extensions are allowed
If a school-managed device blocks new extensions, that's a district device policy, not a Dodl Notes setting.
Know your local rules
Dodl Notes supports your own teacher notes. It isn't a replacement for required school record systems.
Why teachers switch
Stop rebuilding student history from scattered notes.
Paper, spreadsheets, and memory
- Notes live in three or four places at once.
- Pulling a student's full year takes real time.
- You spot the coverage gaps too late to fix them.
Dodl Notes
- Every note sits with its class and student.
- A student's full history is one search away.
- You see the gaps while there's still time.
Choose a starting point
Start with whatever's hardest right now.
Each guide goes deep on one workflow. Start with the part that's causing the most stress this term.
Teacher anecdotal notes
Write classroom observations that stay specific, objective, and useful later.
Read guide
Student observation notes
Capture student observations that can support reports, conferences, and next steps.
Read guide
Report-card evidence
Choose what to track before report writing starts.
Read guide
Conference documentation
Prepare classroom examples and follow-up notes before family meetings.
Read guide
Replacing spreadsheets
Compare retrieval, coverage, and student history across common note systems.
Read guide
First-year and practicum routines
Build a sustainable note habit without trying to document everything.
Read guideTry it this week
Add one class and take your first note.
Add a class, save one real observation, and open it again later that week.
If that note still helps you a few days later, you'll know it's working.