Partial Offline Mode - How it works and what is next

Partial Offline Mode - How it works and what is next


When running sessions, users may experience limited or disrupted Wi-Fi connectivity. This often happens in school settings with weak WiFi or when in a setting where you are moving room to room and possibly jumping across different internet routers.

Aloha Data Collection is excited to offer partial offline mode capabilities to ensure uninterrupted data capture and storage when these situations arise!
What we mean when we say partial offline is, Aloha Data Collection is building offline mode capabilities in 2 phases. See below for a list of our upcoming offline mode capabilities and what to expect in each phase:

Phase 1: Protecting you from in-session Wi-Fi / connection disruption

AlertNote: For this initial partial offline mode phase, users must be online in order to start a session. The ability to start a session while offline will be available in Phase 2. More information on Phase 2 is included later in this article.

What to expect:

  1. At the start of each session, users will see a notification at the top of their app stating that offline synch is in progress, which will take about 10 seconds to complete. The App will retain full functionality while synch is in progress. This process is done to prepare users for the event that connectivity is lost or disrupted during their session
  1. If user falls offline during session, the App will provide the following notification at the top of the screen:
  1. Data collected offline will be stored locally on the user's device and synched online once Wi-Fi connection is restored. Staff will continue to be able to navigate running session smoothly, including beginning a lesson note.
  2. If connection is restored within session, the App will provide the following notification at the top of the screen:
While offline, data is stored locally on the user's device in which the session was started. This means that when offline, data will be lost and unrecoverable if the user:
  1. Switches devices
  2. Powers down the device on which the session was started

While offline, users will have access to:

    • View all client programs, program instructions, program files, and session data
    • Run programs and collect/edit data on skill acquisition and behavior reduction targets
    • Collect and edit ABC data
    • Complete a Session
    • Complete a Lesson Note
    • Save a Lesson Note for Later
    • Sign Lesson Notes
    • Submit Lesson Notes for Approval
    • Data for the session will be stored locally on the user's device and synched once Wi-Fi connection is restored
Info
Note: This phase offers only Partial Offline capabilities. If a note is submitted while a user is offline, this note will not be viewable until the user comes back online. The user will also not be able to move on to a next session in the App until the user comes back online for the previous note to synch online. 
Idea
During this phase, It is best practice to submit note while online whenever possible. 

While offline users will NOT have access to:

    • Start a session while offline (session must be started while online in order to offline data storage to occur)
    • In App: View any program updates that are made while offline (e.g. a supervisor adding a new target while the RBT is offline)
    • On Web: View session updates  (e.g. data that has been collected, notes submitted while offline)


Phase 2: Preparing for Offline App Usage – COMING SOON!

Phase 2 will provide users with the additional capability to proactively select specific clients and related data for regular offline use (e.g. sessions at a no-tech school, session in community, session at home without Wi-Fi). The system validates device storage upfront and performs a smart sync to avoid redundant downloads. This ensures offline readiness without risking partial or failed downloads.

What to expect:

  1. User logs into the app while online.
  1. User navigates to Offline Sync setup.
  1. User selects one or more clients.
  1. System displays used, available, and estimated required storage.
  1. User selects documents/media for offline access.
  1. System validates sufficient storage.
  1. System performs smart sync (only new/updated data).
  1. User receives confirmation of successful offline sync.

While offline, users will have access to

    • Start a session for any client that has been configured for offline session execution
    • Run programs and collect and edit data on skill acquisition and behavior reduction targets
    • Collect and edit ABC data
    • Complete a Session
    • Complete a Lesson Note
    • Save a Lesson Note for Later
    • Sign Lesson Notes
    • Submit Lesson Notes for Approval

While offline users will NOT have access to:

    • Start a session for clients that have NOT been configured for offline session execution
    • In App: View any program updates that are made while offline (e.g. a supervisor adding a new target while the RBT is offline)

    • On Web: View session updates online (e.g. data that has been collected, notes submitted while offline)
Warning
While offline, data is stored locally on the user's device on which the session was started. This means that when offline, data will be lost and unrecoverable if the user:
  1. Switches devices
  2. Powers down the device on which the session was started