Ms Cantrell's Learning Garden: Seesaw

The next great app I am going to talk about is Seesaw. Seesaw is a platform for student engagement. It is basically a learning journal for students! This app provides digital portfolios for students to share their learning with each other, their teacher, and their parents. There are three ways to use it:
1. Students use digital tools to capture their learning.
2. Teachers find and create activities for students to complete.
3. Parents are involved and active in their child's learning experience.
Students are able to "sit in the driver's seat" of their learning through using this app in the classroom. There are so many benefits to using Seesaw! The setup for Seesaw is extremely easy. If your classroom is not at a 1:1 ratio, Seesaw can be used as the center of the classroom. Seesaw is designed for students. The log-on process is quick and easy-all students have to do is scan a QR code. This prevents lost or forgotten passwords and time consumption during class! Seesaw is safe and secure. It is privacy protected-so your student's work and information won't be released.
What have I learned? How will this benefit me as a teacher?
Teachers can approve of what is seen on Seesaw, making it user friendly for all! Teachers can also address problems at school on Seesaw and ask parents to help at home. I have learned that apps like Seesaw aren't just useless apps that teachers use "for show," but apps that store valuable student work and showcase this work for proud parents at home. Using apps like this will definitely benefit me as a teacher, because it gives me a way to compartmentalize my students' work, and it allows my students to be in control of their learning. They will learn responsibility, digital citizenship, and respect. Using this in my classroom one day will be so beneficial to our learning community!

The following pictures are examples of what Seesaw looks like in general, and what it looks like in the classroom. On the left, a student is uploading a project to her digital classroom. On the right, a student is editing their portfolio.

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