Welcome to my blog! I'm Karen Belt, a Deputy Principal, working at Lynmore Primary School in Rotorua, New Zealand. In the past I have taught Years 0 - 4 and used 1:1 iPads to engage and motivate learners and improve student achievement. This blog documents my teaching and leadership journey and my learning processes with iPads in the classroom. I am a Google Certified Educator #SYD17 and I'm proud of having been a member of the inaugural Manaiakalani Digital Teaching Academy(MDTA) program and a Spark Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher (MIT) and an inaugural Manaiakalani Google Class OnAir teacher.

Monday, 20 March 2017

Exploring Seesaw

As part of my involvement with the Towards Transformation program, over the last few weeks I've been using the app Seesaw with my learners.  Seesaw is an app on my learners iPads and I use a web browser to access the material they have uploaded.   Because my class is not quite 1:1 with iPads yet, learners scan a QR code each time they want to upload some work and then select their name.

Initially we had a few small teething problems as learners forgot to log out and the next learner scanned the work without checking but I turned this into a teachable moment and explained the importance of always logging out.  The learners are enjoying being able to review their work so far this year as well as read the comments that I leave for them after each piece of work.

I have moderation set for each piece of work - this is great as I know which pieces I haven't looked at and can immediately see the next steps for learners that haven't quite mastered a strategy or concept that I have been teaching.  Seesaw also has the ability to share students works with their parents also, something we will be doing in Room 30 very shortly - they will also be able to leave comments as well as see what we are doing in class each day.


For me, there are some real benefits with using Seesaw.  These include:
  • Notifications if I forget to approve work
  • The ability for learners to record their voice from within the program - we have been publishing writing but learners also read their story too
  • The ability to add video as well as images.  We have been sharing to the camera roll and then uploading from there.
  • Being able to comment on my learners work and my learners receive a notification when they log in that they have new comments.
  • The ability to share work with each learners parents.
  • The ease with which learners can login and publish their work - we went over this in class a few times and all learners were confident within days.
I'm really looking forward to exploring Seesaw further over the coming weeks and sharing the learning that we are doing in class with our parents/whanau.
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5 comments :

  1. Alida8 April 2017 at 08:37

    Hi Karen
    I teach at Park Estate Primary, Papakura. We use Seesaw in our class and I find it very helpful, especially to observe their reading when they record themselves. Your post is a great summary of all the benefits. The children love to see their parents comments and that gives them a real purpose to share.
    Are you incorporating apps such as Explain Everything into your learning plan? Or are you only working on Seesaw?
    Kind Regards
    Alida
    Year 2-3 Teacher

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    Replies
    1. Karen Belt8 April 2017 at 15:16

      Hi Alida,
      Thanks for your comments - I'm definitely enjoying using Seesaw. Explain Everything is my "go to" app so most of our learning occurs on this app. My learners just take a screen shot or video (if its multiple slides) and then upload it to Seesaw. I try to include the voice as much as possible, so if its just a screenshot, learners will use the microphone feature on Seesaw and explain what they were learning before uploading.
      Kind Regards
      Karen

      Delete
  2. Anonymous8 April 2017 at 17:25

    We have just started using Seesaw at Sommerville special school. I look forward comparing our journeys.
    Donna

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    Replies
    1. Karen Belt10 April 2017 at 20:48

      Definitely Donna! As I come to the end of the first term of using it, I'm totally loving it. So easy to use and the parents really like seeing what their children are up to at school too!!

      Delete
  3. UplayOnline6 August 2017 at 21:28

    are you only working on Seesaw?


    หีฟิต

    ReplyDelete

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