I like to communicate with the parents of my students. I think it is important to the students' success. But I have a lot of students. Parents are busy. Notes don't always make their way home. Then I discovered Seesaw! Game changer!
Because of the number of students that I have, I need something that is easy and not time consuming. If it takes lots of time to set up or use, I won't use it. But Seesaw is unbelievably easy and quick to use! I am not kidding. I downloaded the free app and set up my class lists. Then I was ready to start uploading student work and pictures to share with parents.
Not only can I quickly share student work and pictures, but I can share notes. No more standing at the copier making copies. No more hoping the notes make it home. I created a welcome note to introduce Seesaw to the parents, saved it and uploaded it for all my students. Done! A welcome note to start off, along with some pictures of students in action and student work is a great way to start using this app.
After you have everything set up and items in each student's journal, copy the parent note to send home. The note explains Seesaw to parent, how to download the free parent app, and includes a qr code for the parent to scan with their phone so they can have access to their child's work.
I keep most of my students' work in their Reader's Notebooks at school so snapping a picture is a great way to share their hard work and progress with parents and still keep the work at school.
I LOVE this feature!! You just click on the green checkmark and you have these options for sharing.
It took me no time at all to record my students today practicing their fluency by choosing video. I recorded each student and immediately loaded it to their journal. Parents can then see and hear the items you have placed in the journal. You can choose who sees the items. For the welcome note, I chose everyone can view. Group pictures can be placed in journals for the students included in the shot. Individual pictures, videos, and work go into individual journals to be seen only by parents or those approved by you.
Another great feature of this app is the like and comment section. Kind of like on Facebook, parents can like the items and they can leave comments for their child or the teacher. Great ways to build up the students and to communicate back and forth!! A parent told me today that she was so glad that I found this app because she loves it!
I've seen this mentioned on Twitter and made a mental note to keep an eye out for it. It sounds very interesting.
ReplyDeleteTammy, Seesaw is so easy! I can easily manage my 30-40 students using this app. Fun for the parents and students too.
DeleteI wanted to use this earlier in the year but didn't get around to it until the beginning of this month... I agree... GAME CHANGER! It's awesome! Now, not all of my families signed up, so I still need to do other modes of communication, but a lot of them have. I even let students select some of the work they want to share and they do it all (take the picture, add it to their journal). Super slick!
ReplyDeleteYes, Kelli- it was a game changer for me too! Love it! Not all of my families have signed up yet either. But the ones who have are really seeming to like it.
DeleteI've been looking for a quick way to share with parents what students are working on when they are in my room for pull-out interventions. This app sounds like a great way to share information as well as work samples. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete~ Sarah
One Modern Teacher
I hope you get a chance to use this app, Sarah. It is much more easy than I ever thought it would be. Love it!
DeleteHi! Have you maybe noticed the interesting Caremonkey App? Certainly different from Seesaw, but might come in handy if you need health etc. info about your students in case of an emergency. And its also free.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of Caremonkey before, but it sounds like it would be really good for field trips and for the school nurse. Thank you!
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ReplyDeleteHow did you create the note to upload into the seesaw app? I would like to use a welcome note similar to your format! Thanks
ReplyDeleteHey Amber! I created the note in Powerpoint. I took some of the ideas from the note Seesaw provides and tweaked it to fit what I needed. Have a great school year!
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