This past week, first-grade teacher Nicole Ray reached out to me looking for a way to have her students create a digital reading log for her ELA class. She explained that she wanted students to take pictures of the books they read during independent reading time and put them in an organized place. She then wanted a way to quickly and easily check in on their reading logs. After listening to what she wanted to accomplish, I instantly recommended Seesaw and specifically Seesaw’s folder feature. She agreed to give Seesaw folders a try and determine whether or not it would meet her needs.
To create a folder in Seesaw, Mrs. Ray went to her class settings located in the upper right corner of her ELA class (the little wrench icon). From there, she scrolled down to “Folders” and clicked on “Manage Folders.” She then clicked “Create New Folder.” She named the folder “Reading Log” and kept the default color red. This process took about thirty seconds!
After creating the Reading Log folder in her ELA class, I visited Mrs. Ray class and walked her students the simple process of:
1. Selecting their ELA class in Seesaw
2. Taking a photo of the cover of their book
3. Selecting the Reading Log folder
4. Uploading the photo to their journals.
Students verified they uploaded the photos to the correct place by seeing a red Reading Log folder label at the bottom of their post. After students were shown these steps, they began practicing independently and after a few tries, all students were successful at independently uploading their photos to the Reading Log folder. I asked if any students wanted to demonstrate the process they had just learned on YouTube and the BPS Edtech blog. I had many students “audition” to showcase their technical knowledge and skills, and I am so proud of each and every one of them. They are definitely Seesaw superstars!
Below is a video of first-grader Raphael explaining how to take a photo and upload it to his Reading Log folder. Mrs. Ray is definitely interested in trying this with her new first-grade class at the start of the 2018-2019 school year. She likes that she can look at each student’s folder individually and see, at a glance, and on a specific date, everything they have uploaded. Over time, Mrs. Ray may have students add additional folders, audio recordings to their journal items, videos, and more. She also liked that she was able to turn off approving posts before uploading so she could view student work as quickly as possible.
During our meeting, while students were independently practicing their skills, I had the opportunity to show Seesaw’s Activity feature to Mrs. Ray. She seemed impressed by all she could do with activities, and I think this might be another feature in Seesaw she will explore in more detail for the 2018-2019 school year. It’s wonderful to work with teachers on integrating technology into their curriculum, especially as we approach the end of the school year, and when it’s technology that meets the needs of teachers and students. I’d like to thank Mrs. Ray for trying my Seesaw suggestion. It was a rewarding experience to see students develop a new skill that they will use throughout their time as students at Fox Hill!
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