Seesaw Tip - 7 Ways to Help Kids Know What to Do for an Assignment

 (Updated 2/25/2021 - scroll to the bottom to see the update!)  

      We all have a wide range of readers / learners in our classroom.  Use these 7 tips when creating an assignment to help support all students in knowing what they are to do to complete an assignment and make them more independent when using Seesaw.  Many of these tips can also be adapted in different ways to create more engaging lessons as well.  

Tip 1 - Record yourself reading the directions on the introduction page (the first page they see when they see an assignment).

Tip 2 - Record yourself (or type in) directions in the Comment Box on each slide.

Tip 3 - Use the Video Record feature in Seesaw to model the lesson or activity (and it will be embed automatically into the slide).

Tip 4 - Use the Mic / Screen Record feature in Seesaw to model how to complete the activity (and it will be embed automatically into the slide).

Tip 5 - (If you need more than 5 minutes) - Record your screen using another program (like Screencastify, QuickTime, Screencapture, etc.).  Upload it to Seesaw to embed into the slide.  (If it's too big, upload to Google Drive and put a link in from Seesaw to Drive.)

Tip 6 - Use Seesaw's Icon Shortcuts in the directions.  (You can click here to learn more about Seesaw Shortcut Icons.)

Tip 7 - Add a 'play' button for students to click next to each direction.  (This can also be adapted to have students click 'play' to have a page read to them, have them spell a word, double check what a picture is suppose to be (like 'cat' instead of 'kitten'), etc.

See all these tips from a student perspective....

2/25/2021 Update: Seesaw sent out an update at the end of February 2021.  You can now click on an image or text box and record or upload a voice recording!  Click here for more information!

Seesaw Management Tip - Taking Attendance

 Here's an easy way to take attendance using the Calendar feature on the Journal Tab!

1. On the Journal tab, click on the Calendar icon towards the top right corner of the feed.
2. Click on the name of each student.
3. See the number of items they have submitted that day!  All done!

Seesaw Tech Tip - Student's Picture Too Small to See

 Are you getting pictures that are too small to see?  It's most likely because the device was held the wrong way or they were using a smartphone to take the picture.  Here's a trick for seeing those images....

Seesaw - Parent Access and the Different Codes

        With the current Distant Learning situation, it's important to understand what families can see and do.  We as teachers have to remember that students are logging into Seesaw at home and have parents and other family members looking over their shoulders.  This can become an issue with student privacy.  How you set the student permissions has an impact on what families can see.  Click here to learn more!  There are three scenarios in how parents can interact with Seesaw.

Home Learning Codes

        (If you decide to block students from seeing each other's work in Seesaw, you don't need to worry about Home Learning Codes).  If teachers want students to see and comment on each other's work in school, the Home Learning Codes prevents students (and their parents) from seeing each other's work at home.    If a student uses a Home Learning Code on a device at home, it will make it so that ON THAT DEVICE the student will only be able to see the work that they have done, not the work that other students have done.  Please note - you would not want to do this on a device that comes back and forth to school because once the code is entered, that student will only see their own work no matter where they are.  

         For Parent Intercation - if a parent is looking over their child's shoulder, they will see announcements sent to students and can obviously see their child's work, but if they provide feedback, it will show up as the student's own comments or like.  Parents need to use Seesaw Family to comment, like, and get annoucements for parents...

Invite Codes and Seesaw Family

        Just like with ClassDojo, Bloomz, Remind, etc, to invite parents you can send them a special QR code, input their email address, or input their phone number.  They will get a link to download Seesaw Family and be able to be linked to their child's account (or they can log in from the Seesaw's website using any browser on any device.  In Seesaw Family, parents and guardians will only see their child's work (or work that their child is tagged in).  Up to 10 people can be assigned to one student.  Here's what they can do...

• See 'Family Announcements' that teachers can send to them.  
• Teachers can message parents and parents can message teachers (after the first message is sent).  (Please note, in Groton - teachers are being asked to use Remind as our Parent Teacher Communications app).  
• Teachers can send up to 10 pictures of what's going on in the class through Seesaw, but only 1 on Remind.   
• Able to like and/or comment on their child's work.
• Able to Share their child's work with others through a link or QR Code.
• Can save their child's work onto their computer / device.

Here are your Family Options.  You can find these settings under the wrench in the top right corner of each class.  Scroll down to 'Families.'  If you turn it on, then the first list of options will appear.

Here are your Family Permission Settings:

• Family Sharing - allows parents to get a link to their child's activity to share with others.
• Family Likes - allows them to like any work their child completes.
• Family Comments - allows family members to comment on their child's work.
• You have the option to require comments be approved by you before they post to the child's work.

Classroom Blog

If you enable the Classroom Blog and share the link with Parents/Guardians, then they would be able to access that as well!

Seesaw - Student Privacy / Abilities to Interact with Each Other

        Seesaw has many different ways that students can interact with each other within Seesaw.  Teachers can control what the students can and cannot do.  To find these settings, click on the wrench in the top right corner in each class.  Scroll down to the 'Students' section.

Seeing Each Other's Work / Commenting on Each Other's Work

       'Students can see each other's work' is very important!   If this is turned on, students will be able to click on each other's journals to see the work that their peers have done.  They will be able to click on any activity and see who has completed the work and who hasn't.  Keep that in mind!  If you have this turned off, then the students won't be able to see each other's work unless they are tagged on the same activity.  Also, you won't have to worry about 'Home Learning Codes,' because the students wouldn't be able to see each other's work at school or at home.

        What they can do to each other's work depends on the following settings.  (Please note, you can have 'Students can see each other's work' turned off, while still allowing the students to like and/or comment on their own work or work that you post.  If you don't want kids seeing each other's work, but be able to provide feedback, you have two options:

1. Tag Other Students - You can always tag one student's work with everyone else so that they can give feedback.  I had students who would ask me to share their work, so I would 'tag' everyone else in the class so they could see the student's work.  
2. Turn on the Blog - I recommend turning on the 'Blog.'  This will create a Blog for your classroom that you can password protect and only allow students, families, and/or other classes that you invite in.  On any activity, the students can choose to post something to the blog for other students to provide feedback on.  (All posts require your approval before they actually go to the blog).  If you link with other classrooms in the district or outside of district, it will provide more opportunities for feedback!

What Can Students Do to Each Other's Work

        How students respond (either in the Classroom or on the Blog) depends on the settings you set.  You can allow students to only 'Like,' only 'Comment', or both!  You may choose that all comments require your approval or not!  

Editing Work After It's Posted Options

         You do have the option to block students from editing their work once they submit it; however, I recommend leaving this option on so you don't have to deal with kids trying to reach out to you to edit an activity so they can go back and fix whatever they did.  Another option you can allow students to do is for them to choose who is tagged to their work (or remove others who are tagged to their work).  

        Many of these settings provide wonderful opportunities for discussing digital citizenship!  There are some interesting videos about this topic that you can find on Seesaw's YouTube Page or in the Community Hub!

Using Seesaw

In this post, I will share tutorials on how to use Seesaw...

• Overview of Seesaw - get a quick view of all the features of Seesaw and where things are at! 

Make a Copy of a Slideshow for Each Student Without Having to Make One For Each Student!

I found this YouTube video about a trick on how to make a copy of one slideshow for each student without having to make a slideshow for each student!  In theory, this will also apply to Google Docs and Google Sheets.

According to this video, you would...

• Set the permission level of the slideshow to anyone with the link can view.
• When in the editing view, remove 'edit' from after the '/' and change it to 'copy.'
• Then, copy-paste that new link into whatever platform you are using (Schoology, Seesaw, Google Classroom, Canvas, ClassDojo, Classroom Blog/Website, etc!).

When the students access the link, it will prompt them to 'make a copy' themselves before moving forward, which will keep the original slide in it's original condition!

Using Google Slides with Pear Deck and Sharing It With Students

      Pear Deck is a great add-on in Google Slides.  It allows you to add audio directions to your Google Slide and allows student interaction with your slides.  This is a great way to get feedback from students (especially at the younger grades).  With Pear Deck, you can have students respond with a text answer, multiple choice, number, have them go to a specific website, draw on the slide, or drag something to answer.  Students' answers are only visble to you (unless you choose to share it with the kids after a lesson or during a live lesson!  In this blog post, I will show you step-by-step how to setup and use Pear Deck with your students through video tutorials....

How to Get the Pear Deck Add-on and Use It with Students

1. How to get the Pear Deck add-on:
2. How to open Pear Deck in Google Slides and Overview of the Menu:
3. How to add audio to a Google Slide:
4. How to get the link to share with students and share on different platforms:

   Google Classroom	Seesaw
   ClassDojo
   	This can be done with Schoology, Canvas, and any other platform.  I just have experience with Google Classroom, Seesaw, and ClassDojo.

   
   
5. How to see students' responses from a 'Homework Assignment': (To Be Revised): 
6. How to use Pear Deck during a live lesson (presenting, using the Dashboard, seeing student's answers, and sharing students' work):

How to Use the Different Pear Deck Tools

Student's responses are kept confidential.  Students do not see each other's work and students are working on their own slides.  They can not 'mess up' everyone else's slides.

Students respond through a text box.
Students choice from a multiple choice menu.
Students type in or use arrows to choice the number.
Students work on a website while not leaving the  slide.
Students draw using pencil, highlighter, or a text box on the slide.
Students use predetermined icons to drag onto the slide.
Teacher records directions for students to listen to.

Presenting Recorded, Live, or Interactive Lessons

      There are so many ways to provide lessons to students.  With the attached document, I will share some resources you can use for providing instruction students and the possible features you have to use with them.  Click here for a list of suggested resources!  There are many out there, but I tried to use resources available in my district, resources that were free (or had enough free features to still be used after trial periods, and resources that any content created could be reused when school resumes).  If you have a suggestion, please let me know and I may add it to the list!  This post also assumes that you are using Screencastify, Google Meet, or Zoom to record your lesson and Zoom (or Google Meet if allowed by your district) to present the live lesson.

Key Features of the Chart

Type of Lesson - What type of setting can this resource be used for?

• Recorded - Good for teaching content -  students watch.
• Live - Good for teaching or demonstrating content - students watch, question, and discuss
• Interactive - Students participate / interact through out the lesson - students watch, question, discuss, and interact with content.

Student Interaction - What are the different ways that students can respond or interact with the lesson.

Game Features - Can you create games for students to play either during the lesson or on their own time.

Assessment Tools - Are you able to collect data, score, or provide feedback to students?

Homework / Missed Class Options - Can students interact / complete activities just like during a live session.

Google Classroom Integration - Can you assign activities with Google Classroom?

Initial Setup - How challenging is it to setup this resource for teachers and students?

Using Zoom for Live Lessons

Click on the links below to see how to use Zoom to put on a live lesson!

Setting Up Zoom for the Lesson

• How to setup a Zoom Meeting for a live lesson.

Sharing the Link with Students

• Through Google Classroom (Using Google Calendar, Assignment, or Announcement Features).
• Through Seesaw (Using Activity or Announcement)
• Setting up a link in Clever.  (Also helpful for learning how to add any link to Clever).

Running the Class

• Presenting a Live Lesson with Zoom (basic features) (link fixed 4/13 in the evening)
• Using different Screen Share Options in Zoom during a Live Lesson

Click here to visit Zoom's Support Page for more tutorial videos or step-by-step directions to read!

Tips and Tricks I have Learned (Updates from 4/14)

• It is very helpful having an aid, substitute teacher, or coteacher in on a lesson to help interact with the kids while you help trouble shoot parents having issues getting into the class.
• (In my district, kids are muted when they join in) - tell them how to unmute or turn on their video (if you want to see them right away).  Explain that there may be times that you mute everyone so you can do your lesson.
• Go over the expectations - not making silly faces, shouldn't be showing off toys, listening respectfully, etc.
• Tell the students how to use the 'Gallery View' so they can see their whole class.  This also helps with taking turns when speaking!
• For you - when you are on Gallery View - you can also easily mute and unmute kids!  You can also mute/unmute from the participation box, but you have to do some scrolling to find people if you have alot of kids in your class.
• You can use the 'share screen' option to help see a kid's screen to help support them with their learning.
• If you schedule a meeting ahead of time, use the Google Calendar feature to schedule it to your Google Classroom calendar - then the kids will see the meeting on the to-do calendar or they will see it on the class calendar!  Makes it easier for them to access the meeting!
• If you do share your desktop, the kids don't see each other on the side, only you can.  They will see their peers across the top as they have done the whole meeting.
• Groton has the whiteboard feature blocked as of this post (4/13/2020).
• Don't have students go to Zoom first, post the link through Google Calendar, Google Classroom, or whatever other platform your class is using.  DO NOT POST ANY INFORMATION ON AN OPEN WEBSITE!