Learn How To Teach Your Students Seesaw With Confidence Using A FREE Seesaw Scavenger Hunt!
It has been a tough couple years for both teachers and students during the Covid-19 pandemic. In my house, the stress level was as high as my messy bun.
I have two things that saved my sanity. Yoga pants and the Seesaw app.
I have used Seesaw in my classroom for over seven years, and it’s a part of our daily routine. But there is a learning curve to it if you want to use it beyond a drawing tool. In this second post on the best apps for the classroom, I am going to give you 7 Seesaw app tips to make your life a little easier!
What is the Seesaw App?
Tip #1 Take a Seesaw Scavenger Hunt!
Teach your students how to use Seesaw with my FREE Seesaw Scavenger Hunt! This takes the guess work out teaching your kiddos something new.
This Seesaw Scavenger Hunt will give you confidence to teach your students how to use Seesaw in your classroom by taking each component in a step-by-step, sequential order that makes sense. I use this every year to teach the Seesaw components to my students, and I’d love to help you build confidence in your classroom!
Tip #2 Utilize the Seesaw Help Center
Tip #3 Sign up for PD in your PJs
Seesaw used to host a lot of webinars during the pandemic, and while they don’t do that as often anymore, Seesaw has an endless supply of YouTube videos to learn from and find new ideas for your classroom. We learn better when we collaborate, so it’s great to hear fresh ideas from energetic teachers using Seesaw in the classroom.
Tip #4 Take a "Book Shelfie"
My first assignments at my reading center was a “Book Shelfie”. First, my kiddos read a book, took a picture of it, and recommended it to their classmates.
Here is one of my students doing his “book shelfie” about a book he enjoyed. After his classmates heard it, this book became a VERY popular part of our classroom library. You can click on the picture to hear what he thinks about the book.
Tip #5 Templates Are Your BFF (copy and edit)
Tip #6 Add To Collections
Tip #7 Customize Your Directions
Record your voice on directions
Your students have a lot to remember throughout the day and if you’ve assigned a new task with some complicated new directions, you’ll want to give them a little extra help with directions. This also helps new students or students that were absent on the day you introduced your Seesaw activities.
Use Seesaw Icons
Another way to help your students understand your Seesaw tasks is to use their little cheat sheet Seesaw icons. For example, if I’d like my students to take a video of themselves giving a book review, then I can use the code :video: and instead of the word, the little camera icon appears. This is great for giving younger readers directions that they’ll easily understand. Make sure to bookmark this page so you have the Seesaw tools icon list handy!
Bonus Tip - Become a Seesaw Pioneer
Seesaw pioneers have access to more community resources. After you are a Seesaw Pioneer, you can apply to be a Seesaw Ambassador. Ambassadors receive Seesaw Plus for free and have early access to new features and webinars. You can learn more about their additional programs here.
I've Been A Seesaw Ambassador Since 2017
Need to see how to make a Seesaw activity?
I was a guest on a live Facebook training with Kase Morris during the pandemic. The video is a few years old, but the information is still pretty current.
Give it a Try!
Don’t be afraid to try these 7 Seesaw App Tips! I heard somewhere that when you are teaching new technology to give it three shots because the first time might be a hot mess. The second gets a bit better. If, by the third time it still is not working at all, THEN abandon it.
And lastly, don’t forget to grab the Seesaw Scavenger Hunt for your kiddos!
I hope this has been helpful for you. If you use any of these tips, I would love to hear about them in the comments below!
