Pixabay photo upoaded by Antranias under a Creative Commons license.
Annnnddd we are back!!! Who knew a summer could go so quickly!
The first few weeks back to school have been as manic as usual. I have taken on a new role as Math coordinator for our Primary school which is absorbing a lot of my already limited time so have only found the time to turn my mind towards blogging now. However I am excited about getting started on my final project for COETAIL!! (kind of can’t beleive it has come around already!)
To start this blog I looked at what I had wrote in my final blog for course 4. While reflecting, I realised that the first option I have outlined was really the one that I wanted to go with. Parental engagement has always been an issue for me since I begun my teaching career. Although it doesn’t involve redesigning a particular unit or topic that I am teaching to a class which seems to be the focus of most projects, I am still excited in how I can incorporate technology. The way I look at it I will need to redesign the way I teach so that has to be worth doing!!
The app I will be focusing on is Seesaw. I started using this app at the end of the year last year and I just love it! It is so easy, quick to use (especially on tablets, unfortunately I am currently more reliant on laptops), and most importantly the children love it. It creates a student portfolio that tracks the work throughout the year.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Children can add pictures, videos or drawings to demonstrate their learning. They can also use voice recordings so it is great for children who have difficult writing as there are a variety of ways to express themselves. The fact that children can show their learning using a variety of media is something that wouldn’t be possible without technology and approaches the R level of the SAMR model. Another feature of this app that allows it to help our class reach the R level on the SAMR model is the involvement of parents. Parents can connect to their child’s journal using the app and will receive a notification on their phone or device as soon as something is added to their child’s portfolio. This allows them to comment instantly and children can receive feedback from their parents during the lesson.Also children can add to their portfolios from home so can use it as evidence of work done at home whether it’s reading with parents or a video of them practicing time tables on the drive to school.
Click here to view the embedded video.
There are a lot of websites and apps out there to help parents be connected to the classroom. However the reason I like this one is that it is student driven and student centered teaching is what I feel we should be striving to achieve.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-starts-with-teacher-john-mccarthy
I introduced Seesaw to my class last week and will be rolling it out to parents next week once the children have all got a few items in their portfolio’s. I am hoping that by waiting until the children have used the app a few times and have some items in their portfolio that parents will see that we are using it and will be more likely to engage with their child’s portfolios. Here are some examples of what the students have uploaded in their portfolio’s so far
Some issues I had when rolling it out to children was to get them to focus on putting up quality work into their portfolios and to understand that the portfolio is more for them and their parents rather than a place to share work with friends (we use Edmodo for that). I think there are always going to be a few teething problems when introducing a new app to children but once I keep reminding them of expectations and sharing quality posts with them it will improve. Once parents are engage, the children will also be more likely to improve the quality of their posts since they know their parents will be monitoring their posts.
Another feature of Seesaw which I have not used before is Seesaw blogs. This allows you to add examples of student work to a class blog that can be shared globally. I have not used this function before but I feel it is an excellent way to for my class to connect globally with other classrooms around the world and also present them with a global audience for their work.
I am really excited to get this project started and improve the engagement of parents in our learning. If you have any comments, tips or questions I would love to hear them!
Cheers,
Paul