Mobile Menu

  • Home
    • About Lindsay
  • Blog
    • English Language Arts
    • Effective Teaching Strategies
    • Technology in the Classroom
    • Self Care for Teachers
  • Free Grading Guide
  • Grading Reset Course
  • TpT Store
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Lindsay Ann Learning English Teacher Blog

  • Home
    • About Lindsay
  • Blog
    • English Language Arts
    • Effective Teaching Strategies
    • Technology in the Classroom
    • Self Care for Teachers
  • Free Grading Guide
  • Grading Reset Course
  • TpT Store

Use Seesaw for Schools to Create Digital Portfolios

Home » Blog » English Language Arts » Use Seesaw for Schools to Create Digital Portfolios
Using Seesaw to Create Digital Portfolios

June 12, 2016 //  by Lindsay Ann//  Leave a Comment

Sharing is caring!

  • Share
  • Tweet

When one of my office mates called me over during a prep period to show me how her third grade daughter had just posted a video of herself reading a poem she had written, I had to investigate. I found out that Seesaw for schools allowed for parent involvement in the classroom and the creation of digital portfolios. 

Seesaw Family Communication

Ideally, a great teacher will seek to inform parents of what happens inside the classroom. At the secondary level, especially, parent contact is seesaw-for-schoolsusually limited to a weekly email update. Some of my colleagues expect that parents will check online grades with no further communication.

I have tried to do parent-student book clubs with limited success.  And for the past few years, I have consistently published my weekly updates.

Sure, parents appreciate an email update. But what if they could see student work and learning? (Let’s face it…high school students don’t tend to go home and share about their writing and reading.) Furthermore, what if students had a “real world” audience for their learning?

I piloted Seesaw for the last project of the school year with my standard-level sophomore class.

You know, just to see if Seesaw for schools was worth using…

And…I loved it.  

I knew that I would, but my students loved it, too.

Why I love Seesaw for Schools

  1. Seesaw is teacher-regulated. All posts and comments have to be approved by the teacher, and the teacher can choose to publish to the class blog or just keep it in the class feed for class members to see.  
  2. Students have the ability to post a photo, video, drawing, file, note, or link which allows for diverse uses and displays of their learning. 
  3. Seesaw integrates with Google Classroom.  
  4. Students will create digital portfolios of their work over time, a powerful tool to encourage student reflection and growth.
  5. It is easy to share artifacts with parents to highlight student growth.
  6. It’s really easy to use. I was up and running in ten minutes and my kids were on in even less time than that.

Other Benefit of Seesaw Class App

In addition, students can see what their friends and classmates are up to on Seesaw. Authentic audiences can be a powerful motivator for student engagement.

I had student post videos of themselves analyzing, reading, and talking about a personal connection to their all-time-favorite slam poem.

Students said that they were a little intimidated that everyone would see their work at first…

But that was really student-talk for “wow, I’m going to have to make sure to really do my best work” and “I’m being held accountable by someone other than my teacher.”  

After students had posted, the room was silent as students listened, left comments and “liked” videos.  Students were engaged and gave feedback that it was “fun” and “different.”

Seesaw can serve as a classroom “blog.”

Like I said in the last post, I will use Google Classroom as a place for me to post announcements, assignments, questions, etc. for students and for me to assess and provide feedback for their learning.  Seesaw for teachers is the second piece of the communication pie – a place where students can publish their work for other students, parents, and the world.  

There is even the option to link up with other classes around the world on Seesaw!

What’s more, students enjoy being able to leave comments for their students just like my students and office friend enjoyed this feedback opportunity.

Potential Disadvantages to Using Seesaw for Schools

The only question I have in my mind is whether or not students will censor what they write if they know parents/students will be viewing their work.  

Will they not be as personal?  

Will students get “stuck” and have more writer’s block and anxiety because of this?  

I have thought through these concerns, and realize that, yes, students might choose different topics because they are writing for the real world. But isn’t this real life learning (choosing to meet an audience’s needs)?  

Along these lines, I think that students may just surprise me and write about even more challenging topics and ideas just because they aren’t just another classroom assignment anymore.  As for the students getting stuck and anxious, I hope to combat this by building an awesome and supportive learning community in the classroom and allowing time for feedback and revision prior to the “publishing” of student work.

This is real life, after all.

In a job someday, they won’t be able to say that they got “stuck” on a project just because they had to share work with a boss or colleague.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  What educational technology tools are you using in the classroom to create 21st century learners?


Hey, if you loved this post, I want to be sure you’ve had the chance to grab a FREE copy of my guide to streamlined grading. I know how hard it is to do all the things as an English teacher, so I’m over the moon to be able to share with you some of my best strategies for reducing the grading overwhelm. 

Click on the link above or the image below to get started!

grading-papers

Sharing is caring!

  • Share
  • Tweet

Category: Effective Teaching Strategies, English Language Arts, Technology in the ClassroomTag: 21st century learning, Reflection, technology, Writing

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

210 Fun Debate Prompts & Essay Topics That are Argumentative

teaching-poetry

Unlock Creativity: 23 Ideas for Teaching Poetry

grammar-instruction

Refresh Grammar Instruction in Middle School & High School

born-a-crime

Steal My Born a Crime Teaching Ideas

getting-to-know-you-questions

100 Fun Getting to Know you Questions for Back to School (or anytime)

active-learning

11 Active Learning Strategies for Reading Fiction

critical-thinking-skills

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in English Language Arts Classrooms

graphic-novels

32 Graphic Novels to Encourage Independent Reading

classroom-games-middle-school

Fun Classroom Games for Building Relationships

figurative-language-examples

Exploring Figurative Language Examples in Popular Culture

rhetorical-devices

Using Rhetorical Devices to Write More Effectively

common-lit-360

Common Lit Curriculum: An Honest Review

Previous Post: «Why I use Google Classroom Why I’m a Google Classroom Teacher for Life
Next Post: Easy Data Collection Using Google Forms ELA Teaching Strategies: Google Forms for Data Collection»

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Join me in the pursuit of engaged, dynamic classroom learning!

I’ve created a FREE guide with 20 of my best strategies for streamlined grading to help English teachers like you have more time to do what you love.

Get the Guide!

Categories

Latest Products

  • Late Work Submission Google Form Late Work Submission Google Form $3.00
  • Rhetorical Devices Activities for Google Drive & Print Rhetorical Devices Activities for Google Drive & Print $4.00
  • Distance Learning Google Form Student Survey Distance Learning Google Form Student Survey $3.00
  • Creative Writing Prompts Choice Boards Creative Writing Prompts Choice Boards $3.00
  • Slam Poetry Condensed Unit for Distance Learning Slam Poetry Condensed Unit for Distance Learning $7.00

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 Lindsay Ann Learning English Teacher Blog · Privacy · All Rights Reserved

45 shares