Seesaw Your Way to a Free Friday 'App'etizer

Digital portfolios of student work can be hard to setup and maintain, but Seesaw: The Learning Journal aims at making this process quick and easy with an added benefit --- sharing the student's work simply with parents.  The video to the left shows how simple it could be implemented in a classroom where the students add their work to their journal through use of the iPad's app.  Once work is approved by the teacher, the parents (if setup) would be notified and then could see what their child completed at school.  Seesaw came on my radar after I read about it through these blog posts:
   - Students Can Build Digital Portfolios with Seesaw for iPad
   - Capture Student Work with Seesaw - The Learning Journal
   - Seesaw Journal: A Tool for English Language Learners

This is a must checkout app!  If you would like any assistance with setting this up or discuss how to implement this in your classroom please let me know.  What's also nice is, two days after I setup a test account I received an email from the app's company 'checking in' with links to resources:

Thanks again for signing up for Seesaw.  We know it can be hard to get started with a new app, so we’ve compiled a few tips from other Seesaw teachers to get you going. 

1.     Get Your Class Ready: Add your students and choose whether or not you want to customize profile photos or use the built-in icons.  Click here for help managing your class list.

2.     Print Your Class Handout: Your classroom QR code is the “key” your students will use to access your Seesaw class. Print out this handout and post it in your classroom where students will use Seesaw.  We emailed you this handout when you signed up or you can get it on the Seesaw website.

3.     Test Seesaw on Your Network: If your school has any network filters in place, have your tech team whitelist *.seesaw.me so that Seesaw is fully functional. If you can sign-in as a teacher or student and add an item, you are good to go! 

Have questions? We're here to help! We're available by email or Google Hangouts to answer questions and help you get started.

—The Seesaw Team

PS: Check out the Seesaw Help Center for more getting started tips, teacher resources & activity ideas.

This Week at Village 1.16.15

This second week of 2015 the Tech Team introduced the Tweet 10 Challenge. It was nice to see so many new faces in the Twitterverse. If you missed the Tweet 10 Challenge, it’s not too late to join in the fun and grow your Professional Learning Network (PLN). Remember to send me a direct message via Twitter to claim you badge and you sticker once you’ve completed Day 5! Still not convinced that Twitter is worth it? Check out this article MJ Mucciarone sent me; she found it on Twitter!

Here’s a look at some of the awesome technology integration that took place at Village this week:

• Special area teachers are continuing their work on their blogs and Cheryl Glitz has created a stunning blog to keep her students up to date in all things music. Be sure to check it out!
• I met with wonderful teachers during 4th grade flex to continue working on their blogs. This week we added poll questions. If you are interested in creating a blog for or with your class, let me know and we can make that happen.
• Dan Gallagher and I spent several hours updating the iPad cart. All 14 iPads have the most recent operating system and all apps are currently up to date. In an effort to get Glogster out to everyone, we also installed the Glogster app on each device. Let me know if there are any apps you would like installed on the iPads.
• Karen Orlovsky and I met to discuss using Google Docs in lieu of My Lesson Planner. She and I created a template capturing the standards and she hopes to start using the template next week. If you have a template that you would like to share with the building, please do; we have so much to learn from one another!
• Eileen Beam and I co-taught a lesson about bibliographies using the digital tool easybib. For more information, here is a link to the doc I created with other digital bibliography tools.
• Mariel Richter and I participated in week two of our Twitter chat/book club for the book Teach Like a Pirate. 
• Holly Shemitz and I met to discuss her upcoming Colonial Billboard Project using Glogster. Be sure to take advantage of the school license of this amazing tool.
• On Tuesday the Teach Team gathered with educators from Maine to hear about their 1:1 initiative and there is much that we are looking forward to sharing during the February PD Day!
• Mariel Richter invited me into her class to see the great tech projects her students created! While I was unable to attend due to a conflict in schedule, I TRULY appreciate the invite. I love seeing what you are doing in the classroom. It helps me share ideas with our colleagues.

Once again, I can’t be everywhere and see everything, but I hope you will invite me into your classroom and I can spread the word or share the great things you are doing with your students.

Here’s a brief look at our shortened week ahead and beyond:

• Mystery Hangouts with another state
• Virtual Debates
• Twitter, Twitter, and more Twitter! Let me know if you still want to take part in the challenge. 
• Glogster
• Flex
• Google Classroom
• YOUR project?!?!?

Please let me know if you would like to be included in any of these endeavors or if you have any projects you would like me to help you with. 

This Week at Village 1.9.15

Hi Village Friends,

It’s been busy this first week back at Village. I am excited that 2015 has started with such enthusiasm and excitement! Here is quick look at some of the technology happenings this week:

• Special area teachers met to discuss blogs and Google drive. Look for some amazing content from Art, Spanish, PE, Music, the Media Center and World Language!
• Karen Stroczynski and Alisha Tricarico’s 4th graders presented their Glogs convincing colonial settlers to move to their colonies; my sights are set on Maryland!
• Karen Orlovsky discovered a wonderful site http://powermylearning.org/ a " FREE Platform for Driving Personalized Instruction and Self-Directed Learning: Activities in All K-12 Subjects, Aligned to the Common Core."
• Karen Cane discovered and shared a wonderful symbaloo web mix containing virtual tours and field trips. It was the week of the Karens!
• Classroom teachers continue to focus on their blogs; let me know if you need assistance!
• I held a morning share on Glogster. With a schedule conflict, you may have missed it. Please let me know if you would like me to help your students set up their accounts or want to plan a project. Check out the Glog I created about Village!
• Dana Kercheval and Alyssa Petrino used a wonderful site to graph data in science.
• Eileen Beam explored digital bibliography options. Here is a link to the doc I created. 
• Mariel Richter and I participated in a Twitter chat/book club for the book Teach Like a Pirate. Ask her about her pirate inspired lesson and look for a picture of Lisa Bremer on Twitter under the hash tag #tlap
• Annie Rosenberg had me in to discuss online etiquette with Edmodo book clubs.

I know there is much that I missed. But I look forward to showcasing the amazing things happening at Village. Here are some of the things I am working on next week:

• Pearson/Envision
• Blogger/blogs
• Glogster (let me know if you would be interested in a repeat share after school).
• Dan Gallagher and I will be working on the Village iPad cart
• Mystery Hangouts
• Virtual Debates
• Twitter

Please let me know if you would like to be included in any of these endeavors or if you have any projects you would like me to help you with. 

Finally, the tech department has created a Tweet 10 - 5 Day Challenge!  Participating in this challenge is optional, but will help you become more familiar with Twitter.  Each day’s activity will take less than 10 minutes. At the end of the challenge, there are digital badges and/or stickers for all who participate.

The challenge will be sent out this coming Monday morning, so if you haven’t signed up for Twitter, you still have this weekend to register! Let me know if you want any assistance getting set up.  (There are also Twitter resources in our shared Resources folder in Google Drive-the link is included in my signature.)

This challenge is for all staff, included administrators!  

All K-8 educators in our district have been challenged. 

Let’s show them what being part of the PACK means!