Visible Learning... This buzzword has been front and center for a few years now. What does it mean to you? For me, visible learning is being able to see what my kids are learning on their journey to mastery. 18 years ago when I started teaching, I struggled to REALLY see what my students were mastering in the classroom. Multiple choice tests, cut & paste worksheets, there weren't many options. The best way back then to know if your students were proficient in something was the one-on-one demonstration of mastery, but I finding the time to assess each student individually one at a time was extremely tough, especially with 36 students and no assistant. Then came the technology, and today, we almost have TOO many options to choose from to make kids' learning visible.
I wanted to share two of the tech tools that have transformed my classroom, especially when it comes to making learning visible. For the last few years, I have used Seesaw in my first grade classroom. Seesaw is a digital learning journal, or portfolio, that not only allows me to curate all learning in one place, but offers a variety of options in one place for gathering evidence of growth and mastery. I love Seesaw because the free version rocks and overall it just keeps getting better. This year they came out with Seesaw Activities. Now I can "assign" activities/digital assignments. I can include typed directions as well as recorded directions. Recorded directions with visuals? Umm... YES PLEASE! Let's see if you can relate to this scenario:
- Me: Explaining all the directions for the week's centers or stations. "OK, get started!"
- Not one minute later... Student: "Mrs. Pavek! What are we supposed to do at this center again?"
- Me: "Remember to ask 3 before me."
- Less than a minute the student is back... "No one remembers. They said they don't know either."
- Me: (Big sigh) OK... [insert explanation I just gave 3 minutes ago...]
Did that sound familiar to anyone? I feel like each year, listening skills get worse and worse... Solution? Seesaw! Here's what my classroom sounds like now WITH Seesaw:
- Student: "Mrs. Pavek! What are we supposed to do at this center again?"
- Me: "Go back to the Seesaw Activity and listen to the directions again."
- Student gets back to work.
I love Seesaw so much, I became a Seesaw
Ambassador. Now I help spread the word
about this amazing resource.
I earn my Google Level 1 Certification
in the Summer of 2017.
My PLC made me realize that Google products and Seesaw are not mutually exclusive. I know I am just barely skimming the surface of what these tools can do together. They compliment each other very nicely and my students' learning has truly become crystal clear to me and their parents. Voice and choice are key to making learning visible in authentic ways. I am just so thankful that I have these tools to give my students SO many choices to make their voices (and learning) heard.