TESL 150 - Unit 4 Technology Review

Seesaw

I chose to review the Seesaw application and website.  Seesaw is a closed social media platform made for classrooms.  This website and application allows learners and instructors to upload videos, files, recordings and more.  These features create a way for instructors to share resources for the learners as well as a place for learners to present what they are working on.  For any instructors interested in this program, there is a Seesaw Help Center that goes through all of the basics of the website as well as a process for setting up classrooms (https://help.seesaw.me/hc/en-us).  Additionally, Seesaw has a Youtube channel that has many helpful videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYUfnb7MIsGald-Xtig9Umw/videos).

Personally, I like Seesaw because it is very similar to other social media platforms that learners may be accustomed to using as well as a great place for learners to have an environment to share with their peers.  This combination of features that is familiar to many learners allows for a lower threshold of difficulty for learners to use the technology. Also, many people have positive relationships with social media platforms today so this creates a circumstance in which the learners are more likely to quickly adopt the resource and will enjoy their use of it.  Also, Seesaw allows learners t0 upload assignments as well as show other learners what they are working on. It has a portfolio section where learners can keep a combination of posts from the course to help them look back on what they have learned.

I regularly use Seesaw in my own classroom as a vital technology to teaching English.  I have gotten learners to record predictions or “30 second book reviews” as well as post a letter on Seesaw.  One of the most positive aspects of the Seesaw platform is its privacy. Only people in the class can access the Seesaw platform for that class.  This allows learners the privacy that they made need to build confidence in the language while also creating an open space for them to practice and learn the language with other learners from their class.

Despite all of the positive aspects of Seesaw that I have mentioned, there are some potential challenges to using a social media platform in the classroom, however private it may be.  Some issues that would be important to consider is that learners can comment on each others posts. Cyberbullying is a serious challenge facing almost everyone who uses technology, particularly social media, in today’s society.  Seesaw is not completely immune from this, though it does have some resources that can help instructors prevent it. There is the option of having the instructor approve all posts and comments, however the approval process can be time consuming for the instructor. Depending on the group, you may want to leave the approval process off, but since I work with younger learners, I have found some not so funny comments that they have wanted to post on their friend’s work.  This ability to comment can create a potentially negative space for interactions between language learners so the challenge of moderation can be a difficult decision to make. These comments are a mixed situation, as they can be immensely negative or can create very positive learning experiences for the learners involved. Overall, this is a challenge that instructors have to address based on their class and the dynamic that is present within it.

Given the wide variety of things you can do with Seesaw, I have decided to show the process for one of the more common things both instructors and learners will do in the class, creating a post.

First, instructors and learners must login to Seesaw:

Next, learners and instructors must click the green + symbol and choose “Post to Student Journal”:

Finally, learners and instructors must choose what type of post they would like to create and finish their post: