Have you been wanting to try Seesaw, but aren't sure where to start? In my last blog post, I wrote about some of my favorite Seesaw activities for the music room. In this blog post, I'll detail how to get your students onto the platform so they can complete those assignments!
To be honest, getting students into Seesaw can be a daunting task. There are a LOT of steps. However, once they've done it once, it goes so much faster the second time!
#1: Check to see if classroom teachers are using it
If classroom teachers at your school are already using it, and/or if you are a “Seesaw school,” then it will be much easier for you to get your students into Seesaw! If this is the case, check with your classroom teachers and/or your tech department so they can tell you the process for logging in. Students will likely be very familiar with the platform, and will know how to add responses and use all of the tools!
#2: Decide how students will log in
If your school is not a Seesaw school, and/or your classroom teachers are not using it, you'll have to decide how you want students to log in. There are two different ways I've used: QR code and email address.
For your younger students who are not adept at typing their username and password to log onto their devices, QR code is a good option. In this option, students can scan a QR code to get to Seesaw, then scan another code to log into their specific class. I have had students try to type the address web.seesaw.me, but for younger students, there are often typos, so a QR code works better!
For your students who are familiar with logging into their devices with their email address and password, email address is a good option. For my students, they are already logged into their Chromebook, so when they visit the Seesaw website, they can simply click their username to log in.
#3: Prepare for classes
If you are using QR code to have students log in, you will first need to copy and paste all of their names into Seesaw, so that when they do log in, they can simply click their name to log in. You will need to check with your tech department to see if you can use last names, or if you should just use first names (for privacy reasons.) Seesaw does make this fairly easy–you can copy the names from your class list, then paste into Seesaw!
Whether you are using a QR code or email address to have students log in, you may want to make a poster so that students have a visual about what they should do. Here is an example of mine for logging in with an email address:
Your steps will likely differ depending on your district (and what tools your students have available to them) but mine for logging in with a QR code include:
- Log into Chromebook (my students use their own QR code)
- Scan QR code to visit web.seesaw.me
- Click “log in”
- Click “I'm a student”
- Click “scan code”
- Scan another QR code to log into specific class
- Click their name
- Click assignments
My students bring their own QR code, and then I give them a card that has the QR code to Seesaw on one side, and the QR code for their specific class on the other side.
For logging in with their email address, the process includes:
- Log into Chromebook with email address
- Type the link web.seesaw.me, or click the link inside a platform such as Google Classroom or Schoology
- Click “log in”
- Click “I'm a student”
- Click “log in with email address,” and then click their email address
- Click assignments
#4: Assign activity
Before having students log in, you will need to assign an activity to their class. You can do this by clicking “activities,” then “browse activity library,” then either clicking “my library,” or finding an activity in the community by searching. When you find what you want, click “assign” and then choose the class. You can also assign to just some students in your class, by clicking “assign,” then “edit students, folders, skills,” and choosing only certain students.
#5: Project your Chromebook or computer
When students are ready to log in, using one of the processes listed above, you might project your Chromebook or computer, so that you can walk through the process with students. When doing this, you'll likely want to log out, so that students can see exactly what the login process looks like from their perspective. Then, you can circulate in the room to make sure everyone is following the steps properly.
Here are some common mistakes I've noticed students making, while doing an activity:
- Not clicking the lightbulb: If students click into the activity without clicking “add response,” they can page through the activity, but won't be able to write, move, draw, etc. Make sure to remind them to click “add response.”
- Forgetting to click “draft”: If students aren't completely done with their activity by the end of class, they can click “draft” to save their work. If students aren't reminded of this, they may forget, and then lose their work.
- Clicking check mark too soon: Some of my students have simply clicked the check mark too soon, before they were done with their activity, so then I have to send it back to them. It helps to remind them to not click the check mark until they are done with all of the pages of the activity.
As stated above, it can be an overwhelming process to get students into Seesaw, but once they are familiar with the process, it goes so much quicker! I have noticed that once students are in Seesaw, they are able to pretty easily use the tools, and then they can show you what they know!
I hope this helps as you get your students set up with Seesaw. Happy teaching!
