I Have Found It: A Digital Portfolio Solution

I have been through several attempts at digital portfolios, but last year my school introduced me to one that has my interest: Seesaw. So today I thought I’d share some of the reasons I find it effective with my students.

1. It is student-driven. They can choose a number of ways to show what they know: videos, annotated photos and drawings, written notes, even by uploading PDFs and links. Students can easily collaborate and reflect on their work. It’s also really easy to use, even for young students.
2. It works on a variety of platforms. At school, our students use iPads to upload and review their work, but it also works on Android, Kindle, and in your web browser.
3. It has a simple app for parents. As a parent, I also see the other side of Seesaw. I have a small app on both my Android phone and my iPad that gives me quick access to my child’s portfolio. I get an email and a push notification when something new is uploaded, so I can just click on it and go straight into the new post.
4. It encourages the continuation of learning and reflection. It’s easy for students and parents to interact, liking posts and commenting both with writing or with audio recording. So not only can parents respond to what they see, but students can comment on their peers’ work: asking questions, affirming, adding on, even clarifying.
   
5. It’s flexible. Students can post their own content, but I can set it up so that student posts and comments require my approval. I can post, and I can add other teachers who are allowed to post, such as my teaching assistant. I can use it with shared devices and with 1:1 classes.
6. The Seesaw team is responsive and continually developing their platform. They seem to welcome feedback and genuinely consider how to improve their platform.

I highly recommend you give it a try if you can. And if not, these are some qualities you might look for in your own platform. Read on to the next post to see how I think specialist teachers can get the most out of Seesaw. I’d love to hear about your experiences with digital portfolios in the comments below!