Indicator 5.A

5.A- Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.

Reflection

My current school district uses a website called Seesaw for Schools. Seesaw for Schools is an online platform that allows teachers to create assignments for students to complete. Seesaw allows teachers to provide immediate feedback for their students and it also allows for open communication between the teacher and parents. Teachers can create their own assignments for students to complete or they can browse the activity library where they can find activities that were already created by other teachers around the country. When my district went all virtual, due to the pandemic, this was what our elementary schools used to provide schoolwork for our students outside of zoom video lessons. Even now, teaching in the classroom again, I still use Seesaw every day to provide my students with online activities and assignments.

One way that I provide differentiated activities for my learners is by creating assignments that go along with my word work program called Words Their Way. This program allows me to separate my students into different groups based on a pretest that they have taken in the beginning of the year. I put them into differentiated groups so that they can learn on their own level. Each group has a whole week to work on one sorting activity that focuses on a specific word or spelling pattern. At the end of the week the groups have to sort their word/picture cards correctly. I created these sorts for my students on Seesaw. The students in each group sort their pictures based on the heading at the top of each group. Then they record themselves reading the words. Once they submit their work, I am able to check how they did and respond. I can also send the work back to the students if there is something that they need to fix.

I really enjoy using the Seesaw program with my students. The best part is that my students love completing assignments on Seesaw. It is fun for them to be able to use an iPad and sometimes they do not even realize that they are doing an educational activity. In the future, I would love to continue using Seesaw to enhance student learning and provide differentiated learning activities for my students. One new tool that I would like to start using is the ability to attach the activity to a standard where you can then grade the students’ assignments directly on through the app. This is something that I just learned about and would love to do some more research about and add to my future Seesaw lessons.