Seesaw (web.seesaw.me) has been an amazing tool during the pandemic for music educators. Many of us used it before the pandemic, but when the lockdown occurred, numerous schools assigned Seesaw as a platform for #elmused to use to teach music. It consists of numerous tools to enhance advocacy, teaching, showcasing items, and so much more. Here are some examples of how Seesaw can continue to be used post-pandemic.
Advocacy
Seesaw has the capability of connecting the students’ journals with the students’ caregivers and families. It shows families that music is more than concert preparation as you can add videos from class to their journals, showcase their assessments, their retrieval practices, and more. It delivers this all to the families’ mobile devices. And, you, the music educator, are the gatekeepers that allow what items can be posted for the families to see.
Seesaw Activities
There is a library of 100s to 1000s of lessons/activities that are made by educators for other educators to use. By performing a search, you can find many music activities filtered by grade level. These activities range the gamut from note reading to recording themselves singing.
tools
Seesaw provides students with various tools to help them respond to activities or to post to their journals using multiple modalities. These tools are recording audio, recording video, screen recording, adding links, adding pictures, taking notes via writing or audio, uploading videos/audio/pdfs/jpgs, and using a drawing tool that integrates the other tools into it. It gives students a platform for them to reflect, express, and learn in a way that works well for them to succeed. It also helps you by giving your shyest student a safe place to record a solo. Plus, if you need recordings for virtual performances, Seesaw can be a tool to get those recordings.
Seesaw is free+. You can start with the free version and do all of what I stated above. To upgrade to Seesaw Plus (individual subscription) or Seesaw for Schools (where the school pays per student) gives you more activities to save, more classes to use it with, and allows you to keep track of the students’ progress.
Seesaw Courses
Seesaw is currently holding its annual conference, Seesaw Connect, from July 26-August 13. There are sessions available for all and mini-courses only available to the Seesaw Learning Community (which involves becoming a Seesaw Pioneer, Ambassador, or Certified Educator). One of the sessions available for all is one I created titled, “Elementary Music + Seesaw = Success!”. Check it out today!
I am also running a Seesaw for Music Teachers Course through Midnight Music, which can be taken, asynchronously, at your own pace and timing.
