So, you’re a music, physical education, or library specialist. You have heard about Seesaw from general education teachers in your buildings or maybe you have gone to a Seesaw training. You think you are ready to try using it in your classes but are not sure the best way to go about it. “How many classes can I have?” “What is the best way to set up my classes?” “How are other Specialists using Seesaw?” These are all questions that may be keeping you from getting started until you get some answers. Well, look no further. Hopefully these answers can get help.
Class Limit?
With any Seesaw plan, there is a limit to how many classes a teacher can create. But luckily, the Issaquah School District has Seesaw For Schools which is a premium version of Seesaw for schools with many additional features that are not included in the free version of Seesaw. This includes the ability for teachers to create up to 100 classes. So for an elementary P.E specialist who has 20 individual classes, it is possible to set up an individual class for every single one of those classes.
Which set up option is best?
Deciding how to set up Seesaw classes as a specialist will take some thought. Some questions to ask are:
- How often do I plan to post and have students post in Seesaw?
- Should I have my own Seesaw classes or be a co-teacher with the homeroom teacher?
- What if I had one Seesaw class per grade level? How would that work?
Answering these questions can help you decide which class set-up option to take. Lets explore these options a little closer to understand them better.
Option 1: Have separate classes that are different then the homeroom Seesaw classes
Pros: Students work in separate Seesaw classes for each teacher. You can control your own class settings. If planning to post often, they won’t drown out the posts from other classes.
Cons: Unless students are coming to your class with their own devices, they will have to sign out of the home room class and scan into your Specialist Seesaw class when they want to add things to your class. Not a big deal…just an extra step. You will have to manage the different QR codes for each class.
Option 2: Become a Co-teacher on all of your homeroom Seesaw classes. Use a Library, Music, or P.E. folder to keep work organized.
Pros: Students will not need to sign in and out of the homeroom class and scan into a separate class for each specialist.
Cons: Teachers have to agree on class settings. Students and teachers must remember to use folders to help differentiate posts for each subject. There will be a ton of notifications that all co-teachers will have to manage.
Option 3: Have one large class with folders for each grade level or homeroom teacher.
Pros: No need to sign in and out or switch between classes. Everything is in one big class.
Cons: There is one shared Class Journal and students do not have their own journal. Families cannot subscribe to the journal (but posts can be shared to a class blog if you want to share to a wider audience.
All of these are viable options for you as a specialist, depending how you plan to use Seesaw. Talking to the homeroom teachers in the building can help you choose which way you go.
How are other specialists using Seesaw?
There are some great “PD in Your PJs” webinars from Seesaw that focus on how Specialists are using Seesaw. If you sign up for one and can’t make it, Seesaw will send you a link to the Google Slide Deck with all resources shared in the webinar. Check it out.
Seesaw, STEAM, and Music in Our Schools Month
BITS AND PIECES 