Thursday, April 4, 2019

Digital Tools to Support Advanced Literacies

The thoughtful conversations that took place on our recent Superintendent's Conference Day were the first steps in WG's efforts to promote strategies that address advanced literacies across the curriculum from kindergarten through 12th grade. One thing that stood out to me as I listened to various conversations unfold was the opportunity for meaningful instructional technology integration across all subject areas and grade levels to support advanced literacy skills. Specifically, digital tools like Flipgrid and Seesaw provide a platform for students to amplify their voice to demonstrate learning, regardless of grade level and subject area. This aligns with Hallmark 2--Talk/discuss to build both conversational and academic language and knowledge. The chart below provides a brief overview of Flipgrid and Seesaw's functionality.

I recently facilitated an online Comparative Study class with Split Rock teachers tasking them to integrate both Flipgrid and Seesaw into their lessons. Here's what they had to say...

In my opinion, Seesaw seems like a great choice for teachers who want a tangible product like a formative assessment or practice task. By snipping or taking a picture of a worksheet/assignment, students can now complete it using the various choices (ie: draw, label,etc.). Furthermore, kids can share their understanding verbally through voice notes. It’s not as engaging as Flipgrid but it still gets the kids talking about their learning. This is great for early finishers as well. Another big advantage I see with Seesaw is that it encourages basic computer/keyboarding skills like re-sizing, colors, backgrounds, etc. that could be important to know for web design and coding classes in the future.
--Doug Farfaglia, 3rd Grade
Flipgrid and Seesaw are great tools for engaging students in activities. Both have excellent features which allow for teachers to teach, support and evaluate speaking skills in a time effective way... Having students present via Flipgrid and Seesaw saves time and would allow for more opportunities for students to practice speaking skills. Additionally, having students practice in this format allows them to build their confidence, especially if they have very little experience in speaking in front of groups...Both Flipgrid and Seesaw are great ways for students to share their thinking, especially if they are apprehensive participants during whole-group instruction. As such, both tools can be great tools for formative assessments, helping direct a teacher's attention in order to organize small groups and differentiate instruction.
--Michele Coonce, Special Education
There are several ways that I have started using Seesaw and Flipgrid in my short time of signing up. In my opinion, the simplest are tasks to set up are where the students are reading for fluency via video or recording and responding to a story such as a retelling or a summary. During this comparative study I am trying to improve the students’ responses to each other's’ work. One of the math assignments I created tasked students with creating a word problem, solve a classmate's problem, and then respond to the solutions. Other areas I am trying to focus on with the use of the digital tools are in science, social studies, and the NextGen standards. The science report card standard of obtains, evaluates, and communicates information is perfectly addressed with the use of these digital tools. I look forward to share some of these activities with my grade level team.
--Wendy Vogt, 2nd Grade 


Flipgrid Resources

Check out the links below to learn how to get started on your Flipgrid journey

Seesaw Resources

Check out the links below to learn how to get started using Seesaw

Interested in learning more? 

Register for an online class to learn how you can successfully integrate Flipgrid or Seesaw into your instruction.

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