Seesaw wish list...

I knew that Seesaw was a great tool when I first saw the (at the time) innovative QR login. Here was a company that seemed to understand that creating a tool that is easy to use for students will in turn make it easier for teachers.

After using as a school admin, teacher and parent, I now have a few ideas of where the next innovation could be;

1. 'Gamification' and simple teacher posts. Imagine a bank of 100+ badges that teachers could assign to students in seconds...(aka Class Dojo). Yeah, it only takes 30 seconds to post 'Joe moved up Reading Level's today. He has been working really hard and we are all really proud of him' but imagine a badge like this that teachers select and assign. And if Seesaw can go there with badges, it could be pretty simple to gamify it, with a points/badge system for some real student motivation!
2. The ability for parents to post into connected students journal. The very idea of the name 'Seesaw' is going back and forward between home and school. What better way to allow for this to happen than the ability for a parent to post into a child's account, either with their child or independently? I could see families on an overseas trip using Seesaw as an 'online journal' to share their discoveries, or 'family home learning tasks' where challenges are set (e.g. 'go on a nature walk') and completed and posted on Seesaw. 
3. Parents to be able to invite other family members and manage connected adults. The QR letter Seesaw generates is genius, but getting this letter to Nana on the other side of the world is not so easy, nor is it necessarily easy for Nana to connect up, even if she does have the letter (Nana looking in the Yellow pages for 'App Store'....). I would love to see an 'invite family member' button that connected parents (who have used the QR code from school) can click on to generate a link for family members that allows a 'click on this link and join into this child's Seesaw account'. In correlation with this idea, it would make sense for the first parent that connects to the child (through the QR letter) to be able to manage other connected adults. How is a teacher supposed to know if Joe Bloggs is really someone's uncle?
4. 'Learning Task creation'. As it stands, I recommend using Seesaw alongside either Google Classroom or Hapara Workspaces. I would love to see Seesaw go into the 'task creator space' whereby teachers can post and manage learning tasks within Seesaw. It would need its own section ('Learning/Teacher/Classroom' 'Tasks/Feed') that only students see (so parents did not get notified when a teacher flicks a YouTube video for students to watch and respond too). The main integration I can envisage is teachers posting media that students annotate or respond too. I have used Seesaw to complete this sort of task, but it is currently too complicated.
5. Better Google Drive integration. This was the number one reason for not initially switching to Seesaw from Kidblog, and the number one reason I still think Google Sites is a great option for online portfolio's.  What I really want is an 'insert from Google Drive' option, which brings up the users (would have to be signed in with Google account) Drive. Class Dojo, Kidblog, Slideshare, to name a few, have this option. I even looked up one of the tools that allow for this integration (if a Seesaw tech happens to be reading this...) https://www.filestack.com/
Bonus - Chromecast posts from iPad App. Easy. Just like Facebook, a 'cast' icon to cast media (video, audio, picture) to a Chromecast from the Seesaw iPad App. I selfishly want this as we use iPad's (and Chromebooks) with Chromecast's.

Digital Badges - Part 2 of 3. Why use Digital Badges.

Not matter how I look at it, badges are a form of motivation. I am not comfortable with the 'carrot and stick' mentality of learning - do this and you get this. I want students to be intrinsically motivated and have growth mindsets.

However, I believe that Digital Badges have a lot of other positive attributes, and as far as motivational tools go are better than certificates, awards and stickers. 

To ensure I encourage growth mindsets, I would like to see Digital Badges feature a wide range of 'Growth mindset qualities' - badges for 'taking a risk' by tying something new 'Obstacle Clearer' by persevering despite obstacles, 'Action Your Feedback' for taking on feedback and 'Feedback Giver ' for giving feedback to others learning. 

With these disclaimers in mind, here are my reasons for using Digital Badges in the classroom.

1. They are student driven and student managed. As outlined in my previous post "Setting up Digital Badges" I recommend having the Digital Badge process student driven - where students decide what badges should be awarded for (along with you) and students create the badges for everyone. Likewise, I believe in 90% of cases students should be able to determine if they can 'award themselves' the badge, according to the criteria set for each badge. All this means students have ownership and autonomy over the badge system.
2. Reflection. As a teacher, my purpose of having students post badges on their blogs is not so their blogs look cool, filled with funky badges. Rather, it is for badges to provide a catalyst for reflection, feedback and discussion. When a badge is posted on a blog the expectation is for some reflection to be posted alongside it. Sentence starters like "I am proud of this badge because..." or "This badge demonstrates my problem solving/creative thinking/perseverance because..." allow for the reflection to be focused on the process of gaining the badge - not the outcome of achieving it. Having other students, parents and teachers comment also adds to the depth of learning and reflection.
3. Fair. Compared to other 'awards' badges are fair. Watch any Assembly where certificates or trophies are handed out to see the disappointment that comes with the many that miss out. Why should this be? If 20 students have succeeded in fulfilling the criteria, why should they not all get an award? Digital Badges place no limits - if a cohort of students are amazing problem solvers, they may all earn the 'Solve it in Multiple Ways' badge - rather than the 'top' problem solver chosen.
4. Expectations. We all know that 'what gets measured gets taught'. Likewise, 'what we award, students (and parents) will aspire towards'. By having badges for specific activities, like 'Lead a student workshop' or 'Taking a risk in my Learning' we make clear what we value as educators.
5. Identity. In today's world of selfies and self-promotion, students want to show their peers how they are unique. When a student gets into a Rep Sports team, they can post a photo, when they perform at a concert they post a video - but what about students who have skills that are not as 'visually tangible'? How does the student that collaborates effectively share their identity with others? The advantage of sharing your skill-sets with others is more than just an ego-trip. In the classroom, it allows for students to see who has strengths in areas they need support. It allows for students who may otherwise go unnoticed to be recognised by their peers. In an ideal setting, I imagine students approaching peers for help. One way to make this happen is for students to have a true map of their peers strengths - and this can effectively be achieved through badges.

My finial thought is to reiterate that Digital Badges should be used with careful consideration. Though they are a strong motivational tool for students they should not simply be used as a carrot. 

Interesting Reads around Badges

I Don’t Get Digital Badges

More on Badges and Assessment

Intended Purposes Versus Actual Function of Digital Badges

Boosting Intrinsic Motivation with... Extrinsic Motivation?

Digital Badges - Part 1 of 3. Setting up Digital Badges.

This post is intended to be the first of three posts about Digital Badges. 
Part 1 is the 'How' Part 2 the 'Why' and Part 3 the 'Outcomes'. I am writing the 'How' before the 'Why' as I am still grappling with an idea - "Do Digital Badges led to extrinsic motivation and fixed mindsets'? (would love anyone's opinion on this)....

Digital Badges are 'Brownie Badges for your Blog'. They could be for any achievement; from completing Triathlons to Learning a musical instrument. Here is my recommended process of how students can earn these badges.

1) Explain the concept of Digital Badges to your students (maybe bring a Girl Guide/Brownie/Scout uniform to show 'old school badges') Have students brainstorm a list of what badges could be awarded for. This list does not have to be definitive. I had 3 criteria for my students;

1. It has to be an achievement that is accessible to anyone i.e. winning a musical scholarship for 10 year old is accessible to all 10 year olds as any 10 year old could apply. Riding the tallest rollers coaster at Disneyland is an achievement - but not everyone has the opportunity to do this.
2. It has to be able to be self-managed by students. By this I mean students need to be able to know if they have achieved this, so a 'kindest person in the class award' is not appropriate as it would require others (teacher) to determine. Having 20 'gems' in your writing book can be self managed though, as the teacher indicates these in their feedback and students can count them.
3. It has to be measurable. 'Being good at cricket' is not measurable. 'Being in a Rep Team for cricket' is.

2) Have student make badges. I used www.openbadges.me as it works with our students iPads and Chromebooks and is pretty easy. You could also use Google Drawing or Paper and Pen (then take a photo). You only want one student making each badge, so have students write their name or cross out ideas as they begin to create their badge.

3) Store badges in a shared location or have students share badges with you. This is where my method splits into 3 methods.. 

Method 1 (quick and easy) is to have all the badges stored in one Google Drive folder that is shared with all students. 
Method 2 (requires some work from the teacher - but may be essential) Is to have all the badges, along with a description of how to achieve them, on a Class Website/Blog.
If you are all about quick and easy jump down to Step 5!

Method 3 (slower, but with more transparency) is to have students share the badges with you, then....

4) Create a Google Form for each badge. See the form example below. The main purpose for having a form is so a teacher can look at the 'Google spreadsheet' that the form automatically creates and quickly see students that have been awarded badges. The Google Form collects students login name, adding extra transparency to the process. Overall, I feel that the form makes students take more responsibility than simply having a folder they can access and download badges from - but really depends on the students as to what method to use!

Forms would then need to be embedded or linked from a central location (your class blog/website) for students to see what badges are available.
Here is a link to a live form to see how they look.

5) Let students Save the badges and upload to their Blog. At any time, students can go to the shared folder or Blog/Website that hosts the 'Badge Forms' or 'Badge Images and descriptions' and save/copybadges. They will then need to upload/paste the Badge Image into a Blog Post or Digital Portfolio.

My expectation is that some reflection needs to be included when students post their badges to their own blog. e.g. "Here is my Eco-Warrior badge for being part of the Eco-Warrior team in 2015. I am proud to be in this team as a lot of students wanted to be in it. I am also proud because I think the work we do is really important, like composting and recycling".