Ms. Miller & Ms.

Houtenbrink
Courtney Millers E-Portfolio- http://courtneymiller55.weebly.com/
Ashley Houtenbrinks E-Portfolio- http://ashnbrink.weebly.com/

Our Top Apps

December 6, 2015

SeeSaw
SeeSaw is a journaling application. This application allows students to journal and
submit it directly to the teacher. It is like having an entire, unlimited notebook at
your disposal. This application can be used in
many different content areas and is a 100% free
application. Another great aspect of this
application is that it can be used at any grade
level. Students in Preschool can use the drawing
option and high schoolers can upload a PDF file
and submitted directly to the teacher. Seesaw
also has version of the application for just the
parents. On this version of the application the
parents are able to see what their child is doing
in class. The great feature is that they can only
see their childs work so teachers can continue to
have confidentiality.

Review of the App

Here is a review of the Seesaw app:
This app has been a wonderful addition to my kindergarten class! Interface is easy
for kindergarteners to manage independently. (TLSthirteen, Game Changer!, June
4, 2015, Apple iTunes App Store)

How I will use it in our Classroom

1. Self- Reflection: One way that I will be using this application in our
classroom is through self-reflection. In an article by Shayla McGhee, she
wrote, Once students have uploaded their work to Seesaw, they can then
use the programs features to annotate or record audio files on what they are
working on and how they can improve their work in the future (2015). This
really help students with their confidence and helps them to see what
possible work they can do in order to improve their own work.
2. English Language Arts: Denise OBrien describe one way of using the
application like this; Take a photo of a book you read this week. Use the
voice recorder to describe your favorite character in the story (n.d.). This is a
great way that we will be using in our classroom to reinforce the part of the
story.

Common Core Standards

Throughout the year, we go through many standards and this application is no
different. For this application depending upon what we are doing we can meet many
different standards. One of the second grade standards is CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3.
This standard says, Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event
or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and
feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure
(Common Core ELA Standards). One more standard that we will be using is
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6. This standard says, Acknowledge differences in the
points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each
character when reading dialogue aloud (Common Core ELA Standards).

SnapType
SnapType is an application that can be used for
occupational therapy that is available in two
different versions in the Apple App Store. One
version is completely free, while the Pro version
is $3.99. This application is especially helpful for
students with disabilities, and it allows them to
keep up with their fellow classmates by letting
them take a picture of their worksheets to type in
their answers. This is especially helpful for
students who have fine motor difficulties, or for
students who may have Tourettes because they
have trouble with letter formation and writing. I
think that this application is great because it can be used for many different ages,
across a variety of content areas. Also, this application is great for getting parents
involved in the work that we are doing in the classroom and by assisting their child
with their assignments (Kirchner, 2015).

Review of the app

Below is one of the many positive reviews of SnapType:
SnapType has helped my dysgraphic son so much! Writing used to be so painful and
frustrating for him, but now he just snaps a picture of his assignment, types his answers on
the page, and feels VERY good about being able to do his work as well and as quickly as his
peers. A thousand thanks for this wonderful app! (OT4OW, n.d.).

How I will use it in my classroom

This application is especially helpful for students with Dysgraphia, Tourettes

Syndrome, struggles with fine motor skills, or other writing difficulties.
Amberlynn Gifford (2014), the creator of SnapType and an Occupational Therapy
student, discusses how she got the idea for this application; Steven* is diagnosed
with dysgraphia however his mind is sharp, but his handwriting is so messy that he
can't even read his own writing. His OT tried countless ways to help him improve his
penmanship but nothing seemed to work. I would love to be able to use this
application for any student struggling with writing difficulties, for any sort of reason.
One thing that I especially like about this app is that it can be inclusive and offer
assistance to a wide range of students, along with their teachers and parents.
*Name was changed for confidentiality.

Common Core Standards

Each project that we have worked on so far this year, and every artifact we made,
has been connected to a standard in order to prove how this work is relevant and
useful to the education of our students. For SnapType, there are a wide range of
standards that can be met by using this app because the app is useful across most
content areas. One Kindergarten standard that SnapType could meet is CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.K.6. This standard states, With guidance and support from adults,
explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in
collaboration with peers. (Common Core ELA Standards). Another standard that
could be met by using SnapType is a Grade 1 Mathematics standard,
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.C.4. This standard explains that students will be able to,
Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer
questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and
how many more or less are in one category than in another. (Common Core Math
Standards).

References
Common Core English Language Arts Standards. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/ &
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/K/
Common Core Mathematics Standards. (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/1/MD/
Gifford, A., (2014). iPad App for Children with Dysgraphia and Writing Difficulties.
Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/ipad-app-childrendysgraphia-and-writing-difficulties
Kirchner, B. (2015). SnapType for occupational therapy. Retrieved from:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snaptype-for-occupational/id866842989?
mt=8
McGhee, S. (2015). Top 10 edtech tips: Seesaw Retrieved from
http://www.gpb.org/blogs/education-matters/2015/07/15/top-10-edtech-tipsseesaw
OBrien, D. (n.d.). Locust grove tech tidbits: Seesaw.Retrieved from
https://www.smore.com/4f1nt-locust-grove-tech-tidbits
OT4OW., (n.d.). Awesome app!. [Revoew of SnapType]. Retrieved from:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snaptype-for-occupational/id866842989?
mt=8

TLSthirteen. (2015, June 4). Game changer!. [Review of Seesaw application].

Apple iTunes App Store.