“Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as hard duty..”-ALBERT EINSTEIN

Seesaw: Turning Students into Storytellers and Classrooms into Communities

Imagine a classroom buzzing with creativity: students snapping photos of their projects, narrating their thinking, and listening to voice-note feedback that feels deeply personal—while parents chime in from home. That’s Seesaw: the EdTech platform reshaping what learning looks and sounds like today.

📌 What Is Seesaw?

Born in 2011 as a simple digital portfolio, Seesaw has blossomed into a full learning‑experience platform for K–6 classrooms. It combines interactive assignments, two‑way communication, automated formative assessments, and a rich template library—all within a user-friendly interface.

🎨 Dynamic Creativity Meets Authentic Expression

Seesaw’s multimedia toolkit—photos, drawing, voice, video—lets students express themselves in ways that naturally resonate. In Vietnam, a study showed measurable gains in English fluency after students practiced speaking via Seesaw (Le, 2022). In physics education, discovery‑based use of Seesaw saw concept‑mastery scores jump (70 vs. 58) compared to traditional methods (Edumaspul et al., 2023; Edumaspul et al., 2022).


💬 Feedback That Feels Human

Forget red marks—Seesaw empowers teachers to leave voice memos, handwritten annotations, and guided prompts in real time, creating feedback that feels intimate and supportive. Language educators consistently report that these features remove emotional barriers and deepen student engagement (Seesaw, 2022; Anderson et al., 2021).


🏠 Real Connection Between School and Home

Seesaw bridges the home–school gap. Teachers post classroom updates, parents “like” and comment, and built‑in translation supports over 150 languages (Seesaw, n.d.; Smith, 2023). Two‑way communication increases parent involvement and fosters richer dialogue at home (De Leon, 2018; Smith, 2023).



🔍 Built for Differentiation & Discovery

Designed with Universal Design for Learning in mind, Seesaw offers multimodal supports, scaffolded tools, and a robust English‑Language‑Development library. In five pilot districts, students showed enthusiastic engagement with ELD writing prompts and audio narration (Seesaw, 2023). Combined with discovery‑learning pedagogy, Seesaw boosted critical thinking and conceptual understanding in STEM subjects (Edumaspul et al., 2023; Edumaspul et al., 2022).

🚀 What’s New: 2024–2025 Updates

Seesaw continues to respond to classroom needs with major upgrades:

  • Instruction & Insights Tier (Aug 2024 launch): includes reading‑fluency assessments, Read‑with‑Me guided reading, adaptable FlexCards, ELD lesson banks, and analytics dashboards for teachers and administrators (Seesaw, 2024; Educators2Educators, 2024).

  • Platform Enhancements (2024): expanded messaging tools, focus‑mode adjustments like disabling drawing tools individually, upgrade to audio‑player UI, and sitewide standards linking (Seesaw, 2024; Seesaw, 2025).

  • Curriculum & ELD Expansions (2023–2024): enriched content library, CA/WI pilot for ELD prompts, increased language support (Seesaw, 2023; Seesaw, 2023).

⚠️ Things to Watch

  1. Digital Access Equity: Device and internet limitations may exacerbate learning disparities if not addressed.

  2. Teacher Workflow: Without intentional routines, teacher notifications and feedback may lead to burnout.

  3. Analytics & Integrations: Seesaw excels in engagement and narrative learning but lacks the deep coding tools and LMS-level analytics of other platforms.

💖 Why Educators Love Seesaw: A Closing Thought

Seesaw works because it centers connection. It empowers students as communicators, teachers as coaches and collaborators, and families as active participants in learning. It’s not about flashy tech—it’s about embedding humanity into education. As De Leon (2018) reflected, Seesaw facilitated “two‑way communication,” transforming families from spectators into partners.

✅ Try Seesaw Today

  • Start with free templates and Sample Student mode.

  • For full premium features like Read‑with‑Me and Insights Dashboard, explore the Instruction & Insights plan.

  • Need help integrating Seesaw into your classroom or a specific unit? I’m here to help! 😊

📚 References

  • Anderson, S., et al. (2021). Seesaw That! Special Education Teachers’ Use of Flexible Digital Tools. TCU.
  • De Leon, K. (2018). Using the Technology Seesaw to Strengthen Communication Between Home and School. California State University San Marcos.
  • Edumaspul, B. S., Sofna, A., Pramita, C., Puri, T. R., et al. (2023). Discovery learning model influences students’ concept mastery: Jurnal Edumaspul, 7(2), 33–38.
  • Edumaspul, B. S., Sofna, A., Pramita, C., Puri, T. R., et al. (2022). Inquiry-based discovery learning in physics education. Indonesian Physics Education Review.
  • Le, H.-H. (2022). Using Seesaw Application in Improving English Speaking Skills: The Case of an International Middle School. Vietnam Journal of Education, 6(2), 137–149.
  • Educators2Educators. (2024). The evolution of Seesaw: Digital portfolio & online learning.
  • Seesaw Learning, Inc. (n.d.). Features & Family Engagement. Seesaw.com.
  • Seesaw Learning, Inc. (2022). Everything You Can Do with Messages to Communicate and Collaborate. Seesaw Blog.
  • Seesaw Learning, Inc. (2023). Seesaw Curriculum Updates 2023. Seesaw Help Center.
  • Seesaw Learning, Inc. (2023). Seesaw ELD Pilot Case Study: California & Wisconsin.
  • Seesaw Learning, Inc. (2024). Instruction & Insights Platform Overview. Seesaw Help Center.
  • Seesaw Learning, Inc. (2025). Product Updates and Focus Mode Enhancements. Seesaw Help Center.
  • Smith, T. (2023). Virtual connections for parental engagement: Digital spaces and home‑school partnerships. STeL.

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