Florida Impact Report
Addressing Important Topics Facing Florida Administrators Today
The Power of the Learning Loop
Seesaw, a Learning Experience Platform trusted and loved by 25 million educators, students, and families worldwide, is making a profound impact on some of the most important topics school administrators are facing today. Tailored for PreK6th grade students, Seesaw enables schools to actively involve parents, guardians, and family members in what we call “the learning loop”, fostering a collaborative partnership in their child’s educational journey. Engaging students in these crucial developmental years can yield positive and enduring effects academically, socially, and emotionally, instilling a lifelong love of learning.
This impact report includes testimonials from educators and school leaders across Florida, highlighting successful strategies they are employing to implement Seesaw and the positive impact it’s having on their school community and student achievement.
Seesaw’s Learning Experience Platform supports the four guiding principles from the U.S. Office of Educational Technology, Guiding Principles for Use of Technology with Early Learners.
Guiding Principle #1: Technology—when used appropriately—can be a tool for learning.
Guiding Principle #2: Technology should be used to increase access to learning opportunities for all children.
Guiding Principle #3: Technology may be used to strengthen relationships among parents, families, early educators, and young children.
Guiding Principle #4: Technology is more effective for learning when adults and peers interact or co-view with young children.
*Source: https://tech.ed.gov/earlylearning/principles/
Table of Contents
Family Engagement & Communication
Seesaw helps schools develop strong family relationships as partners in their child’s learning. This is particularly critical for supporting families of all types including immigrant families, divorced families, families overseas, and those with nonEnglish speaking family members. This helps foster a sense of belonging, provides support, bridges geographical gaps, and ensures inclusive participation in their child’s education. Parent-teacher conferences, translation assistance, and involving extended family members all contribute to building a strong foundation that lays the foundation for a child’s success in life.
“I love what seesaw does for my diverse families. Having them understand our class and being able to communicate with me is of the utmost importance. Seesaw translate makes this possible and I love this feature!! This helps my parents help their child be successful! ”
- Carrie D., First Grade Teacher, Hillsborough County School District
“Parents love seeing what their child is learning in the classroom. Our parents love to like and comment on activities and pictures. This gives them the ability to peek into our world, and stay involved in what they are learning. It opens the door to ask questions at home, instead of saying what did you do at school and your child saying nothing, now you can say, tell me about the football activity you did in math today. It helps open that doorway to more conversation.”
- Kristi B., Fourth Grade Teacher, Seminole County School District
“My students love that their parents are able to see their classwork. My parents love that they can see their child’s work. Parents also love that they can provide feedback for their child. This definitely beats generic newsletters!”
- Vivian V., District Administrator, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
“Seesaw . . . Family Engagement made EASY!!! There isn’t an app out there that allows for littles and grown ups alike to share pictures, videos, voice texts, and multiple languages all easily navigated by the youngest uses and non tech savvy alike! Year after year, engagement grows and grows all thanks to Seesaw!!”
- Darcy R., Enrichment Teacher, Park Maitland School Private School
“Using Seesaw provides families with a window into our classroom. We are able to share photos and videos to show families what we are doing every day. Starting in September, with a day in the life of our classroom, we are able to show parents what we actually do every day.”
- Courtney E., Math Learning Specialist K-3, Palm Beach Day Academy Private School
School Participation & Attendance
Students are much more likely to participate in school when they feel supported by their family and school staff. Seesaw helps increase school participation by creating joyful and inclusive experiences that engage all types of students to have a positive learning experience. This helps teachers effectively reach new students, shy or reserved students, and facilitate remote learning for sick or injured students. These factors help foster improved attendance rates and continuous learning experiences for all students regardless of their situation.
“I had a student who was super shy, and would never raise their hand or answer questions. I set up a booth to record videos, and it was a game changer for the student!”
- Cathy K., Library Media Technology Specialist, Pinellas County Schools
“I had a single parent of multiple children that was unable to come into the classroom. They had to work and could not volunteer for field trips or special occasions. Seesaw allowed her to have a window into our classroom. Through messages, sending our weekly newsletter, students assignments, and pictures posted, she was able to digitally present. Seesaw was a game changer for this parent!”
- Carrie D., First Grade Teacher, Hillsborough County School District
Student Achievement
Seesaw’s Learning Experience Platform correlates with improved end-of-year assessment outcomes by focusing on elementary learners’ unique needs. Unlike other products, Seesaw enhances the elementary student, teacher, and classroom experience with age-appropriate solutions. It equips teachers with tools and curriculum to maximize students’ potential during their crucial foundational years. Seesaw fosters critical thinking, comprehension, and fluency assessment, facilitating tailored interventions. It promotes collaboration between families and teachers, aligning strategies with classroom curriculum and by empowering both educators and families alike to drive academic growth and student success through joyful and dynamic learning environments.
“When students see their progress and growth through digital portfolios it empowers them to reach for their goals. Students collect work they have completed either in the Seesaw app or pictures of work completed in class and share that work with families. As they collect their work throughout the school year they are able to reflect on where they started and how far they have progressed. Digital portfolios allow students to collect evidence of their success.”
- Diane L., Technology Consultant, St. Johns County School District
“I remember a time when one of my students recorded themselves reading a passage for fluency. The child never raised their hand in class. She never wanted to read out loud. It was very difficult for me to do one on one fluency with her because she was so soft spoken and would get nervous. I assigned a fluency story to be read on Seesaw audio. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard her read the story with no mistakes and with expression. She was very comfortable with using the Ipad and Seesaw and loved using the audio tool to record. I was so proud of her and she allowed me to share it with her parents too!”
- Denise N., First Grade Teacher, Flagler County Schools
“Being able to have first hand access to lessons makes accessibility and differentiated learning strategies more inclusive and effective. When students feel that they can access the content and that their unique needs and abilities are recognized, they are more likely to be engaged in the learning process. Engaged students are more likely to be motivated, attentive, and active participants in their education, leading to better learning outcomes.”
- Afiha W., Teacher, Pine Crest School
Teacher Support, Retention & Positive School Culture
Schools across the United States are facing teacher shortages, with estimates of around 55,000 total vacancies at the end of 2023 (https://www.teachershortages.com/). In light of this reality, keeping existing staff happy and engaged while developing teachers who are new to the profession are critical drivers of positive school culture and academic achievement. For experienced teachers, Seesaw helps to alleviate their workload and enhance their productivity with easy-to-administer assessments, ready-to-teach lessons aligned to their standards, multiple ways to differentiate, and parent communication tools that are seamlessly connected to student learning. For teachers new to the profession, Seesaw provides tools that align with effective teaching practices like promoting student voice and choice, providing scaffolds and opportunities for differentiation, and lessons based on effective teaching methods (gradual release of responsibility, for example).
“Building rapport with students has always been paramount in my classroom; however, building family relationships isn’t always easy when you teach over 850 students. My favorite part of Open House is sharing our Seesaw with families so that they can sign up and be a part of my classroom and see their child’s learning outside of their homeroom classroom. Seesaw provides a way for me to reach out to families in a way that is manageable for me, engaging for students, and easy for parents.”
- Nicole G., STEM Teacher, Volusia County School District
“I love that I can assign an assessment and the students can work independently on it and then I have that data to help me if I need to reteach or I can move on. It also is helpful when I am giving a unit assessment I can input it all into SeeSaw and the students can work at their own pace and re-listen to questions or the story as needed.”
- Taylor W., Kindergarten Teacher, Washoe County School District
“When my students work on Seesaw Independently during small group/center time they are showing what they know. They enjoy using the variety of tools offered to create their own work, while I am able to see if they are learning the material. The lessons can be adjusted to each level for each student and they can feel challenged individually. The lessons are fun and engaging and keep their attention and motivate them to keep working. I also enjoy grading their work, especially when I get to listen to their audios or watch their videos! My favorite activity is to listen to their fluency when reading.”
- Denise N., First Grade Teacher, Flagler County Schools
Student Engagement
Seesaw is instrumental in promoting student engagement through its versatile features tailored to support diverse learning needs and preferences. Seesaw’s “Daily Check-Ins” enable educators to gain insights into students’ interests, well-being, challenges, and situations, fostering a supportive and empathetic learning environment. Seesaw also enhances learning experiences by animating diagrams, incorporating audio elements, and allowing for annotations, making complex concepts more accessible and engaging for students. Whether documenting a science experiment or a STEM project, Seesaw facilitates hands-on learning experiences, promoting active participation and deeper understanding. Seesaw supports joy and celebration in the classroom, reinforcing positive behavior and creating memorable learning moments that inspire students to thrive academically and emotionally.
“When my students turn 5, it’s such a huge deal to them and their families, and they always want to share it with each other in any way they can! During remote learning, building classroom community became more challenging, so I started using the “Draw” option to create a birthday card in Seesaw for each friend on their birthday. I allowed the other students to voice record their birthday wishes to the birthday friend in the comments as well. It was a great way to build classroom community remotely, and it’s a practice I continued after remote learning ended! I’ll never forget any of their faces, and I am so grateful we had the chance to create something so impactful!”
- Christy M., Preschool Teacher, Clark County School District
“he greatest thing about Seesaw is when a student has a moment where they learn something new or have a success in the classroom and they want to record that moment because they know it can be shared with their family. The connection between school and home strengthens our students confidence and ability to become successful in the classroom. The activities completed in Seesaw help parents to have something to talk about with their student when they get home. They don’t have to guess about what is happening in the classroom, they can see it in the Seesaw app.”
- Diane L., Applied Technology Specialist, St. Johns County School District
“As a professional resource teacher I loved having the privilege of introducing Seesaw to so many teachers in my district. Many would even invite me in their ‘classrooms’ to see the engagement and learning in the portfolios. Showing teachers how to empower students to create and showcase learning inspired technology integrating in hundreds of classrooms.”
- Cassandra S., Librarian Media Specialist, Volusia County Schools
Equity & Access
Seesaw serves as a powerful tool for promoting equity and access in education by addressing the diverse needs of all students, regardless of their backgrounds or abilities. Seesaw is designed to meet WCAG content accessibility guidelines and equip teachers with the resources and tools they need to implement UDL, multiply their reach, and personalize learning to ensure that every learner receives the assistance they need to succeed. Seesaw also serves as a source of motivation for populations with ASD and ADHD, and facilitates the documentation of learning for students with special needs, supporting educators in implementing individualized education plans (IEPs) and 504 accommodations effectively. Moreover, Seesaw breaks down barriers related to poverty, educational challenges, and language barriers by providing equitable and accessible access to educational resources to students and their families. For example, Seesaw supports multilingual students and their families by providing resources in multiple languages and fostering inclusive learning environments. By ensuring equitable support and attention to all students, Seesaw promotes inclusivity in education, ultimately empowering every learner to achieve at their fullest potential.
“I had one student who was an english language learner who could not read anything on his own. I was able to use SeeSaw to record instructions and read the assignment to him as well as have him record his work. This enabled him to work independently as well as gave his parents the opportunity to see his work and to see his growth throughout the year. They really appreciated it!”
- Gerri M., Second Grade Teacher, Volusia County School District
“Seesaw is a “life preserver” for parents of preschoolers with special needs. Imagine raising a developmentally delayed nonverbal child with sensory issues who has violent meltdowns. Many of these parents are like “deer staring at headlights” and have no idea what to do. Through Seesaw they are able to express their concerns and in return I’m able to reach out to help them. I am able to send them demonstration videos of how to use support materials I send home in their child’s backpack addressing their concerns like, social stories, first/ then charts, visual schedules, core word visual boards and more.”
- Sheli G., PreK Special Education Teacher, School Board of Highlands County
“When you have students that are unable to type or write, the availability of recording their thinking is amazing. One of my students this year said to me, “Look I can do it! I can answer the questions all by myself.” This really made me think about how reaching all learners in your classroom is so important.
- Hope H., First Grade Teacher, Palm Beach County Schools
Evidence-Based Best Practices
Powered by Seesaw
Built on extensive educational research, Seesaw is the only elementary learning experience platform, offering a suite of award-winning tools, resources, and curriculum for teachers to deliver joyful, inclusive instruction. Use your ESSA or other federal funds to support your Seesaw implementation!
Proven Strategies on One Platform
High Quality Instruction
Teachers enhance their instruction with premium instructional tools and content designed to make high-quality instruction more engaging, remove barriers to learning and foster creative expression.
Learning Insights
Digital portfolios serve as both formative and summative assessments, allowing students to show what they know and reflect on their learning. Educator views into student learning drive insights far beyond data from standardized assessments.
Students who had more family visits to their work had statiscally significantly higher reading and math scores compared to students who had fewer family visits.
Family Engagement Centered on Learning
Actively inviting families into their childs learning through real time updates from the classroom and two-way communication helps foster relational trust among teachers, parents, and school leaders and improves academic outcomes for students.
Students who had more posts with video or voice had statiscally significantly higher reading and math scores compared to students who had fewer posts.
between number of family visits to student work in Seesaw and end-of-year student reading and math outcomes on
Association between number of posts with video or voice in Seesaw and end-of-year student reading and math outcomes on NWEA MAP® in terms of correlation coefficients.
Findings from an independent study evaluating the impact of Seesaw usage on students in a suburban district in the midwestern US that used Seseaw during the 22-23 school year.
• Industry-leading third-party LearnPlatform has validated Seesaw as an ESSA Tier III evidence-based intervention, demonstrating evidence of Seesaw usage and improved student outcomes.
• Seesaw has earned two highly regarded product certifications for Research-Based Design for Instructional Learning Products and Learner Variability from Digital Promise, demonstrating Seesaw’s commitment to providing equitable, research-backed learning experiences for every learner to reach their full potential.
• Awarded the ISTE Seal of Alignment. Grounded in learning science research and based on practitioner experience, the ISTE Standards ensure that using technology for learning can create high-impact, sustainable, scalable and equitable learning experiences for all learners.
To learn more about our award-winning instructional platform grounded in research and designed by experts, please visit: https://seesaw.com/awards-press/
