It is great to observe young students develop an interest for blogging as this can serve as a valuable tool to aggregate their work over a period of time and show an accurate picture of academic and personal growth. I found it interesting that each class had a unique name that showcased the ongoing work throughout the school year. Like others have indicated, privacy is definitely a concern, especially since they are minors. I am not privileged to the minor privacy laws in New Zealand, but in my experience, to publish student information, parents need to waive privacy rights of their child. Typically, in my 1200 student school, approximately 75 students do not waive their privacy rights and therefore cannot have their picture or work or name published. They can choose to have one or two or three of the before mentioned criteria, so it does become complicated.
Regarding the Seesaw app, this is a great tool for documenting classroom announcements and student work and is currently being used by several of my colleagues. I use Class Dojo because it has a behavior component as well as student blogging capabilities. One thing I noticed on the Seesaw blogs at the Russell Street School is a potential accessibility issue. The blogs are using an inline frame which I haven’t seen in the last 7 years in my web design experience, and text doesn’t appear in full screen, at least on my Mac. This can become a frustrating visual experience because the box moves leaving a small window. The Seesaw app does not have these same visual obstructions, and the design is flawless. Concluding, using Seesaw is a great tool for students and classrooms to showcase their work and class assignments. I would though exercise caution in the area of privacy. This begins by having an acceptable use and privacy policy in place at the school which has been agreed upon by all the stakeholders involved (parents, administration, students).
