This was my first year trying class Dojo for classroom management. In case you are unfamiliar with Class Dojo, it is a point system for the classroom which assigns student avatars points based on customizable behaviors. The points can be negative or positive. For example, I gave kids points for completing work. Every time they earned a point the computer makes a pleasant sound. The kids loved it! At the end of the week the students who earned 10 or more points got prize box. I gave a special prize for the kids in the weekly top 5 for positive points earned.
Did I mention that class Dojo is FREE? It is, so check it out. http://www.classdojo.com
For those of you who have used Class Dojo, what are some ways you used it? How did you get the kids excited about it?
Jessie,
ReplyDeleteOh my! I LOVE this! I was just playing around with it and I really think my art students would love this. I cannot wait to try it this upcoming year. Thank you so much for posting it. My last classroom management project got old and students stopped really caring about it. This is very cool. So excised!
Angel
Hi Jessie, I am familiar with Class Dojo, a learned about it at a workshop. A colleague of mine used it this past school year with middleschoolers in an instructional support class. The students in her class face academic, social, and emotional challenges. Although I believe the program is geared toward younger children, these middle school students got a kick out of it and were motivated by it. I think I'm going to try it with my support class next year, God knows I need to try something if I have the same type of immature behaviors that I dealt with this year, like tattling, and intrusiveness etc. I'm glad you reminded of this program, thanks! Jane from Walden Group 1.
ReplyDeleteJessie,
ReplyDeleteYour baby is so cute!
I was very interested in Dojo. I like the idea of individualizing classroom management. However, I do see an obstacle to overcome using Dojo. I would think that using Dojo for immediate feedback may use a lot of time accumulated throughout the day. Using the Dojo app on a portable device would be beneficial. However, visiting the app several times per day would be difficult. I would have my Dojo app open all day to where I could just press the home button on my iPhone and give students points.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Davis,
DeleteUsing the Dojo app on your iPhone is perfect! I know what you mean about having to login several times throughout the day. Opening and closing the application on the Epson projector was a bit of a pain for me, too. This year I plan to keep Dojo points up all day on the TV (which I never use). That way when I give a point from my phone or iPad the kids will know who got it and why.
Additionally, one of my colleagues began using her Dojo phone app in the hallway. When I started it I got great results.
Thanks for sharing how you would use Dojo!
Using the Dojo app in the hallway is a great idea as well! I am excited to begin using Dojo with my students.
DeleteI am really interested in using this app for my third graders in the fall. My students the previous year were motivated by any type of points you can imagine. We would change it up every week (i.e teachers vs. students, table group vs. table group, boys vs. girls). Motivating students is one the the most arduous tasks, especially during state testing. My students were burned out from reviewing, but something that makes cheering noises and accounts for points can only help me! :) Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDelete