I decided to try using Class Dojo as a management/communication tool and so far I am very happy with it. Class Dojo is a software program that I can access in class via my laptop or iPhone app to instantly award points to students for particular behaviors. These can be positive points (such as +1 for checking work carefully, +1 for good carpet manners) or negative points (-1 for not being prepared with materials, -1 for being off task). When I award points, there is a happy or sad "ding" noise that alerts students that points have been awarded to someone. This serves as a quick reinforcement that does not disrupt class.
The Class Dojo program keeps a record of the points awarded to each student and parents can access their child's record at any time. If I have your email address I have already sent you an invitation to link to your child's account. You can log in and view their record, as well as change their monster avatar. I recommend trying some of the different report options because you can see their percentages of positive and negative behaviors for that day, week, month, or other time periods and track their progress. I believe that you will receive a weekly summary of your child's points in your email each Friday as well.
Parents, this is something new and I would appreciate your feedback. From talking to some of you today I heard that you like being able to check their progress and found the site easy to use. Some others were worried when they saw negative behavior marks. Please don't worry too much about one or two negative marks, the important thing is your child's overall behavior. I have only been using it for two days now but the scholars seem to really enjoy it and I have seen an improvement in behavior already. I hope that it will continue to work well and I will discuss Class Dojo more at Back to School Night next Thursday.
http://www.classdojo.com/
I think this tool is helpful. I know what to ask my daughter or encourage her with and praise her for. Great find!
ReplyDeleteI love this. Its is great to see the specific icons for behavior. Too cool!
ReplyDeleteI am very happy with how Class Dojo has been working over the past week. It helps me to address behavioral trends, note specific positive and negative choices, and to communicate with all of you. Several of the other GATE teachers at Allen also began using Class Dojo this year (Mrs. Hower, Mrs. Benedict, Mrs. DeMaria...) so becoming familiar with it now could be a further advantage for your children. I find myself recommending it to all my teacher friends now because it is a very effective, organized, and fair classroom management system.
ReplyDeleteI love how this system works; it is a great idea! This allows us to know how well our children perform in class. Thank you for interpreting this system into our children's class!
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