Class Dojo is an amazing tool that I've been using in my classroom for several years. You can find out more about it here, but basically it's a positive behavior reinforcement system and parent-teacher communication tool. According to their Twitter profile, Class Dojo is "the positive feedback platform connecting teachers, parents and students" and it "helps kids develop the behaviors and skills they need for success." There are a lot of ways to use the app. With several important behaviors already added in by default, it's pretty much ready to use once you enter the names of your students.
What About Things that aren't Behavior?
With a little creativity, you can use the app to track things beside behavior. Something I've had the most success with, and that parents really seem to love, is tracking homework completion with Class Dojo. I've created a behavior for each category of homework - reading, math, spelling, social studies, science (even returning signed forms) - and students earn points when they complete it. I check their homework, then they walk up to the Smart Board and give themselves their own homework points. I highly recommend using Class Dojo with a Smart Board and giving students the opportunity to award themselves points, which helps them take ownership of the system and invest in it.
Negative Points?
Although I've used negative points in the past, I've abandoned that practice and have no intention of using them again. I've noticed slightly better results without negative points (read: better overall class behavior), and, for example, I've noticed that awarding an "on task" point to an on-task student gets off-task students back on task better than taking away points for being off task. As far as homework is concerned, parents know that their students are completing their homework because they see the points in their child's weekly report. If they don't see a homework point on a given day, that means an assignment was missed.
What do you with the points?
In our class, each point is worth $0.01. At the end of each quarter, I total the points our class earned and then spend that much money on books for our class library. This is usually somewhere around a hundred dollars, and it's a fast way to grow our library. The student with the most points for the quarter then gets to choose one of the new books and keep it. This is another reason I've abandoned the use of negative points - it would lessen the amount of books I can add to our library.
If you're not using Class Dojo, give it some thought. I've only had positive experiences with it, and students and parents love it. If you're already using it, consider tracking something besides behavior. It's a great tool and great way to communicate with parents.
What About Things that aren't Behavior?
With a little creativity, you can use the app to track things beside behavior. Something I've had the most success with, and that parents really seem to love, is tracking homework completion with Class Dojo. I've created a behavior for each category of homework - reading, math, spelling, social studies, science (even returning signed forms) - and students earn points when they complete it. I check their homework, then they walk up to the Smart Board and give themselves their own homework points. I highly recommend using Class Dojo with a Smart Board and giving students the opportunity to award themselves points, which helps them take ownership of the system and invest in it.
Negative Points?
Although I've used negative points in the past, I've abandoned that practice and have no intention of using them again. I've noticed slightly better results without negative points (read: better overall class behavior), and, for example, I've noticed that awarding an "on task" point to an on-task student gets off-task students back on task better than taking away points for being off task. As far as homework is concerned, parents know that their students are completing their homework because they see the points in their child's weekly report. If they don't see a homework point on a given day, that means an assignment was missed.
What do you with the points?
In our class, each point is worth $0.01. At the end of each quarter, I total the points our class earned and then spend that much money on books for our class library. This is usually somewhere around a hundred dollars, and it's a fast way to grow our library. The student with the most points for the quarter then gets to choose one of the new books and keep it. This is another reason I've abandoned the use of negative points - it would lessen the amount of books I can add to our library.
If you're not using Class Dojo, give it some thought. I've only had positive experiences with it, and students and parents love it. If you're already using it, consider tracking something besides behavior. It's a great tool and great way to communicate with parents.
Thanks, Jenna, for the kind words and outstanding app.
ReplyDeleteFolks, here's evidence of yet another reason to use Class Dojo - outstanding support.