What: Class Dojo is an online behavior management system that tracks student behavior. Each student is assigned an avatar and you can award positive points for good behaviors or negative points for undesired behaviors.
Who: For busy teachers who don't have time to record student behaviors everyday. For students to understand clearly what is expected. For parents to get daily feedback on their child.
When: 24/7 Teachers can log in and see current and past points. Parents and students(if you allow this feature) can also log in and see current and past points.
Where: In the classroom, in the hall, in the lunchroom...anywhere you have your smartphone, tablet, computer or interactive whiteboard you can be giving out points. I even hand the tablet to a student and let them look for students who doing well and give out points.
Why?
You can customize point descriptions. My school uses specific language for school rules across the grades and I can put that exact language in class dojo so the students know what I am looking for.
It Motivates the students. Anytime my students see the ipad in my hand or the website on the interactive whiteboard they know that is an opportunity to get points and rush to do whatever it is they are supposed to be doing. Transition times are so much shorter and I don't have to repeat myself nearly as much. I have avatars for teams points and the students encourage their teammates to behave to get more points.
Online and as Apps. I have class dojo on my smartphone, tablet and computer, if there is internet, I can be assigning points.
How it supports learning: Do you remember Pavlov and his dog from Psych 101? Well this is just as simple as that! Class dojo follows Behaviorist B. F. Skinner's theory of contingencies of reinforcement*. When you give positive points you are reinforcing desired behaviors and increasing their likelihood. When you give negative points, you are decreasing the likelihood of undesirable behaviors. All this positive behavior leads to less time spent on classroom management and more time doing what you are their to do...teach!
I love class dojo, seriously. I love it!
Video for introducing Class Dojo to Students:
Check out the new timer feature explained by Richard Byrne from Free Tech 4 Teachers
*Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A.H. (2012). Integrating educational technology into teaching
6th edition. (pp.37-39). Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Thank you for sharing this resource that you use in your classroom. I would be curious to try Class DOJO. It appears to have the potential of benefiting many students with managing their own behavior. I went to their website to try to learn more but couldn't find pricing. Is it a free app? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteZoom Zoom Classroom
Free as a bird! They also promise to keep it free for teachers who are early adopters :)
DeleteI started using this in my classroom and we are in LOVE with it! My favorite part about Class DOJO is that I can instantly give/take points using my iPhone no matter where we are in the building. My kids even like to change their avatar as a reward. The best part....IT IS FREE!
ReplyDeleteI use this in my classroom, too! We love it as well! One parent (of a child who is not always doing what he's supposed to) says he doesn't get as down about getting in trouble this year because he says he can earn it back by getting positive points! I think that speaks for itself! I don't have many parents or children who use it at home, but do have a few! I think if more teachers used it, more parents would become aware of it and use it more!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is so cool! I’m amazed at all new and creative ways technology is being used. I plan to use Dojo next year with my class. I often forget or run out of time when trying to mark students discipline cards. So this will be a great way to help student and parent monitor behavior.
ReplyDelete