Saturday, May 18, 2013

Class Dojo Update

It's been just over two weeks since I started using Class Dojo with my class and I am LOVING it! I am having trouble finding the words to express how wonderful a tool it really is, but I'll try.


  • At first the students would look at the screen every time they heard the sounds of class points that were given, it was a bit of a distraction, but now some may glance, but they immediately return to their work. 
  • I've tied it in to my classroom economy. Prior to Class Dojo students would receive fines for a variety of reasons, now I just award a negative "bubble". With my previous system students had to pay for the fines they received, with Class Dojo I am giving them the ability to get rid of the fines by earned positive "bubbles". At the end of the day any negatives result in fines. This has been stellar for my struggling students - I think they think of it like video game achievements - they want to earn more! 
  • The data tracking tools are wonderful! At the end of the day students look at "bubbles" earned as well as the percent of positive behavior for the day. I show them their previous day's "bubbles" at the start of each day so that they can make a goal for the new day. Then I reset the "bubbles" for the new day. 
  • We've been using the trendspotter tools to track the behavior of the entire class too - there has been a lot of talk of teamwork and I've been giving teamwork points to the whole class as well. 
Last week our behavior was improving everyday and Wednesday was one of the most productive days of the year! And then in went south. I think they were a bit burnt out on some of the big projects we had been working on, and by Friday we had a sad 69% positive. 

At the start of this past week I showed the class the trendspotter graph and we talked about how we could work together to how improvement. I had to explain to them a few times that each negative "bubble" brought the whole class percent down. This strategy paid off...look at how they did this week...




We improved every single day and finished the week with an amazing 92% positive! The students were all very proud (their teacher was too)!

I'm still piloting Class Dojo (and will be for the last 7 days of school!!!!!) but at this point I am certain I will be using it again next year. It has been easier for me (I love being able to use it on my phone too) and has had wonderful results.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update. I am very interested in learning more about this. I just might have to try it out. :)
    Brandee @ Creating Lifelong Learners

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  2. Hi~It's me again. I wanted to thank you for the Wonderopolis freebie but Google has you as a no-reply blogger for me; not sure if that is only for followers or what the problem might be, but it wouldn't let me respond to say thank you. So I hopped over here to say thanks. I am a follower so I will definitely read your post about Wonderopolis when you get a chance to write it. :) Have a nice day!
    Brandee @ Creating Lifelong Learners

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  3. That is really strange! I just looked up the fix and you should be able to reply now. Thanks for bringing that to my attention...I guess that is why no one ever replies to me when I leave a comment!

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  4. I tried out Class Dojo at the end of the year, too, and linked it to my class economy. It was great! My only issues with it are things that I need to work on -- like giving more points out. The program itself is fantastic, though. Thanks for sharing how you use it!

    Alison
    Eberopolis: Teaching Reading & Writing with Technology

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  5. I really love the idea of Class Dojo, but I'm hesitant. Did you use this on a SmartBoard? I'm worried about switching my behavior system to the Dojo and having the internet down for a day, which isn't all that uncommon at our school. Another problem is what to do when you're using the SmartBoard for a lesson. Do you switch back and forth?

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  6. Emily, I do not have a SmartBoard, just a projector, but if we need to put something else up on the board we do. I will still give points, and the kids usually know if they were the recipient. The kids are ok with that and will periodically ask for a quick update of Class Dojo, it hasn't been intrusive. You definitely need a reliable connection to maximize the use of the site, but would certainly still be usable if you have a smartphone with the app. I use my phone as a remote way of giving points when I am around the room or when we are somewhere around campus. Class Dojo is free (for now), so I would suggest signing up and just trying it out to see if it works for you and your class!

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