ClassDojo - My Thoughts!

My experience in using ClassDojo has been limited by the fact that I didn't test it out with my students until the last week of summer school, but it was extremely positive.  On a whim, I set up the class and tried it one morning.  I got off to a slow start, but immediately saw my students engagement increase.  They were excited to see the points on the board, and really wanted to hear the audio notification!  One of my students tried harder at reading then I have ever seen while we were using ClassDojo!

I found the site easy to use, easy to set up classroom, and very easy to award points using the mobile log-in on an iPad or iPod Touch!  I even found myself giving more positive feedback to students, and avoiding negative comments.  This in an area that I think makes ClassDojo unique.  By having a list of positive reinforcers in front of me (or one of my instructional assistants), it forces you to go to the positive first.  I'm the first to admit that I have a tendency to focus on negative behaviors of students and this really helped me stay more positive.

I have chosen to turn off notifications (visual and audio) for negative behaviors, this a personal choice.  I still tracked those behaviors, but didn't want the students to get caught up in seeing negatives displayed for the entire classroom.  The students didn't seem to notice, they just liked seeing their number go up!

As of right now there is no way to track individual students across different classes, but in Twitter conversations they have mentioned this functionality is coming.  I think this is my biggest holdback with the site.  While students do have a place to access their data and customize their avatar, the data it shows is aggregated from different classes and the student has to enter several different codes to get it working.  I'm hoping that upcoming updates will help with this, because I think it is essential if multiple teachers what to track one student and get the most accurate data.

I also think the data keeping could have some improvements made.  It is a nice feature to have a classroom report emailed to you at the end of each class, with an overview of the points given.  This is wonderful in a general education setting.  In a special education setting it is not enough information.  As I stated in the previous post, you can email individual student reports to yourself or parents, but you have to enter an email address for each student, every time you end the class.  This can obviously become cumbersome very quickly!

With that being said, I think this is a very transformative tool for classroom management, and will be very seriously figuring out how to make it work for my classroom situation.  I think using the "percentage" as a way to gauge a students behavior, might be an extremely positive way to look at it.  Not just numbers (which is essentially what I'm doing now), but a more complete picture of their day.  In my head I think that showing students their "percentage" throughout the day may help them see how they can improve their day, if needed.  I haven't worked out all the details, but it's the direction I'm heading in.

This tool has a lot of potential and I'll be looking forward to the upcoming updates!

Patrick


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ClassDojo

I'm not sure where I first heard about ClassDojo, but I never took the time to do more than glance at it.  I knew it was a website for tracking behavior, but didn't give it a chance until I heard an interview with the creators on the EdGamer Podcast.  Liam and Sam (the co-creators) did an excellent job of explaining why they started ClassDojo that I realized I had to give it a try.

So what exactly is ClassDojo, a fun, easy, mobile way to track an entire classroom worth of behavior! The website is still in beta and free for teachers (and intends to stay free!) so first head on over and create an account.  Setting up a class is simple too, just type in your students names and you're set.  They have already pre-loaded 6 positive and 6 negative behaviors to track.  You are free to customize, add or delete these behaviors as you like!  Another fun aspect is each student is assigned a fun avatar that you can change or they can customize (more on that in another post!).

Once the class is set up it's time to start.  Click on Start Class and you can start taking data.  Click on a student and then click on the behavior they exhibit.  A running total of points is kept by each student, and their's a pop-up at the bottom that shows what they did and gives a small audio cue.  You can even choose to show notifications for both positive and negative, or you can turn off one or the other.  Same with the audio notification it can be set to only go off with positive notifications!  The last setting is to have combined points or you can separate the positive from the negative points, giving each student 2 numbers to watch.

The interface is designed to be displayed to the entire class while it's being used, so it works great with a SMARTBoard or Projector during class times.  The beauty is that you can then use a mobile device to assign points from anywhere in the classroom or school even.  Multiple devices can be logged in at one time and can all be giving points during a lesson!  You can even see the points on the mobile device if you want to show it to a student.  Just point you iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android phone or tablet to http://mobile.classdojo.com to sign into your account and get started!

When you are finished with a class and click end class you are presented with a graph that gives you the overall positive percentage.  While showing you the positive and negative points you awarded.  You can view this as a classroom or by individual student.  You can email yourself a copy of the report (PDF download is coming soon) and you can email each individual student report to yourself or parent by typing in their email address.

I have quite a bit more to say about ClassDojo.com, but think I'm going to save that for another post.  Please give it a try and let me know how it goes in your classroom!

Patrick

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#AppMonday - Time Timer

One of my favorite iOS apps is the Time Timer App.  Based on the physical timer of the same name, it is a great app for any classroom.  The Time Timer app allows you to set a countdown for up to 60 minutes and will slowly make the red portion disappear.  It comes with lots of options, you can set the mode to a clock or the original timer.  You can also set it to play lots of fun sounds when it gets to zero, like a robot, car horn, explosion or a barking dog.  When you set the timer you can set it to go one time, or repeat up to 99 time, you can also hit one button on the screen to repeat the last setting.

One drawback to the app is that the timer does not sound outside of the app.  If you leave the app you get no notification that it ended.  It is also one of the more expensive apps on the app store at $4.99.  The Time Timer works on all iOS devices and is an app I would recommend for any classroom.

Time Timer has offered 3 codes for the Time Timer App.  You can register to win one of them 3 different ways, and each way you do it will get you an entry:

1.  comment on this post
2.  Like Teaching All Students on the Facebook Fan Page and leave a comment
3.  Tweet about this post using the Hashtag -  #appmondaytas

I will take all the entries, randomize them, and pick a winner.  Please have all your entries in by Wednesday, Jan 12 and I'll post the winner by Friday.  Good Luck!

Patrick

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Time Timer

Kate at Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs always has great resources. This week a new app for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Many special needs classrooms use Time Timer's to show a visual representation of how much time is left.

Now there's an app for that! Check out her post about the Time Timer iPhone app. Unfortunately, it is $4.99, but I think it's worth it!

Patrick

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Classroom Management Software

Recently a conversation took place on Twitter between several individuals, @shareski, myself, & @mbjorgensen concerning Classroom Management Software.


The start of the conversation came from @shareski, who stated that "Never been excited about demos that show how to control or lock student computers. We can do better." This stuck a chord with me and I responded, "If we're always controlling what they see, when do they learn to think for themselves? Just my opinion!" From my recollection @mbjorgensen felt that there was a place for such software, and posted a response on his blog, Jorgie's Learning Blog.


I've read the post, and agree heartily, there is a place for such software, especially in a computer lab setting. I've not spent much time in computer labs, and actually never considered the uses for such software. I love projecting the monitoring software so that students can self-monitor! It also seems very useful to help students collaborate from across the room.


I do also want to admit that I took @shareski's comment a little differently than @mbjorgensen. When I read the original comment I was thinking about filtering type software. I do agree there are certain sites that are not for student use, but we also have to start teaching students to be intelligent consumers. There is a lot of bad stuff out on the net, if we filter everything students will never learn how to navigate safely on their own.


I want to end by saying, I respect and follow @mbjorgensen, but this is one of the limitations of a platform like Twitter. I think both @mbjorgensen, & myself had different takes on the same comment. Twitter is very useful, I constantly find new and exciting information on Twitter, but the conversation can be confused. Thank you Jorgie for your comments, and clarifications! Please check out @mbjorgensen at Jorgie's Learning Blog and @shareski at Ideas and Thoughts from and Educator.




Patrick


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Online Timer

Just a quick post tonight. Saw this online timer over at TLWMSN. Seems like a useful visual tool for students who needs visuals. Could be used in conjunction with computer games, or even as just a timer during a group time for how long you have to answer! Check it out.

Patrick

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