Class Dojo

I have heard recently about Class Dojo being used in not only individual classrooms but also as a school wide initiative.

I remember when I was in grade school that my teachers would always use a clip chart to manage classroom behavior and send home letter to parents updating them on students' work and what is going on in the classroom.

Now that technology has advanced and the culture the world that we live in is always changing, Class Dojo is a great way keep up with the advances in our world. It is a modern twist on the old style of classroom management and also gets parents involved in their child's schooling.

What is Class Dojo?
Class Dojo is a way to connect teachers, students and parents together in school. It also is a form of behavior management for students in the classroom. Class Dojo is a way for parents to stay connected with what their child is doing in the classroom by teaching sending notes, pictures, videos and updates through it. This app also allows for teachers to track their students behaviors in the classroom as well as manage it and keep parents up to date with how their student is performing in the classroom.

Here are some useful parts of Class Dojo

• Classroom: Each student is given an icon within the "classroom". Teachers are able to click on students and mark in which areas they are excelling in behaviorally and which areas they need to work on. They can also send notes to the student's parents or post updates for the family of the student.

• Portfolios: Teachers are able to post activities for student to upload by text, video, photo or drawing. Teachers can also include worksheets in this section for students to fill up and upload.

• Class Story: This section allows for teachers to keep guardians of the students updated on what the class is doing during the school day to incorporate the family in schooling even when they are not in the classroom. 

• Messages: Teachers can send instant messages to parents about their students that can be translated into 35 different languages making it accessible for almost all families to keep in contact with their child's schooling. These messages can be to the whole class or to individual parents of students. 

Uses for Class Dojo
The uses for Class Dojo are very smart in the way that they address a lot of issues that are faced in the 21st Century Classroom: behavior management and family involvement.

This is a great app to use for the implication of a behavior management plan. Since this app is accessible on any computer or electronic device connected to WiFi, it makes it easy to use for teachers in the classroom without disrupting students learning too much.

Class Dojo allows teachers to manage each student's behavior throughout the day as well as the class as a whole. Students are also able to monitor their behavior by getting updates on how they are performing and behaving in school. This helps for students to intrinsically motivate themselves to behave well in class and work harder to do their best.

This app also connects the families of students to their students' schooling. Teachers are able to keep parents up to date with important information and events going on in the classroom and school. By involving the parents in the school, it allows for them stay up to date with how their child is doing and if their child needs any help in an area or behaviorally.

Experts Opinions
In this article, a study of Class Dojo was used in a second grade classroom for implication. The question posed in this study was if Class Dojo would help to make positive implications of self monitoring in the classroom.

The data in the study showed that Class Dojo was an effective tool in increasing positive behavior and decreasing negative behavior. When students were posed with a weekly point system, they really took into account their behavior and actions in turning them into positive ones. The students were able to better their self management and control, making their behavior in the classroom more positive for the learning environment.

When students are holding positive behaviors and actions, they are able to get more out of their school day and have more time in engaged learning. The outcomes of this expert's study proved that when Class Dojo is fully implemented and followed through on, it is a very effective tool in changing students behavior intrinsically by self monitoring.

Why Class Dojo?
I would definitely use Class Dojo as a teacher for behavior management and involving families in their children's schooling. It is a free and easy to use application that will help my students self manage their behavior as well as myself as the teacher manage their behavior as well.

I believe it is so important to involve the families in the the school, so Class Dojo will be a fun way to make their involvement a positive experience by showing them all the amazing things their child is doing in my class. If needed, I can also update parents on any behavioral issues and they can help me out with those issues by being aware of them and dealing with them at home as well as school.

References 
ClassDojo. (n.d.). Learn all about ClassDojo ♥. Retrieved from https://www.classdojo.com/

Saeger, A. (2017, June 20). Using ClassDojo to promote positive behaviors and decrease negative behaviors in the classroom[Scholarly project]. In Rowan Digital Works. Retrieved from https://rdw.rowan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3446&context=etd