Okay, I'm officially a convert to Classdojo http://www.classdojo.com/. Crossed paths with it last spring and wasn't sure I was sold. I wasn't sure how effective it would be and how well it could be managed. However, a couple of teachers in my school used it successfully last year and love it, so I thought, "I have to give this a try. I refuse to be outdone on the use of Technology in my classroom." I'm not really that competitive, but I do love technology and employing it in my classroom whenever I can.
For those who may not be familiar with Classdojo, you have to check it out. It's FREE and super fast to set up your class. Each student is set up with a cute little avatar that you award points to for behaviors you choose. You also can remove points for behaviors you choose. For example, we are a PBIS school, so I award my students points when they demonstrate respect, responsibility, and/or safe behavior (our school expectations). I remove points if they demonstrate behaviors that run counter to these expectations such as talking when they should be listening or out of their seat. At the end of the day, these points transfer into school "Tiger Tracks" that the kiddos collect and redeem for prizes once a month or so. There are consequences if by chance a student ends the day with no points (phone call home) or negative points (a referral). Hopefully, that rarely happens in your classroom.
The fun part for students (besides earning Tiger Tracks) is each has an avatar and they get an access code to change their avatar if they like. Also, parents can track their child's classroom behavior at home. I must say that my kids love it and so do I.
I open it up on my computer in the morning (it can be projected onto the SmartBoard whenever I want throughout the day), award a point to each student for being responsible and coming to school (and on time), then minimize it. I can maximize it whenever I want to award/remove points for the whole class or individual students. Oh, and the best part, leave the volume up and the students can hear when someone is awarded a point (cheery ding) or had a point removed (sad badum). It takes very little effort and is so effective. I can access a variety of reports, which allow me to analyze how the class did for the day, week, month, etc. I can see what behaviors are being awarded points and which ones are a problem and the time of day these are occurring. So much potential to use with the whole class.
