Hiiiiiyaaahhh!! Enter the Dojo!

One of my passions in teaching is utilizing technology in the learning process and even to make managing my classroom easier. With this in mind, I want to talk about my newest find - Class Dojo!

To quote the creators of Class Dojo, it is a "real-time behavior management system that allows teachers to recognize positive behaviors as it happens". All teachers need to do is register for their FREE account and they'll be given the Class Dojo tools. You set up your class (or classes), establish the behaviors you want to track, and you're ready to go! I could go on and on about this awesome tool, but I thought I'd hit on a few of my favorite features.

1. Avatars - Students are represented by avatars on Class Dojo. My students were immediately engaged when I introduced this tool, because they wanted to pick their own avatar. I allowed them to do this, and I got immediate buy in! You can also "unlock" a feature that allows you upload student photos to Class Dojo instead of avatars. Fun stuff!!

2. Customized Behaviors - As the teacher, you can set the positive and negative behaviors you want to track. I tried to make sure there were more positive behaviors to reward than negative, but it's totally up to you. This is especially helpful if there is a problem in the classroom community and you want to resolve it quickly. For my class, we had a hard time with following directions. We set a goal to achieve "X" amount of points for following behaviors, and was pretty quick about taking points away from students who were not listening & following directions. 

3. Reports - As teachers and school become more data driven, the reports you can pull from Class Dojo become INVALUABLE! You can e-mail student reports to parents or you can print them individually to send home. You can even track class progress as reports give you the percent of positive behavior rewarded compared to the percent of negative behaviors. I show these reports to students and it's amazing how they take control, set goals, and improve their own behaviors.

My class behavior report - 80% positive! Yay!!

4. Points - Points rewarded or taken away are displayed next to each student's avatar. This is a self-checking tool as students get the immediate feedback. My students hate to see themselves "in the red," so they really go out of their way to get noticed for positive behaviors. This way students who are having a bad morning can turn things around and have an exceptional afternoon. 

If my students are in the negative, I take away 5 minutes of recess for every negative point they have. If they get more than 5 negative points, then I refer them to the office. BUT... students can work their way out of the proverbial hole they've dug for themselves. They don't owe recess minutes unless they're in the negative at recess. 

While there are a lot of great things about Dojo, I need to tell you that this is still in beta testing. All accounts are free to teachers, but I'd be naive to state that it is always going to be free. Second, some of the features in Dojo are still a little buggy. However, they have a great area where teachers and other users can make suggestions and vote on upcoming features. The creators of this great program really take the time to listen and try our ideas.

With all of this in mind, put on your karate gi (uniform) and headband, and then head for the Class Dojo. It's a great tool that you and your students will enjoy! 

Do you already use Class Dojo? If so, post a comment and give your feedback about it. I'd love to hear your ideas & criticisms!