ClassDojo: Defining the Student Experience in the Modern Classroom
Introduction
ClassDojo is an online platform designed to enhance classroom management and foster a positive learning environment. It aims to improve student behavior and strengthen communication between teachers and parents. The platform utilizes a point system and various communication tools to keep everyone connected and informed about student progress and classroom activities. ClassDojo is generally free to use, making it a widely accessible tool for schools and families.
Core Approach: Building Classroom Culture
The central goal of ClassDojo is to encourage positive student behaviors and facilitate effective communication between teachers and parents regarding student development. ClassDojo emphasizes building a positive classroom culture rather than solely focusing on traditional classroom management techniques. This approach involves promoting positive actions and attitudes rather than just discouraging negative ones.
ClassDojo for Teachers: Promoting Positive Behavior
Teachers use ClassDojo to encourage positive behaviors in their classrooms and to improve communication with parents. This is primarily achieved through the platform's 'Dojo Point' system and messaging features. The process begins with the teacher setting up a class and assigning a grade level.
Establishing Class Values
Teachers are prompted to establish 'class values,' which serve as the foundation for the Dojo Point system. ClassDojo offers six pre-existing 'positive' class values:
- Helping others
- On task
- Participating
- Perseverance
- Teamwork
- Working hard
Additionally, ClassDojo suggests five 'needs work' class values:
Read also: Accessing ClassDojo as a Student
- Disrespect
- No homework
- Off task
- Talking out of turn
- Unprepared
These class values are fully customizable. Teachers can select from ClassDojo’s suggestions or create unique values tailored to their classroom's specific needs.
Assigning Dojo Points
Class values are used to assign 'Dojo Points.' Teachers determine the weight of positive behaviors (from 1 to 5 points) and negative behaviors (from -1 to -5 points). For example, a student may earn two Dojo Points for teamwork but lose points for being unprepared for class.
Managing Class Rosters
Teachers can manually add students to their class rosters or copy and paste names from documents like Microsoft Word or Excel. Each student profile is assigned a unique Dojo 'monster,' a character that appears on the student's personal page. Teachers can assign these monsters randomly or choose specific ones for each student.
Tracking and Reporting
The Classroom tab allows teachers to track class points, individual student points, and generate reports. Teachers can view attendance reports and student and whole-class behavior metrics. Results can be filtered by timeframe and viewed as a 'donut' chart (ClassDojo’s version of a circle graph) or in a spreadsheet.
Communication Tools
The Class Story tab allows teachers to post photos and messages to keep parents updated on classroom activities. The Messages tab enables teachers to send direct and whole-class messages to parents, with delivery receipts indicating when parents have read the messages. Thanks to support for more than 35 languages, this should make for a very inclusive way to communicate with home from school, using native languages.
Read also: Affording Coding Dojo
ClassDojo for Parents: Staying Connected
Parents can access behavior information for multiple children across different classrooms by using unique access codes.
Viewing Behavior Data
Similar to the teacher page, parents can view their child’s behavior 'donut,' a circle graph that shows the breakdown of behaviors over a chosen time period.
Accessing Communication Features
Parent profiles include access to Class Story, Messages, and Notifications, as well as a 'Your Kids' section for navigating between multiple student profiles. Parents can also engage through Messages.
ClassDojo for Students: Earning Points and Building Character
Students earn ‘Dojo Points’ based on their classroom conduct, fostering positive behaviors and classroom culture. Students cannot see their Dojo Points in relation to other students, focusing on individual improvement rather than competition.
Student Avatars
Each student profile then gets a unique monster cartoon character - these can be assigned randomly, for ease.
Read also: Dojo Island: What Users Are Saying
Recent Updates and Features
ClassDojo has rolled out updates to enhance user experience:
- Searchable Inbox: Allows for easier message retrieval.
- Video Sharing: Enhances social interactions.
- Event Scheduling: Simplifies event planning within the app.
- Dojo Photobooks: Collects favorite classroom moments for a hardcover photobook.
Remote Learning
ClassDojo allows teachers to work with the class remotely too, including to provide activities for students, deal out classwork, and share lessons.
Assigning Activities
Teachers can assign activities to students in the form of videos, test, images, or drawings. When students submit the work, it is then approved by the teacher before being published on the profile, which can then be seen by the family. These tasks are then saved and logged, following the student from grade to grade, to provide a broad overview of progress.
Key Features
ClassDojo's teacher page is divided into three sections:
Classroom
This section lets teachers track class points and individual student points, and to generate reports. Teachers are able to dive into the analytics here, viewing the attendance report or whole-class behavior metrics. They can then filter results by time and view any in a data donut or spreadsheet.
Class Story
Allows teachers to post images, videos, and messages for parents and guardians to see what's happening in class.
Messages
Lets the teacher directly communicate with the entire class, individual students, and parents. They can also view the data donut with child behavior metrics shown over time, as well as the Class Story, plus engage through Messages. While they can view their own progress over time, there is no access to other students as this is not about being competitive with others, but rather with themselves.
Cost and Premium Features
ClassDojo is free to download and use, aligning with the company’s vision to provide access to better education for every child. The company funds this through fundraising efforts and a subscription service.
ClassDojo Plus
Offers premium features at a charge, including additional learning experiences and customizable monsters. It includes a seven-day free trial and can be paid monthly or annually. This is charged at \$69.99 per year, or \$9.99 per month. ClassDojo has no third-party advertising.
Data Protection and Privacy
ClassDojo provides direction to users on how to change or delete personal information and the company automatically deletes accounts after a year of inactivity.
Linked Accounts
If a user chooses to associate an Outside School Account with either their Student Account or School Account (as applicable), the two accounts will be deemed "Linked Accounts.” The “link” is that these Linked Accounts will use the same login and same “Dojo”/name to access both accounts, but the product data for in-school and out of school use is stored separately and only certain content will be viewable by School Personnel as noted here. Note, however, that the login data (the username and password) is stored in one place and shared between both the Outside School Child Account and the Student Account.
Data Storage
Data for both in-school features, including data used with Student Accounts, (“In School Feature Data”) and features used not in connection with a school or classroom, including those used with Outside School Child Accounts, (“Outside School Feature Data”), are stored separetely, however, certain of this data is linked or shared as set forth above. In addition, the in-school data table can only be accessed by those who need access to it as part of their role within Classdojo to provide services to the school. New requests for access need approval.
Parental Consent
ClassDojo obtains parental consent for any sharing of Student Data between a Student Account and Outside School Child Account.
A Digital Token Economy
Class Dojo creates a new platform for a digital token economy. One of Class Dojo's most highlighted and celebrated functions is the ability to award weighted points to students based on whether or not they engage in specific positive or negative (i.e., “needs work”) behaviors. These behaviors can be tailored to meet the needs of the individual teacher and his or her students.
Weighting Behaviors
Another component of the point system is that teachers are able to weight some behaviors heavier-both positively and negatively-than others.
Token Economies
Token economies, they continue, may increase desired behaviors such as raising hands or staying in designated areas in the classroom.
Extrinsic Motivators
Many teachers would be right in arguing that many students may initially require extrinsic motivators to engage in appropriate classroom behaviors. Over time however, through classroom and individual discussion, these extrinsic scaffolds may be removed and supplanted with more culturally and socially appropriate intrinsic motivators.
Randomization and Equity
One of my favorite components of Class Dojo is the random button found at the button right of any smart device, computer, or laptop. Clicking that button causes the program to make a spinning wheel noise and it quickly lands on a student. This digitally randomizes who I call on and effectively eliminates any racial, gender, or personal bias I might have. It completely equalizes the playing field. Arguably, this would promote an incredible sense of fairness in the classroom, especially if this component is used frequently and consistently.
Student Avatars
Another powerful and engaging component of Class Dojo are the student avatars. There are 76 pre-programed avatars available for students to choose from. Some look more like monsters, with more than two eyes or legs, while others could pass as furry friends. However, non of them could be considered anthropomorphic. There is a feature that allows for teachers to download other avatars if they wish.
Criticisms and Counterarguments
Some educators argue that ClassDojo's point-focused system reinforces external rewards and undermines intrinsic motivation.
External vs. Intrinsic Rewards
Karen, the first grade teacher said that the tool was too point-focused and undercut her goals of getting six year-olds to manage their impulses.
Addressing the Concerns
Erin, another primary grade teacher, felt initially that ClassDojo would undermine her belief that students learn best through intrinsic rewards since the tool depended on points, rewards and punishments. Yet she decided to use the software and discovered that ClassDojo reinforced a child’s responsibility for being in class.
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation, it turns out, is highest among young children and as they went from grade to grade in school, it faded considerably. Older secondary school students seldom showed any intrinsic motivation and only worked for whatever point system was in play.
tags: #dojo #class #student #definition
