Class Dojo

A fellow blogger's post on Class Dojo got me thinking about my use of the Class Dojo app this year.  I had heard about it in our DCIU tech inservice last year, and loaded it on lower teacher ipads.  I know some of you signed up for the service, but I'm not sure how many of you went beyond that to actually try it out, so let me share my experience.  I've used it all year in science and I'd have to say that I give it a thumbs up and will definitely use it again next year.  I spent some time at the beginning of the year setting up class lists as well as positive behaviors that I look for in science, such as "on task,"  "quick and quiet transition" and "great question or connection."  Once I had Dojo set up, it became quick and easy to open the app up during class and note either individual or whole group behaviors that I could reinforce with points.  The students particularly liked designing their own avatar.  There were a couple surprises during the year - one when the developers "updated" the app and got rid of many of the features near and dear to my heart.  Amazingly, the feedback that I and others gave them was responded to very quickly - within a month they addressed those issues and made the app even easier to use.  Another little surprise was when I discovered that Dojo was sending a weekly report home to any parent who registered their email with Dojo!  I like the idea that parents are hearing from me, I just didn't realize I was doing so.  If anyone is interested in setting up Class Dojo for next year, I'd be happy to spend some time with them in August to set the system up.   Dojo has put together a playlist of teachers talking about how they use Dojo that you can access below.