Guest post by ClassDojo
If youâve been watching the education technology space, you will have seen a flurry of tools for teachers being released every day. The majority of these focus on delivering content in new or different ways. Very few of these tools, however, aim to solve the other really huge problems for teachers and students. ClassDojo, a free, innovative tool for teachers is doing just that, by helping teachers quickly and easily improve behavior in their classroom.
Poor behavior in the classroom is a huge problem for teachers, and it is a huge barrier to effective teaching and learning. 4 in 10 teachers say they spend more than 50% of their time in class managing behavior rather than teaching – thatâs half the school year gone with no teaching or learning taking place, all because of needless disruptions that affect everybody. ClassDojo is changing that, and returning hundreds of hours of instructional time to every classroom, so that teachers can teach more and students can learn more.
How to Use Class Dojo
ClassDojo is displayed during class on an interactive white board or screen in a classroom, so students can track their progress and gain a better understanding of their behavior throughout the day. Teachers have the option of both giving and taking away points for the specific behaviors they set, with just one click of a computer, smartphone, or tablet. ClassDojo also launched student logins near the end of the year so students can login at home to check their progress, set goals, and much more. Best of all, ClassDojo never requires teachers to sit down after school and enter data: all the data is logged and collated automatically in behavior reports as teachers are using ClassDojo in their classrooms. New features launched last year based on teacher feedback have made sharing with parents is just as easy. This means that not only does ClassDojo actually build better behavior in realtime, it also actually reduces the amount of work teachers need to do both in class and beyond.
Kalen Gallagher, a former middle school teacher who left the classroom last fall to join ClassDojo, explains that the broader purpose of the product is to go beyond just building good test scores, to actually building strong lifelong learners.
For classroom teachers, some of the programâs features include:
â˘Access from any computer with an internet connection â no software required!
â˘Powerful data visualizations of the behaviors and skills you track
â˘The ability to send ClassDojo reports home to staff and parents with one click
â˘An easy, positive reinforcement system that keeps students engaged with minimal effort
â˘Take attendance
â˘Much more!
Gallagher also stresses that the company firmly believes in a âTeachers Firstâ mentality. They actively seek teachersâ input and suggestions, talking with teachers daily to find out what works, what needs to be improved, and what additional features can be added to make the program a stronger tool. âWhen ClassDojo started, it was a very minimal program, but teacher input helped it grow into what you see today,â Gallagher explains. âAs a former teacher who often felt ignored by edtech companies, Iâve worked hard to make sure we do the exact opposite.â As the company moves forward and ClassDojo evolves into a tool that encompasses all areas of behavior management, the feedback of the teachers who use the program is more important than ever.
In September, ClassDojo was selected by the NBC network as one of the education technology startups to watch for 2011, and was subsequently voted by teachers as âBest Education Technology Company of 2011â, winning a $75,000 prize and appearing on NBCâs Today show.
Today, ClassDojo is used by millions of teachers and students in over 100 countries around the world. The program is changing the way educators think about and approach behavior management, and the way students interact in classrooms around the world. âWe want all students to succeed and to understand whatâs holding them back so they can address those issues before itâs too lateâ Gallagher stresses. With ClassDojo, students, teachers, and parents all succeed. Do you use ClassDojo with your students? Share your experience below!
Sign-up for your free ClassDojo account at ClassDojo.com. Have a suggestion or idea for them? Email the team at [email protected]. You can also find them on Facebook and follow them on Pinterest and Twitter.
Lawrence Le fort says
The students being able to see the display on the whiteboard really allows them to be an active part of their behavior. I love the concept and how students have buy-in
Jen Smith says
I love how class dojo allows the kids to change their character. I even saw in an email at the end of this school year that now the students will be able to customize their character a little more. How exciting!!!
Lyssa Sahadevan says
I had a question for Class Dojo after our #teachchat and they responded immediately! I am excited about using the program again in the fall!
Laura Davis says
I love that you can email the behaviors to parents! Awesome!
Allison says
My favorite feature is the report breakdown. I love to see my class average and the student’s average. These reports are great for progress monitoring.
Sylvia Little says
I wish i had the technology in my room to use Class Dojo. I particularly like the classroom management ideas and how the students can check on their progress and how parents can see how their child is doing.
Linda says
I like that students can log in from home and track thier progress. The home school connection is important. Hopefully parents will become involved and help support good behavior. Having the student track thier progress is great.
Lilly Jenkins says
I love the fact that it is on the whiteboard for the kids to see, plus I can use it for attendance and sending home reports to parents!
Linda says
I like that this tracks behavior in real time and the students get to see and track thier points. The home school connection parts is great too. Getting the parents involved is a huge piece.
Marjorie Sample says
I really like the idea of the student log-in where they can track their goals! Too cool!
Karole Warfield says
I love to use ClassDojo simply because of the graphics and the accountability it provides for the students.
Being able to display it on the smart board enables more buy in from the students!
Karin Weber says
This is an AWESOME sight! I believe the students will WANT to behave to see their points add up! Everyone becomes an active part in how the class looks, sounds, and learns!
Valerie says
I used Class Dojo the last six weeks of the year and it was a great way to keep kids focused, since they could see how they were doing that day. I loved having the graphs for showing specific kids what they needed to work on to be prepared for the next grade.
Jen Smith says
I really enjoy how the students get so excited about chaging their character. I also heard that this coming year they can customize it and have access from their own email. How exciting!
Kelly Deppe says
I like that fact that it seems very automatic. Like it said, the teacher doesn’t have to sit at the end of the day and input data. I also like that the parents can have access to it. Parental support/knowledge can make a load of difference.
Mardi Cole says
I haven’t seen this yet…will have to check it out! I was happy to see that information can be easily shared with parents/guardians.
Dawn says
Wow! This would be great for specialists to communicate with staff and parents about behavior! I am definitely going to check this out!
Peggy Paulson says
I really like that behavior can be documented and shared with other teachers, especially co-curricular.
Lina Young says
I’ve just discovered ClassDojo and look forward to using it this year. I love that you can send home reports to the parents and that the students can see the results on the Whiteboard, which gives them ownership over their own behavior.
Christina Conway says
I like being able to email behavioral results to parents.
Jennifer says
I love this! This will work well with the behavior program I already have in place! I currently use a classroom economy where students earn money throughout the week and get paid every two weeks. They can get rewarded for good behavior, helping others, completing homework, etc and can lose money for disrespect, not following directions/rules, etc. This will be a great way for students to actually see how they are doing and how much money they are earning for their Pay Day. Each point they earn will be $1.00 in their paycheck! Love this!
Tammy Hill says
Sounds great! Can’t wait to check it out!
Tonya Coats says
It’s good to see tools that actually improve student behavior. Good behavior plays a crucial role in a academic school day. I have personally not use this program but I plan on taking a look at it this summer.
Alison McVay says
My favorite feature of class dojo is the printable report for parents!
deb says
I began using ClassDojo at the end of the year with my class. It was AMAZING how my students responded to it! I really focused on rewarding positive behaviors and awarded privileges to the top 5 point earners daily. It really transformed my class and we really had a lot of fun with it. I’m looking forward to using it this coming school year!
Debbie Dixon says
I’ve been seeing comments about ClassDojo for a while and can’t wait to try it this coming yesr!
Sara says
As a first year teacher, I really think that ClassDoho is a great tool to allow students to have a visual of their behavior right in front of them and it allows them to make the choice to improve their behavior and will eliminate classroom management issues right away! I love the fact that we dont have to sit down to log data, it does it for us as well. We are always looking for time savers!
Lupita Hendon says
I love that the data is collected on the spot!
Joanne Matuch says
I like the way ClassDojo values user input and uses the feedback to make the system work better for students and teachers.
Jaimeej says
My favorite part of class dojo is the fact that you can email the parents!!
Linda B. says
Classroom management is a problem. I have been teaching for 23the years, am a NBCT and this year I felt like none of my experience mattered. The class I had was immune to anything I tried. I will be looking into Dojo for sure.
Cindy says
Just being a time saver is wonderful! I love that students will know immediately and not having to take time away from teaching to address behavior is wonderful.
Debbie Behnke says
My favorite feature with class dojo is that the students can visually see their positive behaviors being rewarded, which motivates them to continue the positive behavior.
Lynda Eynon says
I was just introduced to Class Dojo recently & therefore have not yet implemented it into the classroom. However, I LOVE the fact that you can use your smart phone anywhere in the school, including the hallway;-) to update your class’ behavior! Such a cool idea!
Gloria Wilson says
The most positive aspect of this is the way it keeps all the students accountable. They know exactly where they’re at.
Sharon Compton says
I like that the child can access to see where they are and set goals for themselves.
Barbara K. says
I love that you can email a child’s behavior to their parents
Malinda Gorham says
“Poor behavior in the classroom is a huge problem for teachers, and it is a huge barrier to effective teaching and learning. 4 in 10 teachers say they spend more than 50% of their time in class managing behavior rather than teaching â thatâs half the school year gone with no teaching or learning taking place,”
This is so true! No matter how good we think our management is we can always find more effective ways to grow as a teacher and reach more children. I love the fact that this doesn’t take away from teaching time and puts more accountability on the students. Love it!
Beth says
An important factor for me is that ClassDojo is set up indicate student’s earning points as well as taking them away. So many times, the emphasis of behavior tracking is punitive rather than reinforcement.
Cathy I says
I love class Dojo!! I had not heard of it before. I saw it today and am very excited to learn more and get it started in my classroom in the fall!! Love how it can be accessed from home as well!
Rachael says
I began using Class Dojo in the middle of the last school year and I LOVE it.
Wendy R says
I can’t wait to start this in the fall!
Diana says
I like the parent communication features. Keeping parents informed is important, rather than waiting until all the behavior has built up into a problem and they never really knew about it.
Kelly says
I love that you can customize everything. Being able to identify what positive and negative behaviors you want the students to work on is such a time saver! Also, I love that the kids can check in on their progress at home…so no more parents acting like they’re in the dark (hopefully).
Stephanie W. says
I can’t wait to try it this year! As a Kindergarten teacher, I would love to establish good behavior that carries through the years, and this just might be the tool I (we) need to accomplish that!
Bayley Linn says
I love that I can customize my behaviors. If I see an area students need to work on, I add it so they can be rewarded for doing what is asked of them. I am also really excited to try the new attendance feature this fall!
Meredith Whaley says
I love ClassDojo! I began using it last year and it’s awesome! I love being able to award/take away points using my iPhone. It’s great for field trips, recess, lunch, special areas, assemblies or any other time that you are out of the classroom. All I have to do is show my kiddos my phone to remind them that their behavior outside of the classroom counts too! I uploaded their photos, so they can see exactly where they stand @ any time during the day. I LOVE CLASSDOJO! THANK YOU!! =)
Rhonda Pena says
I love that I can use my iPad with ClassDojo. I can have my TV on (which is connected to my computer), and the students can see when they are receiving points or if they need to check their behavior.
Crystal Overley says
I love that students can be involved in monitoring their behavior throughout the day. Classroom management can be tough to get a hold of. This is a fantastic tool for the classroom!
Theresa says
This sounds like a great tool and one I will definitely check out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Sharon says
I really like the way I can easily and quickly positively monitor the children in my classes.
Traci says
This is the first I have heard of this, but it has me very intrigued to learn and read more about it. It seems that parents can see how their child’s behavior was that day through this program while also motivating the child. This is something I will check more into.
Stacey Adamo says
I love how the information can be seen on the whiteboard and then how the data is recorded and stored for both teacher and students/parents to access later.
Olga says
It is something I have been looking for! At least I have a hope that one day I can use this incredible tool in class managing behavior.For me it is still a miracle to believe in! It can brighten my world! If I had had a chance to use this tool earlier I would not have spent so much of my time behaving the students. I am on the way to quit my job but hope that this perfect idea will help me in my new pace! Thank you for giving some encouragement !
Donna says
I heard about this site at the end of last school year. I had forgotten about it, but will be investigating the site further.
Kathy Delzell says
I can’t wait to try this in the fall. I love the immediate feedback and data. I think my students will really like this….they love everything on the smart board!
allison brocking says
I love how students can make and track goals and you can email parents students progress.
Suzi Knebusch says
I am excited about using this. Just the attendance part will be a great help with my resource classes. The behavior, both pos and neg, will be great for motivation and progress monitoring. I love being able to email ‘report cards’ to parents and other staff. The kids will love making their own avitars.
Kim D says
I just found this and love the idea of it. But I do not have the technology in my room to utilize this. I’m also wondering if this will eventually cost money to use. The FAQ section stated that it was free to teachers in the BETA.
Rhea says
Love the idea of having all the data at your fingertips and the parent letter.
Theresa Baldwin says
I love the immediate feedback and the student engagment.
Lisa Mims says
I am a HUGE fan of ClassDojo. My favorite feature is the ability to earn “Dojos”, (points earned)as my kids affectionately call them. I wish I could name more than one feature!:)
steph says
I think that this is just as bad as putting the childs name up with check marks on the board. The child that behaves poorly once again is up for the class to see. Terrible idea! I can’t believe that teachers are falling for this! BOOOO!
Ashley Cahill says
I think I would use this for a positive reward, and have students even work in teams. You could also use numbers instead of names to keep it more anonymous. (To add to the discussion above)
stephanie says
I went and checked it out. Is something I may try next year seems like its very user friendly to use and I think the kids will love the interaction.
Erlene Erreae says
I like the instant feedback and not having to fill out notes at the end of the day.
Monica Horn says
Another way to track behavior – but with a great twist.
Penny says
I like emailing the behavior to parents!
diana says
I love being able to customize behaviors, both positive and negative. Class Dojo is GREAT, and my kids love it!
Crystal says
I love this idea. I will be implementing this during the next year. Thank you,
Terri Lyons says
I love this! I have been using the “card system” for behaviours for the past three years and it works remarkably well but it is quite cumbersome. For those of you who don’t know, I put library pockets (so also expensive) on a bristol board for each student. I have cut up other bristol boards – blue, green, yellow and red. Each day, they start with blue, as the behaviours happen then the cards are flipped, first to green, then to yellow and finally red. I either to the flipping or tell the students. At the end of the day I use bingo daubers to stamp their home planners so that the parents can a quick visual of behaviours. I find it very effective due to the visual impact but this is SO much better. I love it, I can’t wait to use it this fall!
Elle says
It’s something a bit different that just works. I love that it’s both teacher-friendly and student-friendly.
laura henderson says
Sounds interesting. Never heard of it before.
Michelle Henderson says
I really like that it is automated and will eliminate the 15-20mins I currently spend at the end of every day inputting behavior in student agendas. It’s a time saver, it’s convent and it really gets the student involved in their own behavior, you can’t go wrong with any of that!
Diane Zurlo Keller says
This is great – very user friendly. This would be great for data for parent conferences.
Kerri Quinn says
Oh! I just tried the demo and it is so cute! I really like the funky looking pictures that represent the students. This seems like a great way to give immediate feedback to my students on how they are behaving in class.
AnnaMarie says
Love how the children have the opportunity to see how they are doing and that it appears to be easy for teachers
Kristen Howell says
I have not seen Classdojo, but will check it out. I love that it is both positive and real-time. To often, behavior management seems more like discipline and also loses effectiveness by the time it is implemented or reported to parents. I am looking forward to seeing how this works!
Lisa Wireman says
I just recently heard about this at a training I attended. I would LOVE to know more!
Kalen says
Hi everyone – Kalen from ClassDojo here. Thank you SO much for all the kind words and support. Our small team here really appreciates the support!
Please let us know if you ever have any questions for us, or any ideas on how we can make ClassDojo a more effective tool for you. As a former teacher, I strongly believe that your feedback is the only way we are going to get better đ
Thanks again and please don’t hesitate to reach out at [email protected]. Cheers!
Karen Haddas says
Love being able to track which behaviors are getting positive and negative points. My school is implementing PBIS in the fall and this is an easy way to do the required documentation and data gathering.
Becky Marie Vodek says
Just found this article browsing RGS and am excited to check out the program. Behavior Management is still my OFI (opportunity for improvement) going into my sixth year of teaching. From the comments, ClassDojo is a positive and interactive behavior management piece, one that I hope fits into my Leader in Me classroom.
Julie P. says
sounds interesting!
Susie says
I loved using DoJo! I discovered it just a few weeks before the end of the school year. We set goals as a class to have 85% and up days of positive behavior. The kids totally bought into it! I’m looking forward to starting off a new school year using it and love the idea of kids being able to access from home for parents to see too!