Classdojo

Classdojo (for building strong learning communities)

Preparations

Available for both MAC and PC as well as Android and iOS.

Requires connection to the internet. Offline mode is not applicable. 35 languages supported. Translations of the app are partial.

Video about full features of the tool

Purpose of use

Shall be used as class or school community building tool to share school life, set simple tasks and encourage peer-to-peer collaboration, provide instant feedback to students, encourage progress of learning, encourage positive behavior and prevent negative one, involve parents to participate in student‘s school-day life, communicate with parents avoiding phone calls, emails and Facebook messages, observe child‘s learning progress, recognize child‘s best performance areas; payable version includes provision of encouragement scores at home.

For regular use in 0-5 grades students and their communities; higher grades and even adults – temporary, to gamify certain group activities.

Getting started

1. Visit www.classdojo.com. Use desktop (PC of MAC) version or download the app to your mobile from Google or iOS online store. Anyway, both versions are to be used to combine in-class and off-class usage.
2. SIGN UP as Teacher or School leader. Check the email in your email box and click “Verify now” button.
3. Choose existing school and join or, if no school is listed, click “I don’t teach at school” and simply create your own class.
4. Create new class, select the grade and points’ sharing option.
5. Add students by simply writing their first and last names. Add as many as you want. Save the list.
6. Click to each student and find the link to “Invite student’s parents”.
7. Invite parents by simply writing their email and click “Invite”.  They will receive an email with link to click and create their own account. Ones they do it, Teacher will be notified about it.
8. Let students log-in to your class. Choose “Student login” menu in your dashboard. Most simple way for them to login is a 6-character text code. Choose this option and click “Confirm”. 
9. Click “Display the text code”. Students will have to use desktop computers or mobile apps to login as Students, just by entering the text code which will be shown on Teacher’s desktop.
10. Simply project your computer’s desktop on the board or write the code by hands. Teacher can see the progress of students’ connections.

Some features of the application may work without a need for students to log in. It is actual for schools where students are not able to use computers or mobile phones. Please read the rest of the chapter to check the ones.

Encouraging positive behavior

1. Click student’s avatar or whole class avatar to get in the feedback menu.
2. Edit current options of feedback by simply clicking “Edit skills” button and making necessary correction of the name of existing feedback options (to translate them) or add your own. Each option may have different weight – number of points.  Close menu window. Ones corrections to feedback items are made, they become general for all students.
3. To send a feedback to a student click on his avatar or choose whole class. Pick an option from the list of feedback items and click it.
4. Your feedback becomes seen to the student and his parents if they are connected.
5. You may create groups of students, grouped for a certain activity or competition and award groups in the same way.
6. You may use “Redeem item” option in the feedback menu window of student, to make reductions of student’s points if needed. You may also reset whole points using “Options”-           ”Reset bubbles”. Use these options to let all students understand which behavior is not appreciated. Project your computer’s window to the class board and proceed the redeem. Please note, the redeem option is not available for groups. If needed, use “Reset bubbles” from Options menu to delete whole points of the group.
7. Reset option may also work well to gamify the group work of higher grades students or adults, by adding or resetting scores for certain tasks, for instance if they are made on time or not.
8. Behavior shaping may perfectly work in classes where students are not allowed or can’t use smart phones or computers. All feedback processes are seen on the projected board and the whole class may get certain advantages from this activity. Students even may not use Classdojo accounts outside the school. But they will be interested to come back to the lesson and check their own or their group scores.

Involving parents

1. Check if all parents are invited. Use “Invite parents” option inside each student’s menu window or in the menu line of your account’s dashboard.
2. Simply share what’s happening in the class by creating a “Class story” using this option in the main menu. You can write text, add files and pictures, which will be seen to all connected parents, as well as students.
3. Use “Messages” menu to communicate directly with student’s parents or just choose to write a message to all parents at ones. Parents may send messages to you back.
4. Use “Portfolios” menu to file all good work each student does. It helps a student, who has account to collect his files, pictures, drawings or texts. If student has not account or can’t use it, a teacher may file his work to his Portfolio by clicking “Add post” in the “Portfolio” menu inside each student’s profile. It may be useful too, as parents may see student’s work done and discuss it with him at home, appreciate it, evaluated and identify the area, where the student need more help.

Short video to represent how Class dojo works for Parents

Toolbox for interactive engaging learning

1. Pick “Classroom” menu on your dashboard. At the bottom of the desktop find blue “Toolbox” menu item. Click it. A window with several options will appear.
2. Choose “Random” to let Classdojo randomly select one student from all. When you project it to the class board, it’s a big fun for children, and fair game when it turns for instance to a question “Who is first to answer?”, or who will help teacher to do something and so on.
3. Choose “Group maker” to let Classdojo to help you automatically create groups. This shall be projected to the class board too, in order for students to see that the groups / teams are made fairly.
4. Choose “Timer” to limit the time of activity and let all the class easily follow the timer on the board.
5. Choose “Music” to help students concentrate for certain activities or contrarily play when joyful rhythms are played.
6. Choose “Noise meter” if you use your laptop at class. Microphone shall be installed and permission to use it shall be given to Classdojo. This tool may put a lot of fun to students to observe how loud they are. You can play loud and silent game using this tool visualization and discuss the impact of noise in the class.
7. Choose “Think pair share” to set questions or themes for discussion.