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My Technology Use: ClassDojo Toolkit: January 21, 2018

I have always been an avid user of ClassDojo in my classroom for behavior management, but this week I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try to start incorporating the new toolkit that many teachers had been telling me about.  I cannot believe I haven't tried it before, it was so easy and my students loved it! I'll highlight my favorite aspects of the toolkit below.
  • Group Maker: The group maker was one that my students were really excited about.  I often group students for discussion or to work on a small activity together and my students often get tired of working with the people that they sit next to.  With group maker, I was able to quickly tell ClassDojo how many students I wanted in each group and it formed small groups for me to display.  I used it several times in the past week and it was a great way to mix students up.  This probably would not be best if grouping students strategically, but it does work to get students mixed up and talking.
  • Directions: In a fourth grade classroom, I feel I am constantly either repeating myself or having to go step by step with my students, so that they do not forget the instructions.  ClassDojo has directions in the toolkit section, where teachers can list step by step directions that are numbered and easy to display.  This was a win for my classroom and my students actually referred to the directions each time I posted them!
  • Random: I am always trying to call on different students in my classroom to get everyone engaged.  Using random on the toolkit allows for all students to randomly get called on and it displays their name so big that my students grew to love being able to talk as soon as their name popped up.  It also kept students engaged as they never knew when they would be called on. 
  • Music: I love to play music in my classroom as background noise.  Up until now, I have been playing Pandora: Classical for Studying Radio.  This works great as it is all instrumental, however the ads are not fun, especially when as a teacher you never know what is going to be advertised.  ClassDojo now has a music section where you can play music specially for student focus and it doesn't include any advertisements! 
I was so excited to try the ClassDojo Toolkit and I cannot wait to continue to explore and find more useful ways for it in my classroom.  The only part of the Toolkit that I am still trying to make work for me is Group Maker.  I am wanting to find ways to make random, yet strategic grouping for my students.  I hope someone else will try the Toolkit or can offer me suggestions of other ways to use the Toolkit in my classroom! 

Comments

  1. Jason DanielJanuary 23, 2018 at 6:15 AM

    Danielle - Glad you stepped out of your comfort zone. That's one of the hardest things for me to do as a teacher. Sounds like class Dojo could be a real time-saver. I form groups using playing cards, random number generators, and other methods but they all take 3-4 minutes of class time. I also love the random "cold-call" idea. I read a book called Teach Like a Champion that recommended random student-call-ons all the time. Really keeps them on their toes. Let us know how you progress with strategic groupings. By the way - is Class Dojo free?

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    Replies
    1. Danielle TerryJanuary 23, 2018 at 6:55 AM

      I agree the "cold-calls" definitely keep the students on their toes. I need to read that book! Class Dojo is free. It is mostly used as my behavior management system, but the toolkit that it includes has definitely been an added bonus.

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