Class Dojo

Class management is something that is ALWAYS work in progress for me.  I am continually looking for new ideas to use to make my classroom run smoothly.  Of course, the students in your class can make ALL the difference in the world!  This past year was particularly challenging as I had 16 boys and only 8 girls and several of my boys had behavioral issues.

Two years ago, I discovered the clip chart system which is VERY effective and students love because they can move back up if they've had a problem.  The only problem I had with the clip chart was that instruction more or less had to stop while the student or I moved the clothespin up or down.

Enter, Class Dojo!  Class Dojo is a FREE (love that word!) online system that will track students' behavior both positive and negative.  Each child is assigned an avatar.  Here is a screen shot:

Aren't those avatars adorable?  The green dots show positive points.  Negative points would be red.  You can choose to show only positive points, only negative, or both.  You also choose the behaviors you want to track and can even add your own.  Sometimes I would project it on the smartboard and sometimes I would just carry my ipad around and let them hear the sound of a positive or negative.  It can run from computer, ipad, or smartphone.  You can generate reports to send home to parents.  I would set a number of points that students would need to earn to move up on the clip chart so I did use both.  If you would like to try it out, take a tour at Class Dojo.

Here are two more fantabulous giveaways to check out!!!

Elisabeth at the adventures of miss elisabeth is having a CTP Riveting Robots Giveaway!

and

Kelly at Teacher Idea Factory is celebrating 500 followers with the help of a bunch of her bloggie friends!