Greetings All!
This is Part 3 of my series on Class DoJo Blog.
Perhaps the most versatile feature, added last year, is
Class Story. This is essentially a Facebook for your
classroom and parents. I use it to post “all
things Room B-19.” I start my day posting
the daily agenda, and a short note to parents about what is happening. I post weekly spelling words and
vocabulary, and vital directions like, instructions about how to log in at home,
directions to elements such as our weekly spelling contract, how I want book
reports to be prepared and anchor charts to be used in classroom. But that is just the beginning. I have requested and received permission to
post student’s pictures and work. With their permission, I am able to take
pictures of student activity throughout our day and post those on the Class Story.
Here are a few examples: Just last Friday we had an
assembly with Phil Tulga. My parents
were brought to the assembly via short videos that I posted. Then we had an art project with little
buddies in our kindergarten buddy classroom using selfies and the Paint program. My parents got to see pictures of the kids
working together. We finished our day
with a Science experiment/project assembling home-made ice packs for ouwies,
and booboos. I took pictures while the task was under way and
posted them. Parents can “like” and
comment on all posts, which promotes student morale and buy in. We have eliminated the typical parent-child
conversation of “What did you do in school today?” “Ahhhh, nothing.”
Another helpful feature of this process is that the
teacher can see who is looking at messages and posts. This is something I make note of for
conference time, and I will ask why a parent is not checking out the
posts. Many times - once they see what
is being posted - they suddenly become big fans. Mostly my parents tell me how much they love
Class DoJo and that they feel it really connects them to the class. I am also asked about teachers who do not use
it, and told how disappointed parents are when they are not able to be
connected. Expectations of our parents
are definitely morphing with the enhanced communication and information. DoJo
makes it so easy to develop strong relationships with parents through 1 to 1
communication.
Now let me talk about the fabulous team who operates
and runs Class DoJo. The system is free
to use! I am absolutely blown away that
such an awesome product supported by an awesome team is available for no cost! They are constantly working on ways to make it
better - last year they added a great 5-episode series about the power of positive. Class DoJo characters Mojo and
Katie work through mistakes though trial and error, and learn that we all have
awesome gifts and need to work hard and practice to become successful. My students love them! Season 2 lessons about empathy have just been
released. We have watched the first two
episodes, and I have to admit they have helped me try to be more empathetic! Because it is so easy to become frustrated
while learning or teaching, we get insight and value from watching and having honest
discussions about how we can do better by being our brother’s/sister’s keeper
and treating each other the way we want
to be treated. The team is always there
to support and encourage. The Class DoJo
team understands what teachers need and are doing a great job in constantly
working to meet those needs.
A new portfolio/student story feature is coming online
this year. Students can post and add to
Class Story as well as their own Personal Story. [Of course, nothing goes online without teacher
approval.] As you can no doubt tell, I
am excited to be able to bring this to my class. Thank you Class DoJo team for your awesome
support and being there to answer any questions the community may have!
Next week I will use Part 4 to focus on some reasons I
have heard about why teachers don’t use Class Dojo. I will also focus on
problem-solving, questions, and comments focusing on implementing Class DoJo as
your behavior system and parent communication go-to program.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please
contact me at: rperrine@wusd.k12.ca.us. I would love to answer your questions and collaborate with you!
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