I find the article titled, "Classroom Behavior? There's an App for That" by Lisa Mims, is very fitting for this week as we discuss second city and virtual worlds. Class Dojo is an app that allows teachers to set up avatars for all students. Mims claims, "Once your class is set up, you have the ability to award points,
affectionately known as "dojos" in my classroom, for positive or
negative behavior. You can award individual or multiple students." She also commented, "
ClassDojo can be used with your interactive whiteboard, laptops,
desktops or smart phones. Students get immediate feedback to their
behavior by the distinctive sound made when their avatar is clicked." It sounds very interesting! I am not sure it would be easily maintained for a middle school or high school teacher with several different classes, but I love the idea of it in the elementary grades! How cool that students can be more interactive with their classroom behavior and involvement via an iPad app! As a student, that would be pretty neat! Mims said she introduced this app to other teachers at her school, ones that aren't the most tech-savvy, and they really enjoyed it too!
Mims, Lisa. "Classroom Behavior? There's an App for That." Edutopia. N.p., 13 June 2013. Web. 20 June 2013.
I must say I have seen this App in action with the 4th grade class that I assist in and to say it is very effective is an understatement. When the students are told to go to the smartboard and reward themselves its almost like a party, however: when they are told to go up and deduct points from themselves for bad behavior ...feels like the grimm reaper comes in the room. The teacher in this class displays her App during parent teacher conference and makes it a topic of discussion. It has really improved our overall class behavior.
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