ClassDojo!

I have discovered a true lifesaver!  My class of 25 exuberant second graders have definitely been a challenge.  They are all lovely children but also some of the most social children I have ever seen.  I feel guilty if I take a breath because several will start talking to fill in the slight pause.  I have tried so many different things to help them focus on being quiet and doing their work that I was about to run out of ideas.  Then I heard about ClassDojo!

I heard about ClassDojo last night and I signed up for a Beta account.  In a few short minutes, I was entering my students names and the information I would need to start this morning.  I rushed up to school and started the system on my desktop and projected it on my smartboard.  I then left to go meet my students at breakfast.  We returned to the classroom to find that ClassDojo had logged out.  I quickly tried to log on but it said that I was not enrolled.  After several tries, I quickly emailed Liam (one of the founders).  Within a few minutes Liam had corrected the problem and I was up and running.  THANK you Liam!!!

I introduced it to my students and we were off! Suddenly I had a class of cooperative and eager learners.  They stayed on task and were rewarded with "points".  When they would "stray" from proper behavior they would lose a "point".  WOW!   They were so eager to be rewarded with "points" that they did everything they were supposed to do....and even more shockingly....quietly!!!!

  I set up my Ipod touch to work as a remote and was able to document points during restroom breaks, lunch, specials, and transitions.  This was fabulous.  My para, who was out this morning, returned in the afternoon and could not believe that these were the same children!!!!

I highly recommend giving ClassDojo a try because it has truly been a FANTASTIC day in my classroom!!!! 
The website is:  www.classdojo.com

Oh........and THANK you to Sam and Liam!  You have changed my classroom in one day!