OpenEd.com

Technology Thursday is a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Check out our Tech Thursday page for details on how to link up!

I am so excited about this new resource! Okay...new to me anyway. I can't wait to explore all it has to offer! Where has this been all of my teaching career??? I am talking about OpenEd.com!

12 Free Math Websites!

Technology Thursday is a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Check out our Tech Thursday page for details on how to link up!

As a teacher, I am always on the look out for great websites. Unfortunately, the trend lately is for the best of the best websites to cost more than my school budget and my teacher pocket book can handle. Many of the websites suck you in with a free TRIAL. This just makes me wish I had more money in my classroom budget! IF you can pay for quality websites, your students are stuck using just the 1 or 2 websites you have been able to afford.

Good News! There are still a few sites that are FREE! In all fairness, many of these sites offer a free portion of the website...BUT I will take what I can get!

Every one of these websites are worth exploring. They each have different features that make them great for the classroom. I am not going to review each site in this post since doing so would make this blog entry super loooooooong.

So start clicking! Begin exploring! Investigate which sites would work best for your students!

Do you use any of these sites already? Which are your favorite?

Link up below with your own Website or App recommendations, Tech Tips, Tutorials, or anything else tech-related! We can't wait to learn from you!

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Using ClassDojo Effectively

Technology Thursday is a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Check out our Tech Thursday page for details on how to link up!

I happen to love ClassDojo! I adore my classroom’s Dojo Mojo, so to speak. I use the website for attendance, picking students for tasks, motivation, management, timing activities, and parent communication. But the uses of ClassDojo are not my focus in this blog. See the links below if you have questions about what ClassDojo is and what the site can do for you.

I have been a ClassDojo mentor for a couple of years now and have seen many teachers jump on the Dojo bandwagon. Most of the time, the teachers implement Dojo seamlessly into classroom routines.  But every once in a while, I see a teacher (or read about a teacher) not using Dojo as effectively as it should be used. Let me explain.  ClassDojo is a classroom management tool.  So for our purposes, let’s compare it to another tool- the hammer.  I could use the hammer handle to attach a nail to a board and it would work…eventually- it is just not as effective as using the head of the hammer. You get the job done but, boy, did you struggle along the way.

Here are my 6 tips for using ClassDojo effectively.

Set Expectations

For Students: Students need to know what behaviors you are targeting. Go through your list of Positive behaviors and Needs Work behaviors in a class meeting. Ask the students what they think each behavior would look like. Get their input on which behaviors need to be added and which should be worth more than 1 point.  This helps give them a “buy in” for the program. It’s their class. It’s their Dojo. But yes, this needs to be a guided process- teachers have a say too.

For Parents: Parents need to know how you are going to use this tool. They need to know how the communication is going to work, and, more importantly, what it means when their students lose a point. I always inform parents (and students) that everyone loses a point here and there; no one is perfect 100 percent of the time. You need to let parents know that if a real behavior issue arises; you will get in contact with them (besides just seeing points disappear).

Be Positive

When I became a teacher, our professors taught us to change the things we said from the negative, “Stop running!” to the positive, “Walk please!”   They also taught us newbie teachers that praising a child that is doing the right thing can be more effective than disciplining the student that is doing the wrong thing. I take this approach with ClassDojo. I have almost double the amount of Positive behaviors as I do Needs Work behaviors. I also give out quadruple the number of positive points than I do taking points away.  It is so much more rewarding for your classroom atmosphere to be positive rather than negative.

Here’s what happens if you only take points away or are overall negative- the students stop caring about Dojo. They can’t win or get ahead, so why try? Who can blame them?  I don’t like things I am unsuccessful at either.

I know what you are thinking…what about (insert name here)? They never are on task! Yes, they are. You just have to look a lot harder to find the Positive behaviors.

Try this: Joe is off task again and is playing in his desk.  I give 3 other students points for doing their work. Joe then starts doing his work.  I give Joe a point for “joining his friends”.

Or this: Catch Joe early in the morning. Joe hung his backpack up. Point. Joe put his folder in the correct place. Point. Joe put his name on his paper. Point.  Great answer to that question, Joe. Point.

Now Joe sees that he can get points; he can succeed. He likes Dojo points. So if I eventually have to take a point away, it is more effective.

Now Joe’s parents like ClassDojo. For the first time in little Joe’s life, they are getting some positive feedback about their child!

Give Points Often

Don’t be stingy! Give out points! Reward those good behaviors! Always be on the lookout for a behavior to give a point to.  I always tell my students that I LOVE giving out points. I also tell them, “I’m in a Dojo givin’ mood today!” I sometimes even relate to the students what behavior I am on the lookout for.

Try to give points to everyone. Spread the wealth! Look at your reports. Are there students you are overlooking?  Is there a particular student that is running away with all the points? Is there a student that you are only taking points away from? Has it been a long time since you rewarded a particular student?

Tip: I never let the kids ask for a point. Dojo begging is not allowed. They can, however, suggest a friend gets a point, but they have to explain to me why.

Let the Students Take Charge

I take the time to actually teach the students how to run ClassDojo. I show the kids how to use the attendance, random picker, the timer, giving (or taking) points, and resetting points. Believe me, this will make your life so much easier. The kiddos love, love, love to give themselves points. They actually love to do anything on the website.

Tip: I leave the website open all day on the computer. You can minimize the window if needed.

Start Each Day Fresh

If some students have dug themselves into a hole of negative Dojo points that never seem to go away, they will stop caring. Dojo becomes irrelevant for these children. They feel that they can’t crawl out of the hole, so why try? We want to avoid this. Reset the negative points at the end of the day. Tell the students that each day is new and you get a fresh start. Don’t leave them hangin’ out in Negative Land. Let them start with a clean slate each day!

Set a Limit to Points

I set a limit to the amount of points students can receive and let them go to the treasure box when they reach that goal. I, then, reset their points to 0, and they start the cycle all over again. Why? Well, if Sally has 230 points and I only have 56, I will never catch up. 

I asked my students about this one. I asked them how they would feel if someone had a lot more points than them. Here are some things they said:

• I would be disappointed because I wouldn’t have points.
• If everybody else has more points, they might make fun of me.
• I’m trying to get there, but he’s always ahead of me.
• I would be sad because I am working hard and not getting points.
• They also said they would be happy for their friend with lots of points. AWWWWHHHH!

I usually start out with an easy goal of 10 points. I am trying to get everyone to LOVE ClassDojo. I want them to love going to the treasure box. I need my students to WANT points. I do this for about a week, which is just enough time for everyone to experience the success of going to the treasure box. Then I raise the goal to 15 points, and then, ultimately, to 20 points for my 3^rd graders.  

A good thing happens with this system of resetting points. My Joe (from above) will have more points than the best behaved kids in the class on some days because those well-behaved kiddos just reset their points back to 0. They have 0 and he has 8. Rock on, Joe! On any given day, the gap for student points can be 0-20- which is an entirely attainable goal. There is not a signaling out of kids this way, and all students appear to be just as successful as the others.

Tip: You can still see how many points each student has for the week, month, or year in your reports.

Tip: I use certificates for treasure: chew gum in class, sit in the teacher’s chair, bring a furry friend, 

wear a hat…etc.

Tip: Use only your students' first names, initials, or class numbers to keep anonymity.

There you have it…my tips for being a successful Dojoer.  You are now ready to get started Dojoing! Let us know if you have any questions!

If you need more information about ClassDojo, check out our other Dojo blog posts.

                

Link up below with your own Website or App recommendations, Tech Tips, Tutorials, or anything else tech-related! We can't wait to learn from you!

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What’s New on ClassDojo? {Tech Thursday}

Technology Thursday is a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Check out our Tech Thursday page for details on how to link up!

ClassDojo is one of my all-time favorite classroom websites. I use it more than any other. Today, I ‘m not going to go into a lot of detail about the site, because we’ve already blogged about it here.
Today, I’m super excited to share with you the two newest ClassDojo features…

Yes, that says GROUPS! Now you can easily create groups within your class to award table points, boys vs. girls points, etc. This is probably one of the most-wished-for features in my teacher circle, and it’s finally here! I love that I can put the same student into more than one group, so I can really be flexible with how I use them and when I give points.

 Class Story is a really cool feature that will make it easy to keep parents connected and share what’s going on in the classroom. It will look and feel a lot like your “wall” on a certain social media network, but with some very important differences just for the classroom setting: 1) Parents and students can “like” your posts by clicking the heart, but they cannot comment on them. 2) Everything is private and secure. (ClassDojo is FERPA & COPPA compliant.)

I plan to use Class Story for photos from class, homework, sending links to parents, reminders about events and projects, and shout-outs for student of the month and birthdays.

If you ever need help with anything Dojo, don’t hesitate to reach out to us… there are a couple of ClassDojo mentors here who are happy to help!

Link up below with your own Website or App recommendations, Tech Tips, Tutorials, or anything else tech-related! We can't wait to learn from you!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Using Arcademics to Build Skills

Technology Thursday is a USUALLY a weekly linky dedicated to all things technology related. Check out our Tech Thursday page for details on how to link up!

During the summer Tech Thursday will be a MONTHLY link up! The link will begin on the 2nd Thursday of the month and stay open until the next month!

This month I am going to share all about a great website (that is also available as an app) that I discovered towards the end of the year.

Arcademics is a great website that has skillfully combined academics with fun arcade like games. Students do not need an account to play any of their 60+ FREE games that practice a variety of skills (both language arts and math). Check out what games are available... don't they all look like fun!

Did you look closely at that top picture? You can select games based on a skill or based on a grade level! There are times when I will tell my students to pick a multiplication practice game. They select "multiplication" and up pops 7 games for them to choose from. All of which practice multiplication. Sometimes I just want them to focus on language arts games but only focus on fourth grade standards. They would then select "Language Arts" and "Grade 4" and the website narrows it down for them! Pretty fabulous!

Here are some shots of some of the games in progress. All of the games are played with multiple players so students can play against friends, or they can just play against a computer player.

Those last couple games are spelling games which my students just LOVE. The computer tells you a word to spell. You type them out (they don't even realize that they are practicing their typing skills at the same time) and if you get a letter wrong it gives you another chance before quick flashing the letter. This allows some of my lower learners to still feel successful!

Another bonus to Arcademics, it is available as an app too! When we roll out 1:1 devices next year, this is definitely an app that I will be requesting!

I thought I would throw it out there that there is also a paid version of the website (I think the pricing is $100 a year for a classroom or just $20 for homeschool or small group). The paid version (Arcademics Plus) allows you to data track your students and customize game content. You better believe I will be asking our tech director if this is something I could pilot in my classroom! The data looks pretty fabulous and it is something my students could work on at home if they have internet access or access to smart devices.

Check out Arcademics, you seriously won't be sorry that you did!

** Remember, Tech Thursday is monthly for the summer. The linky will stay open all month long so feel free to link up whenever you get a chance! Can't wait to see your tech tips, tricks and fun new websites and apps!**

An InLinkz Link-up