ClassDojo is a classroom management system that allows teachers to track and manage students behaviour. Teachers can set up their own classes and invite students to join. Parents can also join the conversation taking place in class and keep track of their students learning. Students can create digital portfolios, access resources shared by their teachers or parents, and share their own resources.
ClassDojo’s messaging system is a great way for teachers to communicate with parents, invite them to join their classes, and share with them the learning taking place in and outside class.
The purpose of ClassDojo is to enhance ‘classroom culture’ and strengthen school community. This is done through a collaborative process in which teachers, students, and parents convene their efforts to create optimal learning experiences .
Ways to Use ClassDojo in Your Teaching
Using ClassDojo in your teaching can revolutionize the way you manage your classroom, engage students, and communicate with parents. Here are some suggestions on how to integrate this powerful tool into your teaching strategies:
- Set Up Your Class: Create a virtual space for your students to access learning resources, assignments, and more. ClassDojo allows visibility into who engages with the content you share.
- Event Planning: Utilize the platform to create events with automatic reminders, ensuring important dates are not missed.
- Communication and Updates: Share newsletters, class updates, and learning progress with parents and students through ClassDojo’s messaging system.
- Engage Students: Post diverse learning activities and monitor student submissions. Tailor responses to activities using text, video, photos, drawings, and worksheets.
- Educational Resources: Leverage resources developed in collaboration with top universities to teach students social-emotional skills through videos and activities.
- Collaborate with Co-Teachers: Invite co-teachers to join your class to share the workload of creating engaging content and lesson plans.
- Student Portfolios: Encourage students to create digital portfolios to document their learning journeys and achievements.
- Parent Involvement: Keep parents informed and involved in their child’s education by sharing progress and inviting them to participate in class discussions.
- Getting Started with ClassDojo: Sign up as a teacher on the ClassDojo homepage, using your school email to join or add your school to the platform.
- Add Students to Your Class: Easily add students to your class by typing their names or importing them from Word or Excel.
- Student Login: Students can access ClassDojo with a class code, QR code, or Google account, enabling them to participate fully in the class activities.
- Feedback System: Utilize ClassDojo’s feedback system to share instant feedback based on class values, customizing the system to fit your teaching needs.
- Teacher-Parent Communication: Communicate with parents securely without sharing personal contact information, using features like file sharing and scheduled messages.
- Create Team Groups: Organize your class into groups for collaborative projects and easier management of points and feedback.
- Explore ClassDojo Resources: Access a wide range of resources for enhancing your teaching and making the most of ClassDojo in various educational contexts.
- Utilize ClassDojo Tools: From timers and group makers to noise meters and discussion tools, ClassDojo offers numerous utilities to support your teaching methods.
- Track Attendance: Use ClassDojo’s attendance tool for a quick and easy way to manage student attendance with customizable options.
- ClassDojo Apps: Access ClassDojo across different devices, ensuring you and your students stay connected, whether in the classroom or remotely.
- ClassDojo Cost: ClassDojo is free for teachers, with a premium version available for parents that offers additional features and content.Â
How Does ClassDojo’s Feedback System Work?
As a teacher, you can use ClassDojo to share instant feedback with your students. ClassDojo uses a feedback system that is based on the concept of class values. There are pre-existing positive and negative class values that teachers can choose from.
For instance, positive class values include helping others, participation, persistence, teamwork, working hard, and on task. Negative class values, or what ClassDojo calls Needs Work, include: lazy, good for nothing, unprepared, etc.
You can assign a point weight for each value (i.e., 1 to 5 points for positive values and -1 to -5 for negative values). Teachers can also add their own custom skills, ones that speak to their own teaching needs. Simply click on Add skills, input your value, and determine a point weight.
Teacher Parent Communication in ClassDojo
ClassDojo’s messaging service is a game-changer for teacher-parent communication, offering a secure and convenient way to connect without the need to exchange personal contact information. This platform empowers teachers to share important files, images, and timely reminders directly with parents, ensuring that crucial information is easily accessible and never missed.
Whether it’s celebrating a student’s achievement, sharing a snapshot of classroom activities, or sending out reminders for upcoming events, everything can be done with just a few clicks. The ability to schedule messages also means that teachers can plan communications in advance, making it easier to manage their time and keep parents informed on a consistent basis.
Moreover, the messaging system’s support for multiple languages significantly enhances communication with non-English speaking parents, breaking down language barriers that can often hinder engagement in a child’s education.
Messages sent through ClassDojo are automatically translated into the parent’s preferred language, ensuring that all families, regardless of their primary language, are kept in the loop and can fully participate in their child’s educational journey. This feature not only fosters a more inclusive school community but also ensures that every parent has the opportunity to support their child’s learning and development in a meaningful way.
ClassDojo Resources
ClassDojo provides an extensive array of educational resources tailored for teachers, school leaders, and parents, enriching the educational experience beyond the traditional classroom. From comprehensive back-to-school guides and innovative remote learning strategies to practical tips for integrating ClassDojo seamlessly with your Learning Management System (LMS), the platform ensures that every member of the school community is equipped with the tools and knowledge needed for success. This rich repository of resources is designed to support and inspire educational excellence, fostering a vibrant and connected school environment.
ClassDojo Tools
ClassDojo offers a wide variety of helpful tools to use in your instructional activities. These include a Timer (e.g., to help you time your activities), Random (i.e., random name picker), Group maker (to help you create create groups in your class), Noise Meter (e.g., to help students control their noise levels), Directions (use it to add your instructions so you don’t have to repeat them all the time), Think & Pair (a discussion tool to engage the whole class in conversation), and Music.
Attendance is another good tool from ClassDojo to use to take your class attendance. With a single click you can change students attendance applying different options (e.g., present, absent, tardy, left early, ect).
ClassDojo Apps
Besides the web, ClassDojo is also available as an app for Android, iOS, and Chromebook.
How Much Does ClassDojo Cost?
As of writing this post, ClassDojo is free for teachers. But there is also a premium version called ClassDojo Plus available for parents for $4.99/month (or $59.99/year). ClassDojo Plus offers the following features: access to prior year’s memories, detailed progress reports, unlimited feedback points, unlimited social and emotional learning content, fun family activities, and 3 additional subscriptions for family.
Final thoughts
ClassDojo stands as a transformative classroom management tool, designed to facilitate the tracking and enhancement of student behavior while fostering a vibrant, inclusive educational ecosystem. By enabling teachers to customize their virtual classrooms, invite student participation, and engage parents in meaningful dialogues about learning progress, ClassDojo bridges the gap between home and school, ensuring a cohesive partnership in educational development. The platform’s messaging system further amplifies this connection, offering a seamless channel for sharing insights, celebrating achievements, and discussing educational content beyond the classroom walls.
At its core, ClassDojo is more than just a tool for managing classroom dynamics; it is a catalyst for cultivating a positive classroom culture and reinforcing the bonds within the school community. Through its collaborative framework, it empowers all stakeholders—teachers, students, and parents—to join forces in crafting enriching, memorable learning experiences. In doing so, ClassDojo not only enhances the day-to-day educational journey but also lays the groundwork for a supportive, engaged, and thriving school community.
Video tutorials
- ClassDojo video tutorials for students (by ClassDojo)
- ClassDojo video tutorials for teachers (by ClassDojo)
- ClassDojo video tutorials for families (by ClassDojo)
- ClassDojo video tutorials (by ClassDojo)
