Bringing a class to quiet. The “Magical” power of the Class Dojo “ping”.
Bringing a class to quiet is a skill that I have watched other teachers use with envy. It can take years of practise. It can take very special techniques. After 10 years of teaching, I have found a system to ensure a class can work effectively and quietly…… Class Dojo.
It is an app with many more functions than that, however the ability to focus a class with no input from me as a teacher is invaluable.
The set up is important. You must have a screen where pupils can view their avatars (I use a whiteboard or TV in the corner of the room). You need an a tablet (I use an ipad, but you could use any tablet or computer). You need either of these to be able to make sound across the room.
What is amazing is that the two can then “talk”. I can select a student on my ipad and it appears on the computer screen for all the class to see. The useful part is when a positive behaviour is rewarded a “ping” announces itself across the classroom. Pupils glance at the screen and see who has been rewarded and get back to work with a renewed vigour in the hope they will achieve a “ping”. Equally when the class is noisy and unmotivated, a negative behaviour can be awarded, pupils glance at the screen, return to work in the hope they won’t be caught.
What is brilliant about this system, is that I don’t say a word. I am not exhausting my voice, and generating noises that will largely be ignored. The pupils want to attain points. They are aware their parents”may” view the scores, and this motivates them, it really does.
Class Dojo offers significantly more features that help with classroom management, but this is the feature that makes it essential for any ICT competent teacher.
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