I recently discovered a new iPad / iPhone app called Seek by iNaturalist.. When I was a lot younger and out walking in the countryside I valued having someone with me who could help me identify the birds, trees, insects or wild flowers, who could give me their alternative names and perhaps some of the folk lore surrounding them. Sadly there are fewer and fewer people around like that anymore.
Actually, this is far more than an iPad app. Class Dojo is a website based classroom tool that helps teachers improve the behaviour in their classrooms. Many teachers use a reward points system, Class Dojo is one of those systems with bells on.
Once you have registered you can set up your class or classes. Each child gets an avatar (a character icon) to represent them. You can also set up behaviours, both positive and negative. At the beginning of the lesson you can go to the website, register the children as present or absent, and then as your lesson progresses you can add behaviour points to the children accompanied by a sound. If you have an iPad, iPhone or one of many other smartphone / tablet devices, then you can download an app so that you can add behaviour points whilst you are on the move. During the lesson you are able to let the children know what you are awarding them and show them a running total of their points. At the end of the lesson or day you can close the session and produce reports.
Another great feature is that both pupils and parents can have logins to see relevant reports and reports can be automatically emailed to parents.
There are a number of other features, and there are some ones that I would like to see. The people who have produced Class Dojo are working on adding new features all the time and you can make a request for ones you would like to see.
Perhaps the best thing about this tool is that it does work and it’s free!
Here are some comments I have received about Class Dojo:
“Perhaps it’s the note or the tone, but the moment that they hear the ‘ding’ of a Dojo point the children are suddenly the best behaved class in school.”
“It’s so good pupilx went home and set Class Dojo up for his teddies!”
2Simple have done it again! They have produced an early years record keeping app that will run on iPhones, iPads and Android devices. It is called 2Build a Profile and is described as:
“A simple and fun way to log children’s achievements against the EYFS profile. Every child has an individual portfolio of achievements. Take photos for evidence, then tag them with children’s names and Foundation Stage targets.”
The app is very simple to use, saves time and reduces paperwork. It is a finalist in the 2013 Bett Awards and like all 2Simple software it is “simply the best”!
More details about the app can be found on their website and you can try it free for 30 days.
Copyright Red Kite Computers 2018
Contact Paul Magnall