One way to build a positive classroom environment is to have your classroom community work toward a common goal.  Sometimes teachers have the class collect a marble every time they work collaboratively or perform and act of kindness.  Class Dojo is like an electronic jar of marbles.  You can give points to individuals or to the class as a whole.  The program keeps track of how many positive (or if your really wanted to, negative) points a student or group has earned.  It also keeps track of the class as a whole.  You can even print out individual reports – a great talking point about all of the positive things a child is doing in class when you have a conference.

To get started you sign up for free.  Once you are logged in, you can create a class by clicking on a very obvious button:

Next you will be directed to name the class:

It is then time to add your students.  You can do so by adding them manually or from a word or excel file (at the elementary level think dismissal sheets). I like to include two digit class numbers in front each person’s name to keep them alphabetical (when you enter just first name they are alphabetized by first name, if this doesn’t bother you, well, good for you).

You have the option of inviting parents to connect, but since this is a group incentive, I would skip that step.  But if you like the idea, go for it.  The last thing you need to do is set the positive behaviors you are looking to see in your class.  Perhaps your class brainstormed this list with your guidance.

You also have the ability to share the class.  You can have a paraprofessional or related arts teacher reward individuals or group points as well.

To set up groups is pretty straight forward.  You simply click on add groups.  Name the group, and finally, choose which students go in each group.  This is great if you have tables and want to award points to the table groups for working cooperatively.

You can view how many points each student has earned…

…or a group or the class as a whole:

Class Dojo will work on your iPad, iOS phone, android, or desktop computer (including Chromebooks).  The best part?  It is all free.  If you’d like to learn more about Class Dojo or have me create a demo video of how to set it up, just let me know!