Class Dojo is a secure web based tool that allows you to
reward students for positive behaviour during lessons and visually discourage
negative behaviour. With some clever planning this tool can work for different
learners in a range of subject areas from 14-19.
The software allows you to set up custom classes and
input your students details accordingly. There is a handy copy/paste option to
make adding lots of students easy. Students can have custom avatars or use the
stock ones provided and perhaps even be creative with their names; remember
this should be fun as well! Once you have set up classes you can use
pre-defined buttons to award or take away points for specific behaviours such
as participating in discussions, not being on task, talking with respect or
following other classroom rules. There are several to choose from but you can
also add you own custom rules with appropriate pictures and the idea is for the
tool to stay visible, where possible, and students are actively reminded of how
they behave in the class.
Once your session has ended, you can view a session
report on each student and type further comments as appropriate. There is even
an option to send the reports to parents should they wish to check on their
child’s behaviour. If they don’t have email a special link can be created for
later viewing. Students can also be invited and use their accounts to create
their own avatars and also check on their points at home.
Class Dojo is mobile friendly so you can award and
retract points on the go or even outside the classroom when on trips or special
events. There are several customisation options as well including playing
sounds, the way rewards are shown and the layout.
I have trialled this with specific groups and have found
it is a great tool for promoting positive behaviours. It takes much of the
leg-work out of complex reward systems and can easily be linked to tangible
rewards at the end of the week or term as you see fit. I find it adds a degree
of Gamification and creates come healthy competition within the group. I advise
doing some research first and see if you can positively use this in your group
as some learners may not be on board with it. Spend some time setting up your
classes and be specific with your goals. What main areas do you have problems
with? Once you have assessed that then you can target Class Dojo to tackle
that.
iPads and iPhones are great bits of kit and can be used very effectively in teaching. Creating a short film with sound fx and music is one of these features and can be used to film a range of educational movies such as induction videos, video diaries, health & safety films or how to guides.
This article will demonstrate how to film and edit a movie using iMovie then add user created music from GarageBand. Finally the film will be uploaded to an existing YouTube account. Ive tried to keep things very simple and need to thank my 12 week old daughter for her help!
You will need:
iOS device either iPad 2 or above or iPhone 4 or above
iMovie App
GarageBand App
This guide is not a complete guide to using iMovie of GarageBand and assumes you have some knowledge of the program's, but instead just shows the process of filming, editing, scoring and uploading your film. A full guide to using iMovie can be found here
This is the basic video screencast from the iPad with narration. Written guide below.
Step 1
First you need to film some clips either using the camera or via iMovie. My clips were filmed earlier and show up automatically on the video pane in iMovie. Place the clips in the timeline by selecting the clip then clicking the arrow. Once you have all your clips you can edit and add transitions. When you are happy with your basic edits then open GarageBand.
Step 2
We will use GarageBand to create the music for the film. You can add loops or create your own music using the instruments available. If you have a guitar, bass or microphone attached you can take this a step further and add more professionally produced sounds. As a guide 120 bpm for 32 bars is about a minute so you can gauge how long you wish to create or perhaps you just want an intro jingle. iMovie will allow you to add music tracks from the iPad and sounds effects if you prefer.
Step 3
Once your song is complete and the levels checked then you can export the track directly into iMovie using the share button on the GarageBand song select page. This will then open iMovie and ask if you wish to add to a new project or the last used. Select the last used or in my example 'my day with daddy'
Step 4
Now you have added your song to the film you can finalise edits and check the levels. Remember you can always keep coming back to change things if you wish. Return to the movies project select screen and click the share button at the bottom. There are several options here so it can be quite flexible. I selected YouTube and then entered my account details. Depending on the settings and length of film it can take a while to upload.
That's it your done you now have a film on YouTube. You can view my effort here. http://youtu.be/XMnmMKvjTlo
In the future I hope to also look at the 'trailer' option for iMovie as is great for planning short movies or fun projects for Learners. Please feel free to leave comments for things that could be improved!
Hi and welcome to our new blog. The Innovate and Educate blog is authored by 3 like minded tech educators. We all love technology and teach a range of Learners with a range of abilities, across different establishments and subject areas. Our mission this year is to share our love of technology and education with this blog. Innovate & Educate aims to offer a laid back approach to technology and e-learning that we use or endorse in teaching whilst also offering advice on how to integrate effectively in lessons.
We would love to hear of any topics that you would like to see explored on this page as well as any articles you may wish to share and publish with us.
Feel free to communicate via the blog or with me on Twitter (@rossthetechie)
Class Dojo is a secure web based tool that allows you to
reward students for positive behaviour during lessons and visually discourage
negative behaviour. With some clever planning this tool can work for different
learners in a range of subject areas from 14-19. 
I have trialled this with specific groups and have found
it is a great tool for promoting positive behaviours. It takes much of the
leg-work out of complex reward systems and can easily be linked to tangible
rewards at the end of the week or term as you see fit. I find it adds a degree
of Gamification and creates come healthy competition within the group. I advise
doing some research first and see if you can positively use this in your group
as some learners may not be on board with it. Spend some time setting up your
classes and be specific with your goals. What main areas do you have problems
with? Once you have assessed that then you can target Class Dojo to tackle
that.
