Thing Fifteen: Digital Classroom Management
Everyone knows that managing a classroom can be difficult. Fortunately, technology can be a huge help for teachers in doing so. There are tons of websites online that help keep attendance, store data and assessments, and provide ways to give incentives and feedback to students online. There are also websites to stay in touch with parents, remind students of homework and upcoming field trips, and more!
Class Dojo for the Classroom
The first thing I did was create a mock Class Dojo page. Class Dojo is a great website for teachers. You can create multiple classes, pick the grade and add students to the class. Then you can do things like take attendance, add notes to particular students or the whole class, review professional development resources, use the online timer, make groups, monitor noise, and more! This will absolutely be used in the future, as it is a great, free, and easy source. I can also add my school when I'm working in one. This is one of my favorite resources so far. I'd definitely use Class Dojo a lot, especially for smaller things like timers, group making, and noise monitoring, as it's easy to pull up and use on the projector.
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I also really love the accomplishments aspect, such as the teamwork that you see on the side. This would help students and myself keep track of behavior and attitudes throughout the day, and aligns well with my teaching philosophy. As for 1:1 devices, I don't think that they're necessarily appropriate for early childhood. I like using iPads and devices in the classroom, but I think things like Class Dojo and having a few iPads in class are more suited for the early elementary ages. I do like it for older grades though!
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Celly and Remind Apps
The next task was to create a Celly or Remind account. I chose Celly, as I use Remind in my college classes and wanted to try out the new site. I like Celly, it's easy to use and to make a class, however, I think that Remind is better suited to older students who text, whereas Celly is better for younger students. On the site, you can post messages for everyone, message individuals, or take private notes as the group moderator. I invited my professor to the Celly in order to test it out, and everything seemed to work easily. I like the amount of customization and privacy options that exist, but I'm not sure I'd use this with students due to my own beliefs about privacy online. I do think I'd use Remind messages to text parents, however.
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