These apps seem to stand out in the classroom.

Need some ideas for classroom management or student response? I have two recommendations:

Class Dojo is a tool that helps teachers manage behavior and boost engagement in class really quickly and easily. ClassDojo enables teachers to recognize specific behaviors and accomplishments in real-time, with just one click of a smartphone or laptop button.

How I use it:  I am teaching a unit on energy (for science).  I created about 5-6 groups for each class.  The groups created names and were allowed to select their avatars.  You can use the program to record every student but I chose groups. You can select (and create) positive and/or negative behaviors to “award” to your groups/students.  I only have positive behaviors right now.  The program makes a sound (because we have a sound system) every time I give an award to a group.  The students look up to the SMARTboard to see which group got the award and for what (staying on task, quietly working, leadership, focus, fast transition, etc).  I don’t say a word.  The kids behave positive almost instantly. I am awarding the winning group a pizza or ice cream party during lunch at the end of the unit.  I give small rewards every other day (erasers, pencils, candy) for different things like “most improved”, “farthest along”, etc.

Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers by engaging their classrooms with a series of educational exercises and games. Our apps are super simple and take seconds to login. Socrative runs on tablets, smartphones, and laptops.

How I use it: I use this tool to test students on prior knowledge and content retention.  Kids seem to like the interactive real-time nature of this app.  There is a teacher site and a student site.

If you have a chance to try them out or have other suggestions, leave me a comment!

Regards,

Mrs. Jones