Class Dojo for Classroom Management

I came across Class Dojo last week (don't ask me where, I'm lucky I can remember where I live at this point). Let me just say that I am SO excited for the school year just to finally have a system to track behavior - both good and bad. Classdojo.com is a free service which lets you acknowledge positive behavior in real time. A demo class is provided for you to explore the features right away.

Each student appears in the class with a little monster avatar

Behaviors (good and bad) can be assigned by clicking student, selecting the behavior, and the points accumulated by each student are prominently displayed.

Inputting each class (every student for me) can be a chore. We haven't been provided with class lists yet, so it seems daunting for me at this point. I hope copy and paste will be a good friend to me in ClassDojo.

You can also give students access to their individual accounts so they can track their points at home. I'll be testing that out before doing so. Also, a rewards section looks like is in the works.

Journal of Course Experiences- KidPix 4

Today I am completing my work for the KidPix course- hooray! I gained a greater appreciation for what was possible through completing this course and look forward to using the creative tools with my students. KidPix can be used at all grade levels in the elementary setting, and across subjects. It is a great introduction to graphics for K-5 students!

Using Google Docs in the Classroom

I just came across a great blog post by a teacher using Google Docs in a college setting. Good tips for all levels of students.
http://allwhowonder.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/google-docs-in-the-classroom/

Journal of Course Experiences, KidPix Deluxe 4

Now that I have completed my Web 2.0 Collaborative Instruction course, and the holidays are over, I am continuing my quest to complete my MA+30 to advance on the salary guide. The current assignment in the course is to select an activity from the KP Lesson Anthology. I have selected the Butterfly activity, but modified it, so instead of illustrating the life cycle of a butterfly, I illustrated an insect and labeled all of its parts. To differentiate the activity, I would suggest to "fast finishers" to illustrate the life cycle of an insect and include it in an insect slide show.

Next up is my personal project (x2 since I am going for the A grade). I'm a little stuck on a lesson plan for teachers, so I'm going to save that for last.