Who says ClassDojo is only suitable for elementary school students? My 12th graders were thrilled when they found out that we are using the platform to share links and resources for our TKA classes.
I am currently teaching at an Islamic boarding school. Here, the students focus on learning the religion, memorizing the Quran, and at the same time, studying all other subjects such as science and mathematics to prepare themselves for the real world. They are all staying at school dormitories 24/7 for months. No smartphones, no gadgets, and no electronic devices are allowed in the dormitories. Their only access to the internet is through the computer lab under the supervision of a teacher or dormitory staff.
Meanwhile, resources for TKA are abundant on the internet. There are worksheets, online simulations, and tryouts readily available online; most of them are free. While printing them daily for each student is inconvenient for me, I love to book a session in the computer lab, invite the students to the lab, and let them try themselves.
Last year, I tried using Google Classroom, but a login problem arose. Students could not log in to their Google account without phone verification. We also could not create a new Google account without phone numbers. Even after students finally joined Google Classroom, they forgot their passwords on many occasions, so they couldn’t log in to their accounts. So much time is wasted only on solving login problems rather than doing the actual learning.
Using ClassDojo, I can share links or documents in Story. Although ClassDojo does not provide topic features, Story is just enough for us.
Meanwhile, resources for TKA are abundant on the internet. There are worksheets, online simulations, and tryouts readily available online; most of them are free. While printing them daily for each student is inconvenient for me, I love to book a session in the computer lab, invite the students to the lab, and let them try themselves.
The Problem
The problem? I didn’t have an easy mechanism to share those links to all computers. There is a whiteboard where I can write down the URL, but that’s not practical, especially when it is too long. Missing a character could cause chaos.Last year, I tried using Google Classroom, but a login problem arose. Students could not log in to their Google account without phone verification. We also could not create a new Google account without phone numbers. Even after students finally joined Google Classroom, they forgot their passwords on many occasions, so they couldn’t log in to their accounts. So much time is wasted only on solving login problems rather than doing the actual learning.
The Solution
ClassDojo helps me solve these problems. Students don’t need a phone or account to log in. I simply create the students' list, and students will just click their names once they enter my class.Using ClassDojo, I can share links or documents in Story. Although ClassDojo does not provide topic features, Story is just enough for us.
I can also share assignments when I am away. I will just send a six-character class login code to the substitute teacher, and they can log in to the account immediately.
ClassDojo does not provide an assignment feature where students can share their work individually; I can send a Google Form link for their submission. Or they can just show their work in the comments so their classmates can also see and give feedback. But most of the time, I will not need this.
Plus, Students love the gamification. I don't allow students to play games during or outside the lessons (maybe later when the topics are done), but they love to change their monster’s outfit. The girls think that they are cute. Although the outfits are not ‘shar’i’ (we are in an Islamic school, btw), I asked the students to choose the most covering outfits for their monster. In fact, I love their creativity. They said they loved the lesson even though what we did was just reading and editing a PDF document. ClassDojo changed the learning atmosphere entirely to fun.
Note: TKA is an aptitude test created by the Indonesian Government for students in grades 6, 9, and 12. For grade 12, the test includes Mathematics, Indonesian Language, English, and two electives of students’ choice. The Government said that TKA is important for students' admission to public universities, yet in our school, the use of TKA is still a big question since the school is non-formal. However, we prepare for the test anyway. More about these tests maybe later on another post (or maybe not?).
Note 2: Later on that day, the students asked me whether I could make the login require a password because her friend changed her monster’s outfit without her consent. Well, that’s another problem to solve soon.
ClassDojo does not provide an assignment feature where students can share their work individually; I can send a Google Form link for their submission. Or they can just show their work in the comments so their classmates can also see and give feedback. But most of the time, I will not need this.
Plus, Students love the gamification. I don't allow students to play games during or outside the lessons (maybe later when the topics are done), but they love to change their monster’s outfit. The girls think that they are cute. Although the outfits are not ‘shar’i’ (we are in an Islamic school, btw), I asked the students to choose the most covering outfits for their monster. In fact, I love their creativity. They said they loved the lesson even though what we did was just reading and editing a PDF document. ClassDojo changed the learning atmosphere entirely to fun.
Note: TKA is an aptitude test created by the Indonesian Government for students in grades 6, 9, and 12. For grade 12, the test includes Mathematics, Indonesian Language, English, and two electives of students’ choice. The Government said that TKA is important for students' admission to public universities, yet in our school, the use of TKA is still a big question since the school is non-formal. However, we prepare for the test anyway. More about these tests maybe later on another post (or maybe not?).
Note 2: Later on that day, the students asked me whether I could make the login require a password because her friend changed her monster’s outfit without her consent. Well, that’s another problem to solve soon.
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