The New ClassDojo Groups Provides an Innovative Tool for Collaboration

If you are like most teachers, you are enjoying your well deserved summer break.

ClassDojo released a new feature today.

And, if you are like most teachers, you are also checking in with Pinterest every so often to pin some new ideas to keep your class fresh and exciting for the next years crew. Today, I want to share a great pin for your board that my favorite classroom management and communication tool has launched that has amazing potential to up the anti and help make managing your group work, PBL work and teamwork to a whole new level.

This morning, ClassDojo launched a brand new grouping feature to their already amazing classroom management platform called ClassDojo Groups. Class Dojo Groups allows teachers to digitally organize groups of students into any number of teaming categories to award all of them at once. 

If you are familiar with ClassDojo, you know that just by selecting multiple students this same thing can be accomplished. I see a few aspects of this update that support a positive classroom culture that were not as easily achieved by just selecting multiple students.

• Students can visually see themselves in a group that was either named by the teacher or named by the group itself, cementing the idea of teamwork. We all know how important visuals are, especially for our youngest learners. The avatar associated with each student is reflected in the team box. If you are a teacher that allows kids to change avatars, then again, that visual representation of themselves is seen in their group.

Students can be placed in multiple groups at once.Here I have my test class split in half (Thunder/Lightning),and another group with a few kids from each of those groups.

• Students can be placed in multiple groups at a time. Teachers can create individual table groups for all their students, as well as placing those same kids in different reading groups, different PBL groups, or even by odd/even numbers (as I can picture myself doing for transition challenges).
• Special groups can be made for specific data tracking for intervention or enrichment supports. There may be 3 children that a teacher needs to track on task behavior for hourly. How motivating will it be to let those kids know they are working collectively to stay on task and will be rewarded with a positive point for each hour of on task work!
• If you share your class with other teachers in your building, those teachers can also see your teams and award them. If you share your class with your Art teacher, and she would like teams, why not add the Art table teams or Music teams according to that teachers needs. What an amazing communication tool for parents for those classes they may not always get feedback from.
• And finally, if you gamify your review lessons, you can do it in ClassDojo Groups! Create a lesson review classroom, create your gamer groups, and play your review games. Points can be awarded and challenges can be made for units, quarters, or whatever works for you. How much fun is that!

I am sure there are a ton of creative uses for this exciting new feature the ClassDojo team has brought to us. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Oh, and don't forget to pin this to your "classroom" board for next school year! I know you are going to just love this new feature!

Changing Classrooms (and grades) ... Again!

After 5 years in 1st grade, I am moving on up to 2nd grade. Anyone that knows me, knows I am not a static person and thrive on change and challenge, so I am super excited! However, I HATE moving classrooms! Uuugh! It takes forever to get reorganized. There are a few good things that come with moving though....

1. It forces me to purge. I left SpEd 9 years ago, and still have a few things I have been hanging on to, but have not used in at least 5 years. While packing and unpacking, I am forced to evaluate whether or not I really need these items. I have purged quit a bit already.

2. It forces me to think about my classroom management and structure. What works, what doesn't work, what do I want to change and what needs to stay the same. The layout of a classroom is a huge factor in how well managed the class is. 

3. I am forced to grow my PLN. I love the first grade teachers I connect with, but now I get to seek out and connect with a whole new group of teachers with new ideas and outlooks!

4. Even though it tires me to me, it also energizes me to makeover my classroom and teaching space. 

I have several piles around the room that look like this!

So wish me luck. It is the end of June and I am heading back in today to get some more work done. I hope I can make a huge dent in my pile of stuff and my To Do list!

If anyone has any good moving advice for, please share!

A New Blog for New Learning (2nd attempt)

All the Blogs

Throughout the last 5 years I have attempted to develop several blogs to accomplish several things. I had a personal PLN blog that I did not pay much attention to-I was more interested in reading others thoughts than posting my own insights. I had several "sandbox" blogs for playing and learning. I had two classroom blogs that actually went fairly well for the first half of each of those school years, and I have had a very successful blog, Thunder and Lighting run by my two teaching assistants

My teaching Assistant
Thunder T. Bear on assignment.

(classrooms bears) that document their learning in our community for one of our Units of Inquiry.This blog is a huge hit both with my kids and our families.

Like so many of us, I get brilliant ideas, implement them well, and then run out of time, energy, or ideas to follow through long-term. I love the idea of a blog for my personal learning and sharing of knowledge, but I also love the idea of maintaining a blog for my students and their families, especially as I continue to grow as an educator that flattens the walls and opens the world up to my little digital natives. Both perspectives of learning are very different, but very important for me to reflect upon. I went down this same path with my twitter account (@crosbyscoolcats). I finally resolved myself to one single twitter account that would cover both my classroom connections and my personal growth as an educator. It seems to be working for me, so I toyed around with the idea of creating a blog that also accomplished both tasks. I decided it would not work.

After much contemplation, I decided to move ahead with two connected blogs, this one, Lovin' the Learnin' with Mrs. Crosby and my class blog, Lovin' the Learnin' with the Cool Cats.

Now what?

I received some excellent advice from a presenter at ISTE 2011. Set three major goals for yourself each year, no more or you will overwhelm yourself (the little ones are just part of your job, they don't count). I have lived by these rules for the last 4 years and it really helps me focus my priorities. Her advice:
The first goal, you will have fantastic success at.

Like Super Joe, I will keep
working towards my goals!

The second, you will make headway and be pleased with what you have done, but will want to do more.
The third, you will most likely have little growth, but that's ok! Celebrate what you have done with goal 1 and 2 and try again next year.

So that is how I am preceding for the 2014 - 2015 school year. These goals will go on my board above my desk to help keep me focused.
Goal #1 Implement digital portfolios using students Google Drive accounts
Goal #2 Maintain both of my Lovin' the Learnin' blogs
Goal #3 Become a Google Certified Teacher

(FYI-digital portfolios have been that elusive 3rd goal on my list since 2011. I have toyed with many options, but have yet to find success. Cross your fingers for me as I explore some wonderful options using Google I learned about at ISTE 2014.)