Скачать или смотреть Big Ridge Elementary Teachers Use App For Students

It's a thought that goes through many parents' heads all day long - how is my child behaving at school?

Now, an app used in more than half of schools in the United States is connecting parents to classrooms here in Hamilton County.

The concept for the app is simple: it lets teachers award points or subtract them based on a student's conduct, and parents can keep track instantly.

The collaborative app is called ClassDojo. NewsChannel 9 stopped by the second grade class at Big Ridge Elementary School and Ms. Shown showed us how she uses the app as her main classroom management tool.

Second graders in Megan Shown's class at Big Ridge Elementary School always know where they stand when it comes to their behavior. That's because Ms. Shown uses ClassDojo.

"There are positive reinforcements and there are points that can be taken away for things they need to work on," Shown said.

Shown shows us how it works on her computer. When she logs into the virtual classroom, it shows each student's name, their cartoon avatar and the student's scores so far that week.

"When you get them a point, it makes this glorious dinging sound and it's like 'I just got a point - did you hear that,'" she explained.

The app helps Shown record classroom conduct, while also allowing her to communicate directly with parents, like Melissa Loyd.

"Not only are they getting good behavior points, you know they're doing well but you're finding out specifically, they were behaving well in the cafeteria, they were setting a good example for other students, they were first to get in line quietly. So, it's really specific and helpful," Melissa Loyd said.

Loyd shows us how she can track her child's progress right from her phone.

"It tells when they got it and what the behavior is," she explained.

Here at Big Ridge - more than 20 teachers in the school use the app.

So, we asked if there was a reason some teachers didn't want to use it. "I think because it's new. And new is scary. And technology is scary for people who aren't used to it," Shown said.

But Shown says - she couldn't imagine her classroom without it.

ClassDojo does not ask for parental consent for teachers to log detailed information about a child's conduct. So, if there's any parents who wish to remove their child's data from ClassDojo, they must ask the teacher or email the company.

By: Stephanie Santostasi