Through the recommendation of a colleague, I discovered Classroom Dojo, which is a super effective online management system that not only made me want to watch The Karate Kid on Hulu, but also try out the Dojo mojo in my own classroom.
On ClassDojo, teachers can input student names and easily chart the positive and negative behaviors of each child. Because I already utilize an individualized classroom economy, I decided to input groups of students.
My decision to enter seating groups into Dojo worked out well for two reasons. First, it was a whole lot less work to input eight names instead of ninety, and second, collaborative activities can be the most difficult to manage. Some teachers have quiet classrooms, but not me. Learning to accomplish tasks and effectively communicate with peers is a major part of the Common Core standards, not to mention an important life skill. As Karate Kid’s Mr. Miyagi once said, “Lesson is for whole life. When whole life have balance, everything be better.” See? Smart man.