#WEEK 5/Pilar/ "Ethics & Technologies in Education."

"Hello! It´s Pilar! I am going to evaluate the tool called Class Dojo!"

It is a tool that connects teachers with students and parents to build amazing classroom communities. In other words, it is a school communication platform that teachers, students and families use to create closely united communities by sharing at home what is being learned in class through photos, videos and messages.

Source obtained from https://www.classdojo.com/es-es/

CRITERIA BASED ON THE RUBRIC FOR E-LEARNING TOOL EVALUATION

FUNCTIONALITY

According to the rubric for eLearning Tool Evaluation we can say that ClassDojo´s functionality is very good.

The tool allows the teachers to create any size class groups, they can make random groups of students as well. At the same time, it is easy to use, students can showcase and share their learning by adding photos and videos to their own portfolios. The platform has technical support, you can find several videos in youtube that explain to the users how to use ClassDojo. In addition, you can download a kit of presentations that explain step by step how to create an account and use the application.

There is a Helpdesk where you can find the basics about the tool as how to log in with a QR code, a text code or via Google, how to customize your monster (it is the avatar that all the users have to represent them).

Other information that students can get is how to send a video to their teacher, how to post the portfolio, how to access to a saved draft to edit or submit,… They also have a section about troubleshooting and privacy and security.

Furthermore, on the official website the users are able to submit a request in order to get help. The hypermediality of the tool is great, students are able to communicate through different channels such as audio, visual and textual. Students can explain their thinking with voice notes, captions, and annotations.

ACCESIBILITY

When it comes to talk about accessibility I would say that it is an accesible tool as you can log in via different ways such as a QR code, a text code or via google login. It is a free tool.

It is user-focused participation as it is designed to meet student´s needs not only academic but also emotional. ClassDojo help students to develop social-emotional learning skills. At the same time, through this app, the student get positive feedback from their teachers for skills like perseverance and remote learning participation. ClassDojo enables the students to be engaged in their learning, they can comment on class story posts and share to class story creating engagement with their classmates. The best part is that the tool does not require equipment beyond a speaker, microphone and internet connection.

TECHNICAL

The tool does not require to download any additional software or browser extensions. Students can use the platform through different browsers and operating system.

MOBILE DESIGN

The design of the application in the mobile is great. You have access to ClassDojo through the download of the app or via a mobile browser. The design of the mobile tool take into account the size of each screen. There is little to no functional difference between the mobile and the desktop version. However, to use the application it is convenient to be connected to the internet since otherwise students cannot receive notifications or messages.

PRIVACY, DATA PROTECTION AND RIGHTS

According to the evaluation made by Common Sense about ClassDojo Privacy we can say that the data collected includes personal information, location information, and behavior data, but not health data. ClassDojo's policy says it will only share personal information with a limited set of third party service providers necessary to provide or develop services. ClassDojo's policy states that personal information collected from students is never used for behavior targeted advertising to students by ClassDojo or by any third party. The policy also states that children’s personal information is never sold or rented to anyone, including marketers and advertisers.

Its policy states that it uses security industry best practices to protect personal information, including using encryption and other security safeguards to protect personal information.

The users have rights on their data as they can control their information through privacy settings, they can retain ownership of their data,…

SOCIAL PRESENCE

ClassDojo has the capacity to support a community of learning through asynchronous and synchronous opportunities. Students are engaged in their learning as the platform enables students to comment on Class Story posts to allow students to engage with their classmates. Furthermore, they can share to Class Story to inspire conversations among students and families. The tool is widely known and popular, it’s likely that most learners are familiar with the tool and have basic technical competence with it. ClassDojo allows to the teachers to build connections with the families via messages without having to share their personal phone number.

TEACHING PRESENCE

This app has been designed to enable the teachers to monitor their students progress, to send them customized feedback which is timely, specific, and individualized, encouraging self-reflection and goal setting. The app includes a timer, a group marker, a noise meter, directions, music,… Teachers are able to keep track of attendance and tardies.

They can chose how they want students to respond and create learning activities to keep them on track, even when remote. In addition, they can post their Class Story and turn on student commenting to engage them in video lessons. In addition, through this app they can help students to develop social-emotional learning skills. Instructors can monitor

learners’ performance on a variety of responsive measures.

COGNITIVE PRESENCE

ClassDojo enhances engagement in targeted cognitive tasks. Teachers are able to set activities with different levels of difficulty. The use of the tool easily facilitates learners to exercise higher order thinking skills as they have to make their own portfolio using creative upload tools like photos, videos, journaling and drawing. In fact, they can explain their thinking with voice notes, captions and annotations. Thanks to this application the metacognitive engagement between teachers and students is great, teachers can give formative feedback to their students from the platform and congratulate them for their effort and good work.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, I consider that after the exhaustive analysis carried out on thisapplication, we can say that it is a perfect app to teach and learn for students andteachers. The score that common sense has given to the app is 90%. Therefore, Irecommend its use since its meets all the requirements to be used with children. It'sinteractive and fun which makes it motivating. What I like the most of ClassDojo is thefeedback that the teachers can give to the students, it encourage them to continually improve and progress.