A middle school colleague and I recently were given the opportunity to present for our district’s summer tech class series. Of course we jumped at the chance to show the benefits of using ClassDojo. Generally when we present, we outline the basics and define new features. However, we realized that this presentation could move in a different direction. This class was held in a tech lab, allowing us to give our audience a more engaging, hands-on lesson. We planned on going over account setup, adding classes, and working with custom behaviors. We created a class list for teachers to use during the presentation. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be giving this presentation.
While planning, my colleague suggested we develop a class using our participants as the students. It was a brilliant way to model how we use ClassDojo in our classrooms, giving the attendees a student perspective on the product. This was a great opportunity for teachers to experience the excitement of seeing their avatar for the first time, or hearing the sing-song of receiving a positive point. We even purchased a couple of gift cards for the “student” who had the most points at the end of the class.
During the presentation, we secretly gave these “students” Dojo points as they asked questions or had insight on how ClassDojo could be used in their classrooms. When the time came to go live and show our attendees what we had been doing, their reaction was just what we had hoped. Just like our real students, they commented on each others avatars and how many points they had. This gave us an opportunity to discuss how their reactions were very similar to what they will find among their students. After our little experiment, we were able to show the teachers not only how useful ClassDojo can be in their classroom, but how exciting and positive it can be for their students.
We then gave them the freedom to explore ClassDojo. We walked among our participants to answer questions and give them one-on-one assistance. It was a wonderful to help them work with ClassDojo rather than just showing the app for a change.
In the end, this presentation was the best thing we could have done — we gave these teachers an authentic experience with ClassDojo. It reminded me that seeing is believing — but then again, doing is even better!