News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by deogeo on Saturday September 28, 2019 @04:45PM (#21102749)
What is the benefit of ClassDojo? Instead of simply making notes about students in a notebook, teachers use ClassDojo so that... what? Parents and students can be notified in real time of how many POINTS they got? How is that at all beneficial, let alone beneficial enough to justify inserting a private, for-profit company between students and teachers.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by ces12 on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:43PM (#21103069)
The benefit for me is I get to see pictures from my son's class, of him doing stuff in class, which as a parent, I greatly appreciate the teacher taking the time to take and post pics of what they're doing in class. They also send messages regarding homework, upcoming quizzes, what they're doing for the week, upcoming field trips -- and I can contact my son's teacher at moment's notice without going through the school. What's the benefit of that? There was a potential shooter situation last year and all classes were locked down, and teachers could post to classdojo that they were ok.

I've never even seen this points system used. Its a communication tool between teachers and parents. My kids are 2nd and 1st graders, so maybe it changes as kids get older?

My biggest complaint - there is a lack of standardization by schools on what app the teachers use. In the past year, I've had to install/set-up Class Dojo, Bloomz, ClassTag - which all pretty much do the same thing, and now all have info and pics of my kids. I never even heard of the apps until the teachers said they were using it.

Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by Jill_the_Pill on Saturday September 28, 2019 @07:02PM (#21103622)
Just wondering: at the start of the school year, did anyone ever offer you an opportunity to opt out of having your child's photographs and behavioral record shared and stored with Class Dojo and the others?
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by deogeo on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:52PM (#21103118)
> The benefit for me is I get to see pictures from my son's class, of him doing stuff in class, which as a parent, I greatly appreciate the teacher taking the time to take and post pics of what they're doing in class. They also send messages regarding homework, upcoming quizzes, what they're doing for the week, upcoming field trips -- and I can contact my son's teacher at moment's notice without going through the school.

So e-mail?

Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by hombre_fatal on Saturday September 28, 2019 @07:31PM (#21103795)
The protocol isn't what makes this happen, it's the system itself. ClassDojo provides that structured system. Email existing does not.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by op00to on Saturday September 28, 2019 @09:40PM (#21104432)
Email isn’t reasonable for a class of 25 children. I get updates every day from my kids teachers in apps like this - they would never be able to figure out email.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by kome on Sunday September 29, 2019 @07:23AM (#21106420)
what's the benefit of daily updates tho?
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by ithinkso on Sunday September 29, 2019 @03:02AM (#21105569)
Damn, I'm probably reading too much into this and I admittedly don't have kids but that sounds a bit Orwellian. If I were a kid now that much surveillance probably wouldn't bother me, at least at that age, considering that it would be the only way I know but looking back at my school years I'm glad that wasn't a thing.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by reaperducer on Saturday September 28, 2019 @06:25PM (#21103337)
What is the benefit of ClassDojo?

It funnels government education money into VC pockets?

Surely nobody really thinks this is about improving education?

Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by op00to on Saturday September 28, 2019 @09:41PM (#21104433)
It absolutely makes it easy for my kids to see when they did well and when they need to improve.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by gridlockd on Sunday September 29, 2019 @07:09AM (#21106382)
No it doesn't. These are arbitrary points assigned by teachers. What are you going to do with that information? Remember your teachers and how good they were at their job?

You are subjecting your children to constant surveillance and constant scrutiny, for what? Improvement on what? Let them be children, for crying out loud. Don't intervene all the time.

Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by onion2k on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:11PM (#21102900)
The 'benefit' is that it makes teachers jobs easier. If kids actively want to win points they'll conform to any behaviours defined to get them more points. There is no benefit to the kids or the parents.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by reaperducer on Saturday September 28, 2019 @06:26PM (#21103341)
If kids actively want to win points they'll conform to any behaviours defined to get them more points.

I guess with no more erasers to clap, this is how we keep kids in line?

Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by RHSeeger on Saturday September 28, 2019 @08:46PM (#21104183)
If it's aimed at kids behaving well in order to earn points (strive for a positive) rather than doing it in order to avoid punishment, than it sounds like a good idea to me. Everything I'd seen indicates that positive reinforcement works much better than negative.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by droithomme on Tuesday October 01, 2019 @08:50PM (#21132479)
Quivering in fear of punishment, and thus being motivated by avoidance of punishment, is the very definition of negative reinforcement. Fear of punishment is not positive reinforcement as you are claiming in your comment. Motivation by fear of punishment is negative reinforcement. That's how negative reinforcement works.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by duskwuff on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:19PM (#21102940)
I can see how a tool like this could potentially be useful to teachers working with larger classes, or multiple groups of students, to help them keep a reliable record of which students are participating (or misbehaving) in class. Trying to keep track entirely in one's head can be difficult, especially if there are a lot of students, and it's easy for bias to slip in through selective remembering/forgetting of incidents.

Sharing this information with parents, however, seems inappropriate, as does placing a negative value on normal events like using the restroom.

Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by DollarGuru on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:11PM (#21102901)
Maybe it is seen and used as a tool for behavioural regulation? Most kids want approval and will follow any system to get it.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by AznHisoka on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:53PM (#21103126)
my kids teachers has always used solely as a digital communications tool. the points system is secondary and you don’t have to even use it to use the app.
Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by jMyles on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:18PM (#21102935)
The benefit is the same as any gamefication framework. In other words, it's only as good (and often not even as good) as the game you create with it.

Gamefication in the classroom is potentially a good thing in some cases. Certainly a bad thing in others, like this one.

Re:Student rating app penalizes fifth-graders who need bathr... by deogeo on Saturday September 28, 2019 @05:27PM (#21102987)
Gamification of human interaction worries me, even in the student-teacher context. It feels like it cheapens it immensely.