An app instead of gold stars to track classroom conduct
For better or for worse, the third-graders in Greg Fletcher’s class at Hunter Elementary School in New York always know where they stand.
One morning in mid-October, Fletcher walked to the front of the classroom where an interactive white board displayed Class-Doo, a behavior-tracking app that lets teachers award points or subtract them based on a student's conduct. On the board was a virtual classroom showing each student's name, a cartoon avatar and the student's scores so far that week.
"I'm going to have to take a point for no math’s homework" Fletcher said to a blond boy in a striped shirt and then clicked on the boy's avatar, a googly-eyed green monster, and subtracted a point.
The program emitted a disappointed pong sound, audible to the whole class and sent a notice to the child's parents if they had signed up foe an account on the service.
Class Dojo is used by at least one teacher in roughly schools in the United Stated, according to its developer. The app is among the innovations to emerge from the estimated $7.9 Billion education software market aimed at students from pre-kinder-garten to high school, although there are similar behaviour-tracking programs, they are not as popular as ClassDojo.
Many teachers say the app helps them automate the task of recording classroom conduct, as well as allowing them to communicate directly with parents.
But some parents, teachers and privacy law scholars say ClassDojo, along with other unproven technologies that record sensitive information about students, is being adopted without sufficiently considering the ramifications for data privacy and fairness, like where and how the data might eventually by used.
These critics also say that the carrot and stick method of classroom discipline is outmoded, and that behaviour apps them selved are too subjective, enabling teachers to reward or penalize student for amorphous acts like “disrespect” They contend that behaviour database could potentially harm students’ reputations by unfairly saddling some with “a problem child” label that could stick with them for years.
ClassDojo does not seek explicit parental consent for teachers to log detailed information about a child’s conduct. Although the app’s terms of service state that schools have authorized them to do so, many teachers can download ClassDoo, and other free apps, without vetting by school supervisors.
Neither the New York City nor Los Angeles school districts, for example, keep track of teachers independently using apps.
If parents wish to remove their child’s data from ClassDoo, They must ask the teacher or email the company.
“There is a real question in my mind as to whether teachers have the authority to sign up on behalf of the school, “ said Steven J.McDonald, the general counsel of the Rhode Island School of Design and a leading specialist on federal education privacy law. “Since this is a free service,” he added. “one wonders if there is some other trade-off.”
Sam Chaudhary, The co-founder of ClassDoo, said his comp[any recently updated its privacy policy to say that it does not “sell, lease or share your (or children’s) personal information to any third party”
for advertising or marketing.
“We have committed in the terms of service to nevers selling the data, “Chaudhary said. “It’s the user’s own data.”
The company plans to generate revenue by marketing additional services, like more detailed behaviour analyses, to parents.
But ClassDojo could make money from the information it collects in other ways. Another section of the privacy policy says the company may show users advertisements “based in part on your personally identifiable information”
Chaudhary said ClsaaDojo gave students feedback as a way of encouraging them to develop skills like leadership and teamwork. Some special-education teachers also use the program to set individualized goals with students and their parents.
“Kids are being judged at school every day,” Chaudhary said. “ They are just being judged that set, it’s a good thing.”
But critics say that the kinds of classroom discipline that ClassDojo Promotes is not made effextive by packageing it in an app that awards virtual badged for obedience.
“This is just a flashy digital update of programs that have long been used to treat children like pets, bribing or threatening them into compliance,” said Alfie Kohn, the author of The Myth of The Spoiled child and other books on learning and child-rearing
Teachers who use ClassDojo can choose which behaviours to reward or discourage. Kelly Connolly-Hickey, an English teacher at west Babylon Senoir Highs School in West Babylon, New York, rewards students who “brought in supplies” or “brightened someone’s day” while docking points for cellphone use.
“Knowing that they are being graded on how they behave and participate every day maked it easier for them to stay on task,” Connolly-Hickey said of her students.
She added that she had not read ClassDojo’s policies on handling student information, but that she had shown the principle of her school how she used the program.
“I’m one of those people who, when the terms of service are 18 pages, I just click agree,” she said.
Teachers can decide whether to display students’ pointsor to use the system in private mode, Fletcher, the third-grade teachers, said he used ClassDojo publicly in an effort to be transparent. He deliberately awards many more points for good behaviour than subtracts them for being off-task.
Last month. After a well-mannered class discussion about the motiations of characters in a picture book, Fletcher invited each student to the white board to award himself or herself a point for teamwork. With each point, the app emitted a contented ping.
“I don’t ever award the kids points or take away point without them knowing” Fletcher said. “What I am trying to do is put the ownership back on the kid.”
Melinda MaCool, the school’s principal, said that she felt Fletcher used the app judiciously, and that she had asked him to show other teachers how he used it.
But at least one school is concerned that ClassDojo could make a student feel publicly shamed.
“I have told all my staff. “You cannot display this data publicly,” said Matt Renwick, the principal of Howe Elemantary School in Wisconsim Rapids, Wisconsin.
His school also requies teachers to obtain permission from a child’s parent before they start using any app that transfers the student’s personal information to a company. Parent are also divided over ClassDojo. Some like begin able to use the app to follow their child’s progress and recrive reports from teachers.
“It’s a great way to get the prognosis on your child. “ said Gabrielle Canezin, Whose daughter is in Fletcher’s class.
But Tony Porterfield, a software engineer in Los Altos, California, asked one teacher to remove his son’s information for ClassDojo. He said he was concerned that the data might later be aggregated and analysed in unforeseen ways.
“It creates a label for a child.” Porterfield said “ It’s little early to be doing that to my six-year-old.”
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หรือคุณหมายถึง: An app instead of gold stars to track classroom conduct For better or for worse, the third-graders in Greg Fletcher’s class at Hunter Elementary School in New York always know where they stand. One morning in mid-October, Fletcher walked to the front of the classroom where an interactive white board displayed Class-Doo, a behavior-tracking app that lets teachers award points or subtract them based on a student's conduct. On the board was a virtual classroom showing each student's name, a cartoon avatar and the student's scores so far that week. "I'm going to have to take a point for no maths homework" Fletcher said to a blond boy in a striped shirt and then clicked on the boy's avatar, a googly-eyed green monster, and subtracted a point. The program emitted a disappointed pong sound, audible to the whole class and sent a notice to the child's parents if they had signed up foe an account on the service. Class Dojo is used by at least one teacher in roughly schools in the United Stated, according to its developer. The app is among the innovations to emerge from the estimated $7.9 Billion education software market aimed at students from pre-kinder-garten to high school, although there are similar behaviour-tracking programs, they are not as popular as ClassDojo. Many teachers say the app helps them automate the task of recording classroom conduct, as well as allowing them to communicate directly with parents. But some parents, teachers and privacy law scholars say ClassDojo, along with other unproven technologies that record sensitive information about students, is being adopted without sufficiently considering the ramifications for data privacy and fairness, like where and how the data might eventually by used. These critics also say that the carrot and stick method of classroom discipline is outmoded, and that behaviour apps them selved are too subjective, enabling teachers to reward or penalize student for amorphous acts like “disrespect” They contend that behaviour database could potentially harm students’ reputations by unfairly saddling some with “a problem child” label that could stick with them for years. ClassDojo does not seek explicit parental consent for teachers to log detailed information about a child’s conduct. Although the app’s terms of service state that schools have authorized them to do so, many teachers can download ClassDoo, and other free apps, without vetting by school supervisors. Neither the New York City nor Los Angeles school districts, for example, keep track of teachers independently using apps. If parents wish to remove the