Class Story
What is Class Story?
The best way for me to describe Class Dojo’s Class Story is to think of it like an Instagram or Facebook post. With Class Story, you can give families a look inside your classroom and keep them up to date on what is going on. I have had parents tell me how much they love it because it gives them a window into our classroom. I try to post on it daily- though this does not always happen.
What to Post on Class Story?
Are your students working with partners on an activity or assignment? Take pictures and BOOM! Class Story post! I do this a lot during Math. Students usually work with partners on math games. Families love to see their children working on their studies. Better yet- have students take pictures of their own work and they can include it in their Student Portfolio.
Something I started doing last year was record myself doing some math problems. The reason I do this is so that parents can see how to help their child at home. Parents (and students) have been loving this because “it’s like having my own Ms. Chapple at home!” One parent said to me, “You just taught me how to do math correctly.” This has really made a big difference for both my students and their parents. I also record myself doing the math homework. Students can use this to check their work or to have me at home with them to talk them through the process.
I have heard from other Class Dojo Mentors and Ambassadors that they record themselves reading a book. This is handy for those families that are busy and have a hard time reading to their kids. I want to begin doing this, but I am going to use this with School Story (continue reading to hear more about School Story).
Another way to use Class Story is to share your newsletter. I like to make my newsletter in Google Slides. I then save them as PDFs. Every Monday I post a link to my newsletter which has what we will be learning about that week, any homework assignments that we have, school information/events and futures news/events.
Class Story – Events
The newest feature to Class Story is Events! I absolutely LOVE this feature! Class Dojo Events allow me to easily post class events to the parents. It also reminds parents of upcoming events. Hopefully we will get an appointment feature soon, too! This is such a great step, though!
School Story
What is School Story?
The only difference between Class Story and School Story is the fact that School Story is shared with all parents connected to your school. Just like with Class Story, it gives you the option of sharing pictures and videos. Unlike Class Story, you can only post ONE picture or video per post. This gives parents a great way to be connected to the school and upcoming events.
What to Post to School Story?
Similar to Class Story, you can post anything that you need families to know. The difference is- this will be visible to ALL connected families. The downside, and a feature I really hope is changed soon, is that you are restricted to only one picture or video. I hope this changes soon because it makes posting pictures from school events an issue. To work around this limitation is to upload the pictures to a Google Drive folder and then share that link.
A really great idea (that I will be doing, soon) is to have a staff member (or yourself) record themselves reading a story to the class. One mentor I met said she shares this on Class Story. I would love to do this on School Story. Especially if you can get other staff members on board, the students from your school can enjoy hearing stories from all sorts of staff members.
School Story Events
School Story Events are made the same way Class Story Events are. Just make sure you are in School Story and not Class Story! Remember, this will be visible to ALL connected families!
Getting Your Administrator Involved
When it comes to School Story, it would great to have your administrator in charge of the posts. This will ensure that your administrator is keeping the families of your school up to date with what is going on. Currently, I am in charge of posting on School Story for my school (it is part of my webmaster duties). I hope to have my administrator taking over this role soon. The other reason it would be great to have an administrator in charge of School Story posts is so that they are available to answer any questions that are asked.