ClassDoJo application is the most used digital portfolio in the school system (“90% of K-8 Schools”, 2016) because it started out primarily as a classroom management tool, but has since started its shift to a communication tool. Most research is found in regards to it being a tool for teachers to share positive reinforcements to parents about their child’s behavior in the classroom, but more and more teachers are seeing the potential to share important classroom moments with home and creating a communicative online learning space (“90% of K-8 Schools”, 2016). ClassDoJo follows the same model as the other applications discussed, especially SeeSaw. It uses cute characters along with voice and video recording options to share and discuss learning with home (Soroko, 2016). ClassDoJo is able to change messages sent from teachers or sent from parents in 35 different languages, this feature is important when English is not the first language and can be the cause of miscommunication occurring between school and home (Minero, 2017). ClassDoJo quickly shares a timeline of students' experiences throughout the day, whether through text messages, videos or pictures (Minero, 2017), and then pings a notification to parents mobile device to ensure that they know something has happened that a teacher or student wants to share with them. Younger students are able to quickly figure out how to use the application and are able to independently share their class work with home (Willis & Exley, 2018), which therefore engages parents to talk back to their young child about what they are learning. Digital portfolio apps encourage a safe communication space for parents of all backgrounds to look at their child’s learning and make positive comments of encouragement or correction.
Minero, E. (2017, November 22). Parent Engagement in the Digital Age. Retrieved July 4, 2020,
from https://www.edutopia.org/article/parent-engagement-digital-age
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Willis, L., & Exley, B. (2018). Using an Online Social Media Space to Engage Parents in Student
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90% of K-8 Schools in U.S. Have Joined ClassDojo, Making it Most Used Classroom
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