Innovation Challenge Winner Creates Behavior Management Tool

  • By Tim Sohn
  • 10/11/11

ClassDojo has received $75,000 for winning the 2011 Education Nation Summit Innovation Challenge. The team also will obtain technical help from Citi and NewSchools Venture Fund to help grow their business.

Team TruantToday came in second place and was awarded $15,000, while Kickboard came in third place and received $10,000.

The Innovation Challenge, sponsored by NBC News, Citi, and NewSchools, featured three teams that competed against each other in a variety of contests. The teams had the opportunity to work with teachers, students, and venture capitalists during the event. The final pitch competition took place Sept. 27 in Rockefeller Plaza in New York.

The Education Nation summit was launched in 2010 by NBC News to bring attention to education and to explore ways to improve it in the United States. The network again in September 2011 brought together parents, teachers, and students with political, business, and technology leaders to discuss current issues and the future of education.

ClassDojo is being developed by British entrepreneurs Sam Chaudhary and Liam Don. It's a classroom tool that recognizes student behavior and helps increase engagement.

Features include:

  • Classroom real-time feedback loops;
  • Real-time notifications, which can be sent to a Smart Board, laptop, projector connected to a computer, smartphone, tablet, or iPod Touch;
  • Automatic creation of student behavior records; and
  • Analytics that develop character report cards.

ClassDojo is free for teachers who sign up to be in the beta test group. Those interested can send an e-mail to [email protected].

Kickboard allows teachers and administrators to gather and review academic and behavioral data to determine student process, and if any action needs to be taken for improvement. TruantToday lets schools instantly contact parents via text or e-mail to let them know their child has cut class.

For more information, visit the Education Nation Web site.

About the Author

Tim Sohn is a 10-year veteran of the news business, having served in capacities from reporter to editor-in-chief of a variety of publications including Web sites, daily and weekly newspapers, consumer and trade magazines, and wire services. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @editortim.

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