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Fresh perspectives, proven strategies, and stories from real Yellowdig classrooms.
Featured
When Vulnerability Leads to Engagement : A Yellowdig Story

Dr Heather Young University of Florida   Challenge: In large online courses, students often feel like just a “face on a screen” or a number. Traditional discussion boards often result in “compliance” posts, posting once and replying twice just to check a box,which lack originality and real connection. The human moment Dr. Young shared a […]
Burnout Isn’t Just Workload… It’s Emotional Load : A Yellowdig Story

LaToya Devezin Penn West University Challenge: Faculty burnout is no longer just about time. It’s the pressure of large classes, constant grading, and trying to support every student—often all at once. The human moment LaToya described what burnout actually feels like behind the scenes. It’s not just the volume of work; it’s the expectation to […]
Why Discussions Don’t Feel Like Conversations : A Yellowdig Story

Jill AndersonNC State University   Challenge: Online course discussions lack real conversation. Students participate out of obligation, and faculty must grade every interaction. Engagement becomes routine, not meaningful. The human moment Jill described a frustration many instructors recognize immediately. Discussion boards, meant for interaction, often fail. Instead of real dialogue, students simply complete assignments. As […]
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Yellowdig
To Cheat or Not to Cheat: Part 2 - Reducing the Negative of Generative AI

Highlights: Introduction Pressure Learner Guidance with Decreased Pressure and Structure Rationalization Opportunity Conclusion In Part 1 of this blog I explored two frameworks, the Fraud Triangle and Self-Determination Theory, to help understand why learners may be unmotivated and considering cheating and what we can do about some of the current misuse of AI systems. Part […]
Yellowdig
Are you fully utilizing Yellowdig? Be sure you’re taking advantage of these product updates!

As a new semester rolls around, we wanted to make sure you are fully aware of the many advancements in Yellowdig that you may have missed. We encourage you to explore the top 7 releases that could impact how you use Yellowdig below. Be sure to keep an eye on the “gift box” icon in […]
Instructor Stories
3 Actionable Tips for Instructors to Foster Engagement in Yellowdig

Close your eyes. (Okay, don’t close your eyes but take a moment to imagine.) Imagine a fun, engaging community where students dive into deep conversations, engage in critical thinking, and develop community with their peers and you. That sounds AMAZING, right? Here is the good news! It is 100% possible. Whether you are new to […]
Yellowdig
Yellowdig: A Key to Greater Social and Economic Mobility for Learners

As Dr. Verdine shares in the presentation, “The real opportunity [of AI] lies in using our own data to create tools around it, which we can make available to our users, to our students, and others…But there are a whole bunch of questions around privacy policies, making sure the PII doesn’t get leaked out, and […]
AI
Leveraging AI for Communities in Education: Yellowdig's Approach

At Yellowdig, we are passionate about revolutionizing education by harnessing the power of computers and artificial intelligence, while keeping the human element at the forefront. In a recent presentation at “The Human Connection Summit” by our team members, Brian Verdine, Ph.D., VP of Academic Product Engagement and Shaunak Roy, Founder and CEO, we delved into […]
Yellowdig
To Cheat or Not to Cheat: Part 1

Highlights: Part 1: AI Use is a Symptom, Not the Cause The Fraud Triangle and the Necessary Conditions for Cheating Self-Determination as a Salve for Reducing Opportunity, Rationalization, and Pressure Part 2 In Part 1 of this blog, I introduce these concepts and their application to motivation and academic cheating. Part 2 will soon follow, […]
A Student Perspective
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives: Measuring Their Impact on Student Belonging

In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, the emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives has grown significantly. Campuses across the globe are striving to create environments where all students feel a sense of belonging, regardless of their background, race, or identity. In this blog, we’ll delve into the key aspects of EDI initiatives, […]
A Student Perspective, Student Success
Addressing Higher Ed's Dropout Rate by Enhancing Academic Quality and Belonging

In his recent blog, The Crisis of Belonging in Higher Education, Shaunak Roy addressed the value that technology can bring to issues of loneliness and belonging in learners’ lives throughout the learning life cycle. Done correctly, he argues, technology can bring consistency and quality coupled with deep personalization to online and hybrid learning at a […]
Yellowdig
Yellowdig Connect and Succeed Community Management Strategies

Highlights: Expectations Getting Started Prepare Your Community for Launch Keeping Your Community Going Expectations: Yellowdig communities can provide a vibrant space for your audience to interact, network, help each other, promote your objectives and events, and provide resources. However, to achieve these results, it’s important to note that Connect and Succeed communities are quite different […]
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Yellowdig's Community of Inquiry: Scaling Proven Pedagogy for Better Outcomes

Education 3.0 is the movement that acknowledges we cannot simply continue with the tried and true methods of yesterday, but we also cannot throw technology at education and expect better outcomes. We must listen to the needs of our modern learners and adapt our pedagogy and teaching methods for this new era of learning. Yellowdig’s […]
Yellowdig
A Q & A on Shifting from Prompts to Topics

I worked as an instructor teaching online communication classes for more than a decade and can remember designing courses and putting in hours to come up with the “right” discussion question(s) each week that tied to weekly outcomes. I was creative and asked students to connect course ideas to their own personal examples. Through the […]
Co-Curricular Uses
Education 3.0: The University of the Future is Now

Just what is Education 3.0 ? As a complete vision, Education 3.0 includes a virtual campus community network that delivers greater engagement, deeper and more reflective learning, higher persistence and completion rates, greater faculty satisfaction and effectiveness, and cradle-to-grave support services for all involved. Today, happily, we have the technological tools and the knowledge to […]
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Instructor Stories
A Look into Gameful Learning with an Online Learning Platform

Dr. Ben Plummer got his PhD at the University of Michigan focusing on motivation and gameful learning. Now he works as a learning experience designer for the Ross School of Business, designing courses for their online MBA program. Dr. Mika LaVaque-Manty is the director of the Honors Program in the College of LSA at the […]
Corporate Learning
Reducing Stress in 2021: 10 Tips for Instructors

We are extremely grateful for all of the teachers who are on the front lines risking their own health to educate our youth. We admire your strength and adaptability that has been evident over the past year. In an effort to help you, we have put together some tips and resources specifically for those dealing […]
STEM
Guide to Using Yellowdig for STEM Classes

Yellowdig is a very effective tool for STEM classes. With the right ~simple~ setup, you can motivate students to participate and engage with each other throughout the whole semester. If you would like to learn more about why Yellowdig works for science, technology, engineering, and math classes, check out our conversations and research with STEM […]
Student Success
8 Tips for High-Quality, Open Conversations

There are two types of reactions instructors have when they switch over to Yellowdig. They either are so excited to not have the responsibility of orchestrating the conversation and letting it happen naturally or they are afraid to break the structure they are used to in standard “discussion boards” and continue to post prompts for […]
Yellowdig
10 things to know about Yellowdig from 2020

Yellowdig is an Education Technology Company Driving Change in Virtual Classrooms This year has been a whirlwind for the entire world, and the education industry has had its own unique challenges. Here at Yellowdig, that was no exception. Although this year had it’s clear challenges for everyone, including the EdTech space, our team was able […]
Product Updates
December 2020 Product Update - Freeform Point System, Navigation Redesign, and Plans for 2021

The Yellowdig team has been listening to user feedback and diligently working to improve the Yellowdig Engage platform. To ensure a consistent experience for our instructors and students, we have waited until after most semesters end to release our biggest improvements. We are very excited to tell you about all of the changes that have […]
Instructor Stories
Building Vibrant Learning Communities Across Borders

How can an online learning platform help bridge communication across oceans and time zones for students? Oddly enough, in a year when most of us have spent more time in our houses than anywhere else, this year has become a critical year for institutions to innovate in international learning. Below, we share 4 examples of […]
Yellowdig
Learning from the YAAC

Our users are the best source of insights for how to get the most out of Yellowdig. Professors and instructional designers have that real-world, day to day experience using Yellowdig that we rely on to fine tune Yellowdig and create an even better experience for you and your students. That’s why we’ve decided to give […]
Yellowdig
8 Things Yellowdig is Thankful for in 2020

It’s that time of year again! Although we are extremely grateful for our amazing supporters, partners, investors, and employees all year round, we’d like to take this opportunity to highlight everything we are especially thankful for this year, especially in a year when it’s extremely important to be reminded of the good that still exists. […]
A Student Perspective
Rethinking Virtual Learning With Less Zoom

Way back before a global pandemic in 2020 was nothing more than a plot to a scifi movie, one of my professors needed to host class via Zoom for the first half of the semester for health reasons. As a full time, on-campus student, I thought that was the most exciting thing. Instead of the […]
Instructor Stories
STEM Professor Succeeds using Yellowdig as a Help Forum

Dr. Vicki Hart, Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont, has been using Yellowdig for two and a half years to teach her graduate courses on epidemiology and biostatistics in the master of public health program. Classes for this program are 100% online and asynchronous, so students are never in real-time classes together. It was […]
Instructor Stories
5 Spooky Online Teaching Mistakes to Avoid

As Halloween rolls around the corner, we wanted to help you to save the spooking for the holiday by keeping it out of your classroom. We have compiled 5 common mistakes instructors make while running an online class to keep you from falling victims to these easy tricks. Read to the bottom and you may […]

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