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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 […]
Latest at Yellowdig
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 […]
Yellowdig
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 […]
Latest at Yellowdig
Product Updates
This Fall Brings Large Point System and Grade Passback Improvements

Recent Improvements to Our Points System Feedback we have heard made it clear that there was potential confusion around two aspects of our points system: 1. Points fill one big bucket for the semester 2. There is a buffer that allows users to earn points beyond their current week’s requirement to get ahead This October […]
Product Updates
Yellowdig’s Patented Gamification Approach Improves Student Outcomes

Gamification is a bit of a buzzword in education these days. We can debate the educational value of all the digital games out there, but no one can dismiss the impact (good or bad) of gaming on the formative minds of future generations. I believe game-based learning, when designed with the right motives in mind, […]
Co-Curricular Uses, Instructor Stories
Enhance Your New Student Orientation with Yellowdig

Orientation is a make-or-break experience for incoming students. COVID-19 has left many universities to reinvent different elements of the student lifecycle, and orientation is no exception. At University of Nebraska-Lincoln, orientation leaders were halfway through training when the pandemic hit. Their in-person event was all about community building and making connections to help the new […]
Instructor Stories, Student Success
Improving Course Success and Retention with Yellowdig

Think back to when the world was in the early stages of COVID-19— it was predicted that the virus would have such massive impact. Universities were caught totally unprepared. Instead of having a plan in place, they were forced to scramble and cobble together different programs overnight to try and keep class in session. Change […]
News
Online Ed Demand Boom Leads Robin Hood Ventures to Invest in Yellowdig

(Philadelphia, August 24, 2020) – Yellowdig is excited to announce that it has attracted investment from angel-investment group Robin Hood Ventures (RHV). Yellowdig is a community-building platform that enables a learning institution’s entire ecosystem—from students and faculty to administrators and alumni—to connect, learn, and engage. Built from the ground up, the platform empowers lifelong learning […]
Product Updates
Yellowdig Engage Product Release 8/17

Features New capability to paste a community template link into the community creation form to import settings and content New network graph data visualization page (BETA). Reach out to [email protected] if you’d like to try this feature New and improved post interface style, which visually nests comments underneath posts and displays a stronger separation between […]
Yellowdig
Is BigTech About to Take Over Higher Education?

Whether you are a student, faculty member, or parent, the future of higher education is uncertain. The entire college experience has been condensed into a series of web conferences and online assignments. It is convenient to be able to join a live classroom with a few clicks, or watch recorded sessions later, but what is […]
Co-Curricular Uses, Student Success
What Makes Yellowdig More Engaging Than Your LMS Discussion?

“I found that the Yellowdig discussions were far more personable than any other LMS discussion boards I have partaken in. The flexibility of content and responses made it more engaging and exciting… I definitely found that people were more active and excited about posting and responding to others’ posts. Previous blackboard discussions have felt somewhat […]
Product Updates
Yellowdig Engage Product Update 7/13

Features Notifications and settings for direct messages. Support for all global timezones. Accessibility improvements for direct messages. Network/Community Report improvements. Bug Fixes Added special handling for Safari version > 13 to circumvent new iFrame and cookie restrictions imposed by Apple. (Requires opening Yellowdig in new tab when using Safari.) Fixed a bug related to pinned […]
Product Updates
Yellowdig Engage Product Update 6/29

Features Detailed community- and student-level CSV reports can now be downloaded on demand from /organization/admin/reports and /community/[community id]/reports. Redesigned Periods view in Point Setup Wizard. Reduced payload when groups are enabled. Introduced basic SSO (beta). Bug Fixes Copy Content From dropdown component in LTI board creation modal no longer returns error when list is empty. […]
Product Updates
Yellowdig Engage Product Update 6/2

Multimedia posting and commenting: Updated mobile/tablet layout New user creation flow for those logging into Yellowdig from their LMS for the first time. Email verification flow for users with multiple LMS accounts. (Security measure.) Bug Fixes Fix for certain timeout requests Better handling of unfurled links Questions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. Brian Hurlow […]
Corporate Learning
How Yellowdig Fuels Corporate Learning

Underwhelmed by corporate learning programs? You’re not alone. Both managers and employees report low satisfaction, with only 25% crediting their program with improved job performance.[1][2] And yet, companies still spend billions on programs that yield disappointing or unclear ROIs.[3] Both the real costs and opportunity costs of just a single day of training are sobering.[5] […]

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