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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
Instructor Stories
How to Reduce Professor Burnout with Modern Student Engagement

Our teachers are the backbone of society. Teaching, planning, and making an impact on students are no small feats. However, at times, we take for granted the hard work, time, and energy put in to keep academia going. One large issue hitting professors like never before is faculty burnout.But don’t fret too much– we have […]
Product Updates
April Product Update

Coming Soon to Yellowdig’s Engage Platform You suggested, and we listened! Our Dev team has been working hard to update the Yellowdig Engage platform with great new features to improve the platform for instructors and learners alike. A new and improved post editor experience is coming soon that will allow you to do more when […]
Student Success
Feeling Stuck? Here are the Top 5 Ways to Accelerate Course Completion Rates

When designing courses, it is hard not to think about course completion rates. For some time now, course completion rates have been staggeringly low, especially in online courses. Notoriously, Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, stand at a 5%-15% rate of completion. BUT, don’t let that number discourage you, because we have 5 tips on […]
Webinar
Resiliency in Academia: Lessons Learned from COVID-19

With such decreased physical distance between learner and faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic, the typical world of academia was flipped upside-down. Without choice, faculty had to adjust to their new concerns within their profession while balancing the heavy toll of what is COVID-19. This is no small feat. But in this time, faculty rose to […]
STEM
Online Learning vs. Traditional Learning: Is Online College Cheaper

Making the decision to enroll at a university can be a daunting task because of the financial burden that higher education places on its students. Students are expected to take out large loans to finance their education right out of high school because a traditional college education costs more than most Americans can afford. In […]
Student Success
How Virtual Learning Make Education More Flexible For Students

Because of COVID-19, some areas of life have seen innovation in order to keep people safe. Services like grocery delivery, contactless payment, and online teleconferencing applications aren’t new, but they have been massively improved upon in recent years due to the pandemic. In the same vein, online learning has exploded in the higher education scene […]
Product Updates
January Product Update

Catch the latest in Yellowdig’s Engage platform We’ve had a slew of updates to our Engage platform this past month, and we want to share what they are and why they were implemented. Every update is live in the platform, so go check them out! Points Communication Improvements Bookmarked Conversations Student Onboarding Flow Topics Without […]
Student Success
How Virtual Classrooms Make Education More Accessible

Accessibility has always been an important topic in education because educators want to ensure that everyone—regardless of age, disability, or lifestyle—can have access to a quality education. With the rise of virtual classes, a fully online education is more accessible than ever by allowing students to learn anywhere synchronously or asynchronously. In this blog, let’s […]
Yellowdig
Yellowdig 2021 Year in Review

Yellowdig is committed in its mission of providing a student-driven social learning platform to support classrooms in any modality, and we made a lot of progress in that mission this year—amid a worldwide pandemic.  2021 has been anything but predictable, and the world of higher education and EdTech is no exception. With universities across the […]
Product Updates
Yellowdig + Canvas LTI 1.3

We’re proud to share that our team is staying ahead of the curve by currently supporting the latest 1.3 integrations in Canvas (Launches + Assignment and Grade Services). We understand that many schools and organizations won’t decide to transition to 1.3 for some time, and so Yellowdig will continue to fully support the LTI 1.1 […]
Student Success
How a Student Benefited from Yellowdig during COVID-19

In the wake of COVID-19, higher education must look to the future and ensure that students are receiving a college education that reflects their needs—especially in online learning environments where students often cite a lack of interaction with their peers. A Student’s Perspective Difficulties during the pandemic Christina Falletta, a sophomore elementary education major at […]
Student Success
How to Increase Student Engagement in Blended Learning Environments

Learning to engage students in the classroom is a crucial teaching strategy because student engagement is a prerequisite for learning and a strong predictor of student success. It allows your students to thrive in the class because they are actively participating which leads to higher mastery of the course material. In 2021 and beyond, teachers […]
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, […]
Case Study
Gamification Is the Secret Weapon of Remote Learning

Case Study with Carolyn Siccama, Ed.D. The University of Vermont Instructional Designer One piece of advice from Dr. Siccama to fellow Yellowdig instructors: “Be willing to reconsider your notions of online interaction.” How Dr. Siccama Uses Yellowdig: Between Summer 2018 and Summer 2019, Dr. Carolyn Siccama integrated Yellowdig into 7 online graduate courses, 5 online […]
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 […]

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