Login
Book a Free Demo

Blog

News

Blog Posts

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
Teaching a Women’s History Course — Thoughts about Yellowdig From a Professor on the Deaf Spectrum

Speakers: Gayle Fischer and Bob Ertischek Building a community for students to learn and listen to each other is an effective approach to teaching. Gayle Fischer, history professor at Salem State University, sat down with Yellowdig in April 2021 to talk about how she uses our virtual classroom platform for her Women’s History Class. Prior […]
A Student Perspective, Yellowdig
In-Person vs. Online Learning — Can They Compare?

Online vs. In-Person Class for Learning — What is Best? Many may believe with the changes in the way students are being taught that there is one medium of teaching that is better than the other. As technology has developed, we’ve been able to connect with people all over the world through apps like WhatsApp, […]
Product Updates
New Update: Anonymous Posting, Feed Redesign, Search Improvements, and More!

For those who couldn’t find a way to get the summer off to spend more time cooling off in a pool, we’re hoping this makes your summer in the classroom feel a bit cooler! We plan to start releasing this set of changes on May 3rd, after which you will start noticing the changes in […]
Co-Curricular Uses, Instructor Stories, Student Success
Driving Virtual Participation in a Career Exploration Program

Yellowdig had the honor of hosting a guest webinar with DePaul University, a school that has been integrating Yellowdig’s services for “Future Forward” program. We had notable key speakers from our team and DePaul’s team to talk about the ways Yellowdig is used. What is the Future Forward Career Education Program? It is a co-curricular […]
Guest Feature
5 Questions for MIT's Vice President for Open Learning, Sanjay Sarma

Sanjay Sarma is the Vice President for Open Learning at MIT, and the co-author of Grasp: The Science Transforming How We Learn. Along with Luke Yoquinto. Their book is a fantastic resource for teachers, professors looking for cutting-edge learning research, and parents evaluating educational opportunities. “Grasp takes readers across multiple frontiers, from fundamental neuroscience to […]
Instructor Stories
Spring Clean Your Classroom: Clear Out These 8 Myths About Online Communities

Talking to instructors who are new to Yellowdig, we often find there are a number of misconceptions around student participation and the role of the instructor. We have compiled a list of 8 myths and debunked them with the reality we have seen across our company partners below! Myth #1 – Students need prompts to […]
Product Updates
The New Horizon of Opportunity with Yellowdig’s Group Update

Before: When groups were enabled, you could only work in groups. When they were public, students in other groups could interact with your posts, but all original posts had to go to a group. Now: So many more options to configure your Community! In addition to the system being configurable as it always has been, […]
Co-Curricular Uses, Product Updates
Yellowdig's Freeform Points: Breaking Free to Enable Co-Curricular Activities

Although Yellowdig is mostly used to build community and engagement in the classroom setting, we have seen a number of uses that were fantastic outside of the classroom. Student clubs, alumni groups, courses with rolling enrollment, and special events are just as critical to the complete student experience as typical courses. This is why we […]
Product Updates, Yellowdig
Yellowdig's New and Improved Instructor Certification Course

At Yellowdig, we don’t claim for our technology to be magic. The real magic happens when you combine our technology with our data-backed pedagogical approach. We are an education company first, and we believe in the power of humans to power learning, with the enablement of thoughtfully designed technology. Our Instructor Certification Course is designed […]
Yellowdig
The Topic is Topics

In my face-to-face classes, I’d look around the classroom and try to intuit whether or not my students “got” what I was talking about by asking pointed questions, listening to the responses of the one or two students I had time to call on, and then looking for glimmers of recognition in the eyes of […]
A Student Perspective, Student Success, Yellowdig
Yellowdig Student and Instructor Fall 2020 Survey Results

At the end of the Fall 2020 semester we asked Yellowdig instructors to share a survey with their students, as well as fill one out for themselves. These analyses are based on over 200 student responses and 30 instructor responses. 88.9% of students were completely remote, 10.5% were hybrid, and less than 1% were in-person. […]
A Student Perspective, STEM
A Student Perspective of Yellowdig

At the center of Yellowdig is community and at the center of community are the learners. We value the experience and insights from students very highly, which is why we have put a lot of effort into making sure their voices are heard. Recently in our student panel webinar, we had the opportunity to hear […]
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 […]

See Yellowdig in Action Today

Experience how effortless engagement and real community can transform your classroom or campus. Book your personalized walkthrough—no pressure, just real results.

Get Your Free Demo