Yellowdig Engage

What do you like best about the product?

Yellowdig allows my students to reach new heights of collaboration. It’s inviting and easy to use and transforms traditional discussion board experiences.

What do you dislike about the product?

It's all good! I don't have any 'dislikes.'

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Collaboration

What do you like best about the product?

Here's what my students say:
"I love all the information that he (the professor) puts into the class and how communicative he is in Yellowdig. Also, Yellowdig as a whole is such an interesting platform and I'd love to see it used in more classes."
"I /really/ like using Yellowdig, and I think that it's a really good way to understand concepts through other student's responses."

What do you dislike about the product?

Needs an easy archiving solution: a way for the instructor to download a record of the conversations.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

It gets students engaged and they don't just crank out rote answers.

What do you like best about the product?

Yellowdig is easy to configure and integrates well my institution's LMS. The customer support from the Yellowdig team is top notch, truly some of the best I've ever seen.

I used Yellowdig in my online asynchronous course and also led a team of faculty using it across different disciplines and course modalities. I have been teaching the same introductory course for the past 6 years using standard discussion boards. The Yellowdig community was a game changer for my students, which was evident from the introductory discussion. The gamification and ease of use meant that students were able to create multimedia discussions with pictures, video, links, and emojiis that really added to the community discussion. Posts and replies were creative and demonstrated critical thinking skills as students engaged with the content and with each other more readily than I've observed with a standard discussion platform. Yellowdig was also featured prominently in my course evaluations because students overwhelmingly loved it. I can't imagine teaching this course without Yellowdig in the future.

What do you dislike about the product?

Yellowdig is great, there is nothing I dislike. The biggest challenge to using Yellowdig is changing your mindset as an instructor to let the students lead the discussion. I also wish there was a dedicated mobile app with push notifications, but that's not a dislike, just a wish list item for the product roadmap.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Creating a fun and engaging community is a challenge in an online asynchronous class, especially in a larger class (50-100 students). As an instructor, it's not fun to grade discussion boards where most students are providing perfunctory responses to prompts. Yellowdig solves that issue, too. I can now spend my time engaging with students as they connect the course material to their lived experiences. Yellowdig's point earning gamification makes participation safe for my more introverted students, and students have choice in how they engage with the community to earn points. Most importantly, students are able to "find their people" in the class which helps support student retention and completion.

What do you like best about the product?

Helpful for students in their tasks, including schoolwork and homework

What do you dislike about the product?

Group settings, some students lacked access.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Not sure.

What do you like best about the product?

What passed for online discussion in my Canvas discussion boards made me question the value of online learning. From the first day of class after adopting Yellowdig, I have been amazed and encouraged by what is possible when students take the lead. And, not having to grade discussion posts has really freed me up to use the platform to do what I love to do, which is share my passion for philosophy and connect with learners in my class. I’m having the most fun I ever have teaching online.

What do you dislike about the product?

It's hard to think of a downside to using Yellowdig. There are definitely challenges to learning a new platform and getting students on-board with trying something new, but not only was it far less difficult to learn than I expected, Yellowdig has an amazing support team available to assist with the entire process. If only learn any new tech tool could be so effortless!

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Yellowdig helps generate engagement with users. My students are happy when they engaging course content in a way that is flexible to their needs and allows them to express their creativity. My students are fulfilling our learning goals and find greater satisfaction with the course. This benefits me as their instructor because I'm happy when my students are happy. Teaching engaged, empowered learners is far more professionally and spiritually rewarding than teaching apathetic and mildly annoyed participants in my class.

What do you like best about the product?

Yellowdig has facilitated student-to-student interaction in my online asynchronous class. In an anonymous survey, 68% of students report feeling either "Extremely connected" or "Quite connected" to their classmates because of Yellowdig.

What do you dislike about the product?

The cost to the student. I hope our school reaches a critical mass and is able to invest in a site license.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Student-to-student interaction in an online asynchronous course.

What do you like best about the product?

Where to start? Yellowdig allows my students to interact in an authentic way - the way they would in an in-person class - in an online format. I first used this as a student and loved it! It allowed me to get to know my classmates on a personal level that's rarely possible in a traditional discussion board.

It also makes my life easier and richer as a teacher. It is self-grading, but that doesn't mean you can ignore it. While you don't have to grade it, best practice is to monitor the conversations, award accolades for exemplary posts, and occasionally contribute. This allows me to understand my students on a deeper level, what they know, what they need, and how they grapple with the course content.

When deployed appropriately, the result is an interactive learning community. Rather than answer specific questions and respond to a limited number of their peers, students are free to post whatever they want related to the course content. This allows them to continue the conversation past the expiry date of the unit.

Some of the cool features include:
- You determine the value of posts based on word count and additional content like video files.
- You determine the accolades you want to award and their point value (there are some to get you started as well).
- Both you and the students can set notification preferences so you don't miss a thing.
- The layout purposely mimics a social media app with the newest content posting to the top of the feed. This format is familiar to many students.
- Yellowdig provides a certification course to familiarize new users with the functionality and to educate them in best practices.
- Students never have to create an original post. This makes it easier for students with anxiety about using the tool. They can ease into it in a way that feels safer and less vulnerable.

What do you dislike about the product?

The things I don't love about Yellowdig are primarily related to the users rather than the app. You and the students have to get out of the mindset of "post once, reply twice." This can be harder than it sounds. I find it helpful to refer to it as their learning community and to encourage them to use it like they would social media. Though not recommended, students consistently request prompts. I do provide them, but in a limited way.

The other issue I have found is that some students, despite your best effort, are not going to see the value in it. They see it as busy work. There was a student in the course where I used it who copied and pasted a meaningless response until he earned his points.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Yellowdig solves the problem of needing an authentic learning community in a digital space.

What do you like best about the product?

The courses I teach normally meet once per week, and Yellowdig is a great tool for keeping students engaged with each other and our course content between meetings. I love that they build their own community, and how easy it is for them to share both linked and uploaded content. Best of all, automated grade passback means I have more time to do the rewarding parts of my job - interacting with my students!

What do you dislike about the product?

It can be difficult for students to get in a rhythm of making meaningful contributions at first. I wish there was a better way for them to get rolling, but broader adoption of the platform would solve for this.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Yellowdig really helps with having a touchpoint for the course material between class meetings. It is also a great platform for sharing linked and uploaded multimedia content. Students can post completed assignments there to share with classmates, including large image files and short videos. It's great that they can be viewed directly in the browser and don't need to be individually downloaded.

What do you like best about the product?

Toss a bunch of community college students into Yellowdig, all with wildly different ages, ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds, life stories, and future plans, and guess what? Everyone digs in. Some whip up drawings, others unleash their inner scribes, and a few even bring the noise with audio or video. And just about everyone throws in cool links and chimes in with enthusiastic comments, eager to earn those points and accolades. That's the magic of the multi-media, multi-topic Discussion platform with so many features: it's engaging for everyone, and a breeze to use. As an instructor, I was able to seamlessly weave/integrate YD into my Canvas class as if they were meant to be together. And if there ever (very rarely) is any issue, the customer service responds on the same day! With YD, I don't need to remind students to participate in the Discussion ---they spend there so much time (even during their Thanksgiving break!) Most students would use it practically every day.

What do you dislike about the product?

There is really nothing I dislike. My students are happy because they earn nice grades while having fun! I am happy, as all those YD points get automatically converted into Canvas points. So, what's not to love?

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Engagement skyrockets: Forget nagging students to participate in Discussions! Yellowdig makes it their game: they chase that "Early Bird" accolade like candy! Plus, topics live all semester, so even if someone misses a beat due to illness, they can swing back and drop their two cents later. No FOMO for anyone!

2. Data drives the Discussions: Yellowdig keeps everyone in the loop with live points updates. Who's near the top? Who needs a boost? This intel lets me steer the conversation to ensure everyone gets a chance to shine, regardless of points. It's like having a built-in equity meter for my Discussions!

3. Open-ended and dynamic: Gone are the days of stale, deadline-driven discussions. Yellowdig lets conversations breathe, evolve, and adapt to new information. It's like having a living textbook that students can contribute to throughout the semester, keeping things fresh and relevant.

What do you like best about the product?

One thing I really like about Yellowdig is that, as an instructor, you can prepare posts ahead of time! I also like how it is more like a game and tracks points. This seems to encourage more participation and thoughtful interaction between students. The platform also allows for more engaging visuals and the ability to be more creative with posts than a typical discussion through platforms like Canvas. I wish All the colleges I teach at used Yellowdig. It is more entertaining and easier to use for online interaction between students.

What do you dislike about the product?

I cannot really think of anything. Setting up parameters is easy, making adjustments for points is easy, and the training in how to use it is fantastic.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Making boring online discussions more engaging for students so they want to participate, or are more likely to participate. The point system set up is great because it is a constant visual for them and easier for me to keep track of when it comes to grading. The other bonus is that it is accessible on any device, so there are no excuses!