I have been an instructor for just over 20 years, and I was eager to find a platform that would serve 3 core purposes: to help engage students’ executive functions, to help students build self-efficacy, and to promote interpersonal care. Yellowdig helps create an environment in which students become the initiators of the topics and the interpersonal glue to keep encouraging their peers to persist. I appreciate the feedback in which students acknowledge the personal nature that the platform fosters, and the range of responses that helps bring confidence and courage to share creative solutions, ideas, and feedback. AI most likely can give answers for students using old protocols-traditional discussion platforms, and this has been an easy format for students to integrate. I can apply Yellowdig in online, hybrid, and ground classroom environments.

Traditional forums have their place, but they usually don't generate rich interaction and conversation between students. Yellowdig takes a very UDL approach to online discussions. Students have lots of agency and choice in what they write about, and they have different ways they can interact (commenting, launching a poll, recording a video, sharing a link). Yellowdig allows them to write about what's relevant to them. It also allows them to easily check on their progress, which helps with task prioritization and completion. The proof is in the pudding - for those faculty at my instittuion who use this tool, nearly all of them have found it to be very effective in not only alleviating grading burden but also fostering community. Additionally, the YellowDig support staff are very helpful, attentive, and responsive.

I have used browser-based discussion tools in my university teaching since they have existed. What makes Yellowdig better than any of the others I've seen are two things. One, its interface models social media, which not only makes it familiar to digital natives, but, like social media, allows for easy integration of multiple types of content: text, images, video, easy metadata (tags and topics), and community engagement. But, two, even more important is the way it fosters organic, community-based discussion. Sure, Yellowdig can also be used poorly by instructors if they make the discussion too constrained by "assigning" specific "prompts" for students to respond to. But if an instructor heeds Yellowdig's suggested setup — gameful incentivization and openness of discussions — it is likely to promote ongoing, organic, and genuine conversation. And what's best is that it does by reducing instructor workload: there is far less need to grade or review in detail all student contributions.