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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
Improved points system
Thanks to the upcoming points and grade communication improvements, understanding the points system is more accessible than ever. Enhancements to the points widget and participation page make it easy for members to know how many points they have, how much they have to earn, and how to meet (and exceed!) community expectations.
An updated point widget at the top-right shows students their total points earned, their pace for the current earning Period, and a brightly colored status banner that shows them exactly what is expected for their participation.
The points widget now updates students on points earned in a period.
Additionally, a new point details modal unites all other communications about points and how to earn them into a single area. Learners can easily view this without losing their current place on the community page. The modal includes a new log with additional details, arranged by period and sorted in reverse chronological order. This includes a running tally of grade changes.
Click "Show details" to get more insight on your points.
Why we created the feature
Our point system is a powerful way to improve the quantity and quality of learner participation. To work best, learners must understand what is expected of them and how participation helps them achieve their goals. Our latest point communication changes are part of a larger set of improvements to enhance the student experience and encourage more quality participation.
Bookmarked Conversations
Save conversations for later
With the new bookmarks feature, you can now easily save conversations that you want to reference later on. For example, you can bookmark conversations you want to bring up in class. Students can use bookmarks to save study materials or conversations they wish to return to.
The bookmarks tab can be found on the toolbar.
Bookmarked posts are accessible via the star icons in the left-hand menus. The leftmost menu bookmark icon takes you to a page with bookmarks from across all your communities. And the bookmark icon that's in the second menu from the left takes you to all the bookmarks for the community you're in.
Bookmark any post by hitting the "Bookmark Post" button.
Why we created the feature
The dynamic, scrolling feed in communities is an essential part of what helps Yellowdig inspire good conversations. But since communities are not static, your favorite posts and comments will often move on you between visits. The new bookmarks feature helps you quickly mark and find all of your favorite posts or comments.
(Another way to find any conversation in a community is with the Search, Filter, Sort functions.)
Student Onboarding Flow
A video to introduce students to Yellowdig
When students first enter Yellowdig, they now have the opportunity to view a brief introductory walkthrough video. This quickly tells them the educational benefits and purpose of Yellowdig and provides a high-level explanation of how it works.
Why we created the video
Over the years, we have noted what helps students the most when getting started on the platform. We hope that sharing this video will help you to explain Yellowdig to your students and excite them to participate!
Instructors can see the student video at any time at the bottom of the Setup Your Community Widget.
Topics Without Points Feature
Casual conversations
Instructors can now enable casual conversations in a Yellowdig community without awarding points for them. They can also disable points to nudge students to move on from a topic (e.g., introductions).
This feature ensures that conversations around particular topics are still possible but that learners will only earn points related to “on-topic” conversations that their community facilitators wish to remain active.
Community owners and facilitators can disable points on specific topics by navigating to Settings -> Topics -> then clicking “EDIT” on a topic. Then to disable points, click the toggle switch for “Disable Points” and click the “SAVE CHANGES” button.
When a topic has points disabled, the topic tag will appear white, and only the text and outline will be colored.
Instructors can now create topics that don't earn points to encourage casual conversation.
Why we created the feature
This enhancement gives students more freedom to have conversations with their peers, while ensuring that only course-relevant student participation is awarded points towards a grade.
Working to make your user experience better
We want to give you access to the best user experience with Yellowdig Engage, and we will continue to publish product updates to keep you in the loop. You can also get read about updates to the platform by clicking on the gift icon on the left-hand side toolbar inside Yellowdig Engage. See you next month
