Digital Workspaces that Allow Students and Professors to Build Social Connections While Learning

HollyAnne Lee, a professor of Mathematics and Statistics Education, and Professor Edray Goins use Slack and Discord workspaces to communicate with students. The ability to create separate channels for things like announcements and assignment reminders, alongside social connection channels like sharing life updates or photos of pets, creates a community that can help students better connect with each other and their professor.

Digital Resources

Discord

https://discord.com/blog/how-to-use-discord-for-your-classroom

Discord works well as a communication tool because many students are already using it, and it does not require a social media presence. It is easy to access from any device, free to use, and does not include advertisements.

Slack

https://slack.com/resources/using-slack/set-up-a-slack-workspace-for-your-college-or-university-course

Slack is a channel-based messaging platform that can be built to meet the needs of higher education classrooms. Slack allows instructors and students to work together to share, discuss, and deeply engage with learning.

Digital Enablement

When classes take place in a virtual or blended setting, those spaces can be dominated by communication specific to course content. It is important to use digital tools that give students the opportunity to connect in the same space they use to learn.

Fostering a Sense of Belonging Peer Collaboration

Implementation Effort:

Moderate

Subject:

Math Statistics

Use Case:

Course Design Instructional Activity