This presentation showcases a study exploring social presence and student engagement with Yellowdig. Through the lens of disruptive innovation theory, our initial findings from triangulated methods across multiple courses (n=200) suggest that instructors can leverage gamification and social media-like reactions to foster student engagement, course satisfaction, and critical connections.
This presentation showcases the initial results of a study that explores the levels of social presence and engagement within a community-building platform called Yellowdig in multiple courses in a mid-sized southern university in the United States. This robust, interactive presentation includes faculty and student researchers as well as tool experts who have consciously partnered together for this study. Through the lens of disruptive innovation theory, our initial findings from triangulated methods (n=200) suggest that Yellowdig's gamification and social media-like reactions can foster student engagement, increase course satisfaction, and help clarify critical content connections within a course community. The sections below unpack the background, objectives, research question, methodology, methods, and significance of this presentation and study.
Background
This research study emerged as an extension of a previous study that explored a southern university’s move to Covid-19 emergency remote learning. Suddenly, in March 2020, remote learning was no longer only for students with skills, technology aptitude, and dispositions to learn online, but rather it became an immediate requirement for all students. Our study yielded 711 student responses (7% response rate) and was statistically significant using a confidence level of 95 percent. Our findings revealed that the paradigm shift during this time actually helped many students to become accountable for their learning and to discover connectivity and engagement through various technologies. Moreover, within the disruptive innovation of remote learning, students reported that certain technologies improved connectedness, engagement, and student-centered learning. These findings suggested that some disruptive technologies fostered positive change. Our findings were submitted to academic leaders; presented at five regional, national, and international conferences; and will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Quarterly Review of Distance Education journal. This new study explores a particular disruptive technology called Yellowdig and extends our previous study. We explored Yellowdig’s potential for increased student outcomes, engagement, retention, and flexible reporting with this platform through FERPA-compliant data analytics and engaging gamification elements.
Objectives
This presentation reports on the connections among disruptive technologies, social presence, engagement, and retention in a study conducted on over a dozen courses in 2021-2022, including two spring terms, a fall term, and summer session (approximately 250 students). We studied the possibilities of disruptive innovation and social presence by integrating Yellowdig, a community-building platform tool offering a gamified discussion board with thought-provoking analytics. Our courses vary across learning modalities (face-to-face, hybrid, and online) as well as a wide range of student audiences (first-year, sophomore, juniors, seniors, and graduate students). Courses range in content and include first-year composition, professsional editing, technical writing, educational research, global communication design, and instructional design and technology.
Yellowdig is an all-in-one disruptive technology that serves as a solution that helps guide our students' participation and engagement in online discussions through a score-based rewards system. Yellowdig offers a gamified, point-based system that encourages students to change their mindset to both establish and sustain learning communities. Students are then empowered to take control of their own learning and step up their participation without constant instructor intervention. At the same time, students are seamlessly and continually connecting and interacting with each other, which changes the dynamic from a mundane online discussion to learning experience for instructors and students alike. With research that couples Yellowdig with pedagogical philosophy, instructional strategies, and assessments, we believe we can learn more about how to advance the learning possibilities for our students.
Research Question
What are the effects on social presence and engagement when a disruptive technology, namely Yellowdig, a community-engaged platform designed with social media and gamification, is mindfully incorporated into courses to improve learner self-regulation, cognition, retention, and satisfaction?
Methodology
The critical disruption forced upon the students and teachers during Covid-19 emergency remote learning led to an examination of the disruptive innovation framework (Christensen, 2011). According to Christensen (2011), "This emerging disruptive innovation [online learning] also presents an opportunity to rethink many of the age-old assumptions about higher education - its processes, where it happens, and what its goals are" (p. 11). This resultant critical disruption in higher education challenged the traditional method, transforming to improve the production of education (Christensen, 2011). Key components for positive disruption in education are engagement and connectivity, as addressed in Author's (2007; 2017) Social Presence Model. The Social Presence Model explores five elements: affective association, community cohesion, instructor involvement, interaction intensity, and knowledge and experience. Ultimately, Author posits within the Social Presence Model that social presence is a critical literacy for teaching and learning at all levels and in all modalities.
Methods
This study employs a mixed-method approach to discover students' experiences with disruptive innovation. Beginning in January 2021, data was collected with a Qualtrics questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. It was administered to both undergraduate and graduate students across over a dozen courses at a private, mid-sized university located in the southeastern United States. Quantitative results will be run through SPSS and Qualtrics, and researchers will examine educational cases and code open-ended questions, focus groups, and interviews using grounded theory analysis (Yin 2014; Merriam, 2009; Stake, 2005; Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Additionally, our research team will use qualitative data analysis software and coding with the Social Presence Model. Additionally, observational data and course artifacts (reports from Yellowdig) are currently and will be collected from consenting students.
Our Combined Experience
As a research team, we offer strengths in game theory, social presence, and in the tool itself. One team member researches in digital game-based learning (DGBL) (2021; 2017; 2017) expands upon game theory to explore the competitive and collaborative opportunities to stimulate player motivation and performance (Burguillo, 2010). Another team member offers research in social presence (2020; 2017; 2007) stresses the importance of human connection and engagement for effective learning. Our students have used Yellowdig in class and will join us as participant-researchers.
Summary and Significance
In summary, through a unique combination of disruptive innovation and social presence with triangulated methods, we will explore the possibilities of a community-building platform called Yellowdig (that uses gamification) coupled with pedagogy, research, and practice. We examine students' satisfaction, engagement, outcomes, and retention. Our initial findings from triangulated methods (n=200) suggest that this tool's gamification and social media-like reactions can foster student engagement, increase course satisfaction, and help clarify critical content connections within a course community.