NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yellowdig, today announced a partnership with instructional design firm, iDesign, to help faculty implement pedagogical approaches that apply Yellowdig’s social learning technology to engage students and foster deeper learning.

“Savvy faculty understand the transformative potential that tools like Yellowdig can have on student engagement and outcomes, but the convergence of technology and pedagogy is still in its infancy,” says Paxton Riter, chief executive officer of iDesign. “This partnership is rooted in a shared commitment to listening to faculty as they explore the role that social learning can play - and learning from the success of early adopters about the features and support necessary to realize its promise.”

Launched in 2015, over 60 thousand students at institutions including University Of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, Arizona State University, University of Florida and 50 other Universities now use Yellowdig, which brings a social learning layer to existing enterprise learning systems. Its unique take on the classroom discussion board allows students to share links, notes or photos with classmates through secure discussion threads that organize content in a newsfeed layout familiar from the consumer web. Students who post content build influence on the network, by getting “up-votes,” and gaining followers.

“Most faculty are familiar with social networks, so the integration of our tools are intuitive -- but we’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to understanding the pedagogical implications,” says Shaunak Roy, chief executive officer of Yellowdig. “iDesign’s approach to instructional design balances the central role of human interaction in learning with the power of technology, in a way that is closely aligned with our vision.”

‍