Use of a Social Question Answering Application in a Face-to-Face College Biology Class

Abstract

University students use social media tools not only to connect with friends socially but also to collaborate with classmates. Many universities have embraced academically-focused social media platforms such as social question answering (SQA) applications to make student interactions easier. This study addresses how students in a face-to-face biology class use an SQA called Piazza. This SQA enables students to communicate asynchronously about course content in short question and answer exchanges. Although most students participate as anonymous observers, this study suggests that Piazza enables student interactivity, content creation and the formation of a knowledge community. (Keywords: collaborative learning, social question answering application, social cognitive theory, community of practice)

 Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

SandraJean M. Grasso

SandraJean M. Grasso has undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology in addition to an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Teaching in Media and Technology in Education. She is interested in how technology can support teaching and learning in the STEM disciplines. She is Assistant Director of the Graduate Program for Neuroscience at Boston University. Please address correspondence regarding this article to SandraJean M. Grasso, Boston University, Graduate Program for Neuroscience, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215, USA. E-mail: [email protected]