Several students have asked about Piazza. (for those of you not familiar with it, it’s an online discussion tool specifically designed for University classes).
I was hesitant to add Piazza – since it means we have 3 different web things (the course web site, Canvas for assignments, and now Piazza). And it isn’t fully supported by the University.
But, Piazza is really good for free-form student to student discussions (e.g. asking questions, discussing things that come up, …). Canvas can do this, but it’s not so great. So I decided we’ll try it. If it fails, we’ll cut it out.
As we start getting to the Design Challenges, I think Piazza will be a great place for students to discuss tools, ask for help as you try to figure out how to make stuff, …
All “Official” discussions (e.g. assigned discussions that are graded) will still be on Canvas. Canvas is much better for keeping track of stuff, breaking the class into groups, turning in assignments, etc.
There should be a Piazza button in Canvas. According to the University Q&A, if you use this to access Piazza, it should automatically enroll you in the class.
If having 3 different online systems is confusing (4 if you count email), here’s a way to keep it straight:
- The course web page is the way that the course staff broadcasts information to the class. All announcements will be here.
- Canvas is the way that we will turn in assignments. Since some assignments are discussions, these discussions will be on Canvas (e.g., the weekly assignments, Seek and Finds). If it counts towards your grade, it will be on Canvas.
- Piazza is for public discussions between students (possibly with course staff involved). If you want to talk about something that isn’t an assignment, you can start a discussion here.