In episode 3 of EdUp EdTech, I had the pleasure of speaking with Shaunak Roy, Founder, and CEO of Yellowdig. We had a wonderful conversation about his journey into the ed-tech space and how Yellowdig is changing the way learners from all parts of the globe connect and build lifelong communities. Be sure to check out all the places where you can connect with him and find out more about Yellowdig below.

Yellowdig is a social learning platform designed for higher education that integrates with any LMS. Many instructors use it instead of LMS discussion forums. The best part is that it’s auto-graded and auto-populates grades to your gradebook in any LMS. Students achieve points through word count and participating with common social media behavior, like “liking” or “loving” a post or posting a comment on another person’s Pin. Yellowdig promotes community engagement through sharing information and teaching others. Studies have shown that that students can retain up to 90% of what they learn by teaching each other, far higher than when students are mainly in a passive learning environment. 

In 2014, Yellowdig's CEO and founder, Shaunak Roy, knew he wanted to start a company that mattered. As Facebook and other social media technologies took over the social connectivity scene, he saw an opportunity to leverage this idea of social sharing through technology, but specifically in the area of sharing academic ideas and knowledge. As Shaunak looked back on his own academic days (he went to undergrad at IIT Bombay, and postgrad at MIT), he realized that he learned as much from his peers as he did from his brilliant professors.  Some of the bonds he created with his peers lasted well beyond those formative years and morphed into lifelong friendships.