Synopsis

  In many computer science classes across the U.S, Piazza is used as a tool both in and out of the classroom in order to foster discussion. However, there are significant problems with Piazza's user interface, making it an inefficient tool for activities involved in active collaboration. By active collaboration, we mean activities in the classroom in which students are synchronously discussing a prompt and producing content that can be continued outside the class. These problems in Piazza’s interface become an issue during face to face instruction where work is limited by time constraints of the class period.