SUNY Oswego is launching a pilot project of a new app, CircleIn, to promote student connection and collaboration within classes to support student success.
“It’s a peer-to-peer app that provides additional support and connections for our students,” said Joey Tse, interim director of the Office of Learning Services. It is intended to supplement the efforts of faculty members, tutors and others -- while also empowering students and creating networks.
If, for example, a student has a question about notes from the class or wants to find people to study with, they click the course in the app, submit and other classmates who are signed up for the app will get a text message.
In addition to students feeling more comfortable seeking help from peers, the app can help build friendships, confidence and leadership skills, with some gamification built in. By participating, students can earn points for gift cards from corporate partners.
CircleIn -- supported by a National Science Foundation grant -- is designed principally for peer interaction, although faculty members can gain access to use the feedback to better address complicated topics in a class or to improve their presentations.
“You can embed a student tutor or teaching assistant into the group to help answer questions,” Tse said. “Students in the class can share notes and have video study sessions.”
Additional student tools include the ability to create flashcards as study guides and establish task lists to organize their schedule.
Supporting equity
Gerald Meggett Jr., the chief executive office and co-founder of CircleIn, established the app realizing the importance of education and degree completion to breaking the cycle of poverty for so many.
“I was a mentor of teams, and a leader of awesome overachievers, but I felt a void inside because although I was an example of what was possible for black America, I wasn’t a mentor to my own people,” Meggett said on the company’s website. “In the greatest country in the world, 9% of students from the lowest income quartile finish college compared to 77% for the rich.”
Meggett began the app as a research project and an opportunity to give back. “I began putting a formidable team together who hurt as I hurt, and with every student using our technology, the vision became more and more clear of how impactful CircleIn would be for all students everywhere,” he noted.
An added benefit for Oswego and other institutions during a pandemic is providing one more way for students to interact and create their own networks.
“The opportunities for both helping students excel in the classroom and engage outside of it made us interested when SUNY was able to establish a special price for the pilot,” Tse said.
For more information visit student.circleinapp.com; to sign up for the app, visit app.circleinapp.com.