Using Discord for Higher Education

There has been some news coverage of Discord recently, calling it an app for gamers. While it was primarily used by gamers for a while, it has become a mainstream platform for online communities. With more than 300 million users worldwide, Discord supports online groups for hobby clubs, nonprofit organizations, and academic communities.

I prepared this presentation for a class in social learning theory and new media. It is a quick introduction of Discord and its potential for use in supporting higher education. With an eye on student retention, it seems that Discord offers another tool to help foster a sense of belonging. This may be especially helpful for online students who do not have opportunities to hang out with friends in person. I believe Discord is a powerful way to meet students where they are (literally on the devices they carry everywhere).

If you have any ideas or questions about how to set up a Discord server to support your learning community, let me know.