General Information ERAU Watermark
x
Overview
Using Yellowdig
  • About Yellowdig
  • Term to Term Setup
  • Using Yellowdig »
    • General Information
    • Instructor Responsibilities
    • Vendor Resources
Support
  1. Overview
  2. General Information

General Information

Select a feature to learn more about it.

Overview of the Yellowdig Interface

This section will give information on the main Yellowdig interface. It is important to become familiar with these tools, as they will help you better communicate and engage with your students through the platform.

The Yellowdig interface includes the: Main Navigation Panel, Community Menu, Profile Panel, Main Content, and Utility Panel. Read more about each section below.

Main Navigation Panel

The main navigation panel controls which section of your Yellowdig you are viewing. This menu has four tabs:

  • Home: In the home tab, you can see all of your unviewed posts, view the list of your communities, and find public communities to join.
  • Communities: The communities tab allows you to select, view, and engage with the communities you have joined. This is the place you will spend most of your time on Yellowdig, and its contents are detailed further below.
  • Messages: The messages tab is where you can interact with individuals or groups of people outside of a community.
  • Bookmarks: The Notifications button shows where other community members have engaged with your posts. You can change your notifications options in the Community Settings tab.
  • Notifications: The Notifications button shows where other community members have engaged with your posts. You can change your notifications options in the Community Settings tab.
Yellowdig main navigation panel top left in community outlined and arrowed to

Community Menu

The community menu contains all information relating to the currently selected community.

  • Community: The community tab contains the main feed for the currently selected community. This is where you can earn points and engage with your classmates through making, replying to, and reacting to posts.
  • Drafts: The drafts tab shows all of your non-posted drafts for the current selected community. Yellowdig automatically saves posts as a draft as you write them, so if you need to recover a post you were writing or simply wish to come back to it later, you can find it in the drafts tab.
  • My Participation: The participation tab gives a complete breakdown of the points you have earned in the selected community. You can view points by period and overall, as well as view your current grade.
  • Activity: The activity dropdown has two sub-sections:
    • Activity Feed: The activity feed shows recent activity in the currently selected community via a timeline, with the most recent engagement at the top.
    • Posted Files: This section gives a list of all documents posted to the community, allowing you to easily find and download important documents.
  • Members: Contains three sub-sections:
    • Member List: The member list gives an engagement leaderboard, showing who in the community is most active. It also displays a list of community facilitators, and all community members.
    • Invite via Link: Do not give this URL to students - students must access Yellowdig (for the first time in each course) via the Yellowdig Community item in the Navigation Bar.
    • Join Requests: This is not typically used in Worldwide courses, but if someone wanted to join your community using the invite link or requested to join your community while it was set to private, then their request to join would be found here.
  • Data: Contains three sub-sections:
    • Community Health: Provides activity summaries of the community as well as individual students. This is a great resource to help you maintain a thriving Yellowdig community. For more information, read the Yellowdig Community Health Dashboard support article.
    • Reports: Allows you to run reports for points, community health, and individual students. These reports are exported as Excel files. For more information, read the Yellowdig Community Reports support article.
    • Network Graph: The Network Graph is a visual display of how students are connected in their discussions. As the term progresses, more and more connections are made. Use the graph as a quick visual to encourage variety in peer engagement. For more information, read the Yellowdig Network Graph support article.
  • Settings: There are several items in the Settings dropdown. Most of these categories are set by the course developer and should not be adjusted. However, if you wish to add additional Topics or Accolades, assign Groups (non-Canvas), or if you wish to review the Point System or Reminders, you can do so in the settings area!
  • Management: These options allow you to manage blocked words and review flagged posts.
  • Getting Started: This launches the community set-up pop up again if an instructor still needs to set up their community.
Yellowdig community menu panel in community outlined and arrowed to

Profile Panel

The Profile Menu contains settings and information that applies to your entire account, rather than to specific communities:

  • Help: The Help section contains valuable information about all aspects of Yellowdig. You can also use the built-in search function of Help to find specific information.
  • Announcements: The Announcements section contains updates and changes for Yellowdig. Any time a new feature is added or an existing feature is improved, you can find information about it in Announcements.
  • Organization Options: Organization options allows you to switch between different organizations. This button is unnecessary to use if you only use Yellowdig through Embry-Riddle.
  • User Options: User options allows you to view and edit your profile as well as edit your Yellowdig account settings.
Yellowdig profile panel, bottom left, in community outlined and arrowed to

Main Content

This is where the main content of the currently selected page is displayed. Most often, this area will be populated by the community feed.

Main content area outlined and arrowed to

Utility Panel

The Utility panel only exists in certain pages of Yellowdig. Most often, you will see it while viewing a community. In this case, you may use it to post, filter and sort posts, and view your points overview.

Utility side panel only available on certain yellowdig pages, outlined and arrowed to.

How to Edit Your Profile

Step 1

Locate Profile Icon

In your community, at the bottom left, your profile icon outlined and arrowed to

In the profile panel of Yellowdig, select your Profile Icon.

Step 2

Account Settings

In Profile Icon, select account settings, outlined

In the menu that opens, select Account Settings.

Step 3

Profile Settings

Profile settings with information fields labeled A-F, then submit button outlined

You can now edit your profile settings. To edit a setting, select the corresponding text box and input the desired information.

  1. Username: Your username is your unique Yellowdig identifier; this username is not connected to your ERAU username. You may change your username to anything appropriate, as long as it is not being used by another user. It is recommended to include your name in your username to help other users identify you.
  2. First Name: Your first name should have been automatically assigned to your name when you created your Yellowdig account. If the name assigned is incorrect, or you prefer to be called something else, you can change it here.
  3. Last Name: Your last name should have been automatically assigned to your name when you created your Yellowdig account. If the name assigned is incorrect, you can change it here.
  4. User Primary Email: By default, your primary email will be your Embry-Riddle email. If you have added another email to your Yellowdig account and prefer to receive updates through it, select it from the dropdown.
  5. User Website: If you have a personal website describing you or what you do, you may include it here. The link to this website will be included on your profile page and be available to other users.
  6. About Me: Here you can include a brief description about yourself. It may be valuable to other students if you include your major, minor, age, and other descriptive information here.

After you have changed the desired information, select Submit to confirm the changes and apply them to your Yellowdig Profile.

How to Change Your Email Settings

In the emails section, you can add another email to your account. This is recommended if you wish to receive Yellowdig emails on an account other than your school email.

Step 1

Locate Profile Icon

In your community, at the bottom left, your profile icon outlined and arrowed to

In the profile panel of Yellowdig, select your Profile Icon.

Step 2

Account Settings

In Profile Icon, select account settings, outlined

In the menu that opens, select Account Settings.

Step 3

Emails

In the menu select emails outlined

Select the symbol in the upper-left corner to open more options and then select Emails from the Settings dropdown.

Step 4

Add Email

Select the textbox outlined to add an email, then select the add email button outlined

Select the textbox and enter the email you wish to associate with Yellowdig. After entering your desired email, select Add Email.

Step 5

Add Email Successful

Email appears in email list as unverified outlined

Your email will now appear in the email list as Unverified.

Step 6

Verify Email

Select Click here outlined on verification email from Yellowdig

Follow directions within the verification email titled Verify Email, which should have been sent to your ERAU inbox. When redirected, select Click here to confirm verification.

Step 7

Verification Success

Verification Successful, then chose select organization outlined

After verifying, you will be presented with the Verification Successful screen. Select Select Organization.

Step 8

Finish Adding an Email

Select Organization with organization outlined

From the organization list, select the organization you would like to load.

Manage Emails, select primary box outlined

You have successfully added an email to your Yellowdig account. If you would like to assign this email as the primary for this account, navigate to the Emails settings page and select the Primary checkbox.

How to Change Your Notifications Settings

In the notifications section, you can adjust which types of engagement send notifications to your primary email address. You may control email notifications and app notifications separately.

Step 1

Locate Profile Icon

In your community, at the bottom left, your profile icon outlined and arrowed to

In the profile panel of Yellowdig, select your Profile Icon.

Step 2

Account Settings

In Profile Icon, select account settings, outlined

In the menu that opens, select Account Settings.

Step 3

Notifications

In the menu select notifications outlined

Select the symbol in the upper-left corner to open more options and then select Notifications from the Settings dropdown.

Step 4

Changing Settings

You will see a list of potential engagements; the process to change the notifications settings for each type of engagement in Yellowdig is the same.

  1. Toggle Email Notifications on () or off () to control email notifications
  2. Toggle In-app Notifications on () or off () to control email notifications

Notification settings for email notifications labeled A and In-App notifications labeled B

Repeat this process for each type of engagement to fully customize your notifications.

If you would like to change notifications settings for a specific community, you can select Change settings for a Community and select the desired community from the list. Then proceed to adjust settings as described above.

Notification settings Change Settings for a Community button outlined

To remove all community-specific settings, select Clear All Community-Level Settings.

Notification settings Clear All Community-Level Settings button outlined

How to Change Your Yellowdig Password

In the notifications password section, you may change the password used to login from your account. Your password will only be required if you wish to login to access Yellowdig via the vendor website (after the first time you launch Yellowdig for a course).

Note: Changing your Yellowdig password does not change your ERAU credentials for ERNIE.

Step 1

locate Profile Icon

In your community, at the bottom left, your profile icon outlined and arrowed to

In the profile panel of Yellowdig, select your Profile Icon.

Step 2

Account Settings

In Profile Icon, select Account Settings, outlined

In the menu that opens, select Account Settings.

Step 3

Change Password

In the menu, select Change Password outlined

Select the > symbol in the upper-left corner to open more options and then select Change Password from the Settings dropdown.

Step 4

New Password

Fill out the New Password field outlined, then re-enter your New Password into the Confirm New Password field outlined

To change your password, fill the empty fields with the following:

  • New Password: Enter a new, strong password you will remember.
  • Confirm New Password: Re-enter your new password here.

Step 5

Submit New Password

To confirm your New Password select the submit button outlined

Select Submit to confirm your changes. You have successfully changed your Yellowdig password. You can now use the new password to login to Yellowdig directly from the vendor website.

Understanding How Scoring Works in Yellowdig

Because Yellowdig is a unique way to approach asynchronous discussions, it is important that you understand how students are graded in Yellowdig. This section reviews how students earn points and how they can keep track of their grade. Your Canvas course may have specific directions regarding required or potential content for students.

The course developer has already set up the community's Point System that Yellowdig will use to award points for posts and comments. Do not adjust the Point System settings for the community without permission from the college.

As the instructor, it is your responsibility to monitor the Yellowdig community and engage with students through comments, reactions, and accolades. Additionally, you may be required to post prompts in the community each week. Visit the Information for Instructors (IFI) area of your course for specific guidance.

Read the following information to ensure you understand how scoring in Yellowdig works.

How do students earn points in Yellowdig?

Students can earn points based on the actions and responses they make within the community in a few ways:

  • Creating a Post
  • Engaging with Posts
  • Earning Extra Points (awarded by instructor - review adjusting Student Points & Awarding Accolades)

The number of points awarded for any activity is dependent on the course settings. If the Canvas course doesn't describe the community's point system, students and faculty can also view the distribution of points in the How to earn points link in the Yellowdig utility panel.

Student points overview

How do students keep track of their Yellowdig progress?

To help make sure students are on track throughout the term, Yellowdig identifies each week of the term as a period. Each period has a max number of points a student can earn.

A new period begins each module, but the community content in that period is not limited to a single module. In addition to any specific directions in the Canvas course, students can post/comment on topics from other modules during any period.

A student's Yellowdig grade will display in Canvas throughout the term; it is recalculated at the start of every period (module week) and it can go up or down depending on your activity. Read more about the Yellowdig Weekly Point System.

To make sure they are going to meet the Total Point Goal for your Community by the end of the term, students should try to make the Points Earned equal the My Period Max value each period. If a student always earns the maximum number of points available each period, they will never have to worry about how many points are needed to get a good grade in Yellowdig!

Students may review their recent activity by selecting My participation.

Select My participation arrowed to in points overview

How does Yellowdig appear in the Canvas gradebook?

Because a student's Yellowdig grade accumulates across the entire term, they will only have 1 assignment in the Canvas gradebook. This assignment will update approximately once an hour with their most recent Yellowdig score.

You will notice that the due date for this assignment is the end of the course; this is because students are allowed to work in the community for the entire term and their grade is only finalized at the end of the term.

Load Yellowdig Home in a new window outlined and arrowed to in canvas asignment

How to Filter & Sort Posts in Yellowdig

Filtering and sorting posts allows you to quickly and easily locate specific posts in the community.

How to Filter Posts

Step 1

Select Filter

In your community, select Filter outlined

While inside your community, select Filter from the utility panel.

Step 2

Filter Options

From the list of filters that appears, select the filters that best suit your needs. You can have several filters active at the same time.

  • By Topic
  • By Member
  • By Date
  • By Accolade
  • By Hashtag
  • My Content
  • Community Owner (instructor)
  • By Read Status
Filter option menu

Sorting Posts

Step 1

Select Sort

In your community, select Sort outlined

While inside your community, select Sort from the utility panel.

Step 2

Sort Options

Sort option menu

From the list of sorting options, select the option that best fits your needs.

  • By Recent Posts or Comments: Allows you to view the posts in order of most recent engagement. If a post is older, but has received a comment more recently, it will appear above newer posts with older comments. This is the default sorting option for Yellowdig.
  • By Recent Posts Allows you to arrange the feed in order of most recent posts. This sort will ignore comments on posts, and use exclusively the post date.
  • By Active Posts: Enables you to arrange the feed in order of level of engagement on posts. This does not take into account when the post was created or when comments were made, it is entirely based on how many comments and reactions a post has received.

Note: No matter which sort is applied, instructor pinned posts will always appear at the top of the feed.

Back to Top
Back to Top

© Copyright 2025 All rights are reserved. The material contained herein is the copyright property of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32114. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the University.

ERAU Eagle

This page was last updated June 10, 2025