The University recently announced the purchase of the CircleIn app, an interface for students to collaboratively work while students are still remotely learning during the Spring semester.
CircleIn has note-taking features, flashcards and a place to input your academic schedule for upcoming assignments. The most popular feature allows students to connect with students from their classes in a chatroom.
Students can post their notes, questions, or schedule study sessions on these chatrooms for other students to see. The goal of the app is to regain the student-to-student communication we had during non-covid times.
To promote the app, the university set up rewards for students who utilize the app’s features. The app allows you to redeem points for gift cards from various establishments–including Amazon, Starbucks, and Walmart.
CircleIn has a leaderboard that acknowledges students who have earned the most points.
Cody Zayonc is currently at first place on the leadership board with 250,000 points. He said he won so many points by posting his notes in his class group chats since you earn 10,000 points each time you post your notes.
Alec Wallen, who is in fourth place with 128,900 points, said he got his points by making flashcard sets. He really likes using CircleIn.
Neither Zayonc or Wallen have earned their rewards yet.
Jess Wilford, who runs the tutoring center and CircleIn at the university, said “We were really excited about this opportunity because it fills a gap for students.”
Wilford said it is even harder for students to connect in their in-person classes this semester because of social distancing guidelines. It is hard for students to talk to one another when they have to sit six feet apart.
CircleIn became available at the beginning of this week but is still unfamiliar among many students, however, Wilford said over 400 students joined on Monday.
Wilford hopes to get the word out about CircleIn by emailing students, encouraging faculty to include CircleIn information in their syllabuses and putting up flyers in the residence halls.
CircleIn can be found on the left-hand menu in Canvas, or you can download the app on your smartphone.
The university has a website with other apps they recommend students download. Find the recommendations here.
