Facilitating online casual interactions and creating a community of learning in a first-year electrical engineering course

The increase of online resources and the transition to a more ”blended” course delivery in traditional face-to-face courses should be supported by an active and engaged online community to facilitate student-student and student-lecturer interactions. However, current learning management systems (LMS) and communication tools found within them do not assist this goal. The aim of this paper is to provide a brief review of online tools that are used or can be used for the purpose of facilitating student-student interactions, and also provides a first report on a trial in a first-year electrical engineering course at UNSW Sydney to create or facilitate a casual community of learning using Discord. Findings from formal and informal surveys, formal evaluations and informal conversations show that there is both interest and value seen by the students in both increasing engagement and improving learning. Higher education institutions should consider a more systematic approach in creating and maintaining engaged online communities.