Learning Through Online Participation: From Breakout Rooms to Discord

For software development teams, teamwork is an essential part of their day-to-day lives. However, due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, more companies have allowed employees to have more hybrid and remote work options than before. As more companies are adopting hybrid and remote workstyles, we need to ensure that we are preparing the next batch of young software developers to conduct teamwork in remote and hybrid settings. In this dissertation, I address the tools students use for teamwork and how to improve their teamwork inside and outside of the classroom. I present my research on improving student experiences in online and hybrid courses that utilize breakout rooms. I discuss my recommendations for both instructors and students to improve the breakout room experience for everyone. Then, I present my work investigating the challenges students face and the communication and collaboration tools they use during their hybrid and remote semester-long development projects. Through this research, I learned that Discord is the tool of choice for communication during team projects. Additionally, I discuss the challenges we found students face during their group projects and how those compare to the challenges professional developers face during their hybrid and remote work experiences. Next, I present my findings on why students are using Discord as their main method of communication. I discuss the many communities students participate in and how students are using Discord to further their education. Finally, I present and discuss my findings on how Discord can be useful within the classroom to improve team communication during students' capstone development projects.