New social network for university courses

Third-year student Alex Levy has devised and built a new social network for the University of Southampton as part of his third-year project in ECS-Electronics and Computer Science.

Learn Social provides a place for students to get coursework help, create private study groups and discuss course matters with their lecturers and coursemates, and has been designed with social interaction in mind.

“Current learning management systems don’t put enough emphasis on social interaction between students and their lecturers,â€? says Alex. “So when people sign up to Learn Social they are placed into ‘clusters’ – groups which are based on the modules they are taking on their degree programmes.

“This gives them a private area for discussing course issues, sharing useful links, or asking questions of their peers. It also creates a place for students to meet others on their course that they’ve not yet met.

“All users are able to create their own private clusters to use as they please.â€?

Watch our video to see Alex explaining the new site and demonstrating its innovative features:

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During this trial period there are three Amazon vouchers (£30, £20 and £10) to be won by the users who gain the highest reputation on the site.

Alex's project has been supervised by Dr Thanassis Tiropanis of the ECS Web and Internet Science group.

For more information on Learn Social contact Alex Levy.