Teaching Tools

Piazza

Piazza logo, blue text on white background

What does Piazza do?

Piazza is a web based discussion tool that facilitates interaction among instructors and students.  You can create a Piazza class within your Blackboard course unit and use the class as a single space to manage communications for your unit.

  • you can answer students’ questions once for all students to see
  • your students can engage with classmates in online discussion
  • you can post class related announcements, files, resources and syllabus
  • you can conduct polls

Visit the Piazza website for, information on accessibility, a quick start guide and help and support articles.

You can also check out a quick overview of Piazza vs Blackboard Discussions Boards.

Resources

Click on the links below for further guidance:

Piazza: Staff guide

Piazza: Student guide

Case Study

FSE Teaching Academy would love to hear from any colleague using Piazza within their teaching. Email: fseteachingcollege@manchester.ac.uk

Watch the video below to see Professor Ralf Becker from the School of Social Sciences, setting up and talking about how he uses Piazza with his students.

  • 01:24 – Setting up Piazza via Blackboard
  • 02:24 – Create your Piazza Class
  • 03.32 – Configure your Piazza Class setting (basic steps),
  • 03.56  – Enrolling students, instructors and sharing your class sign up link
  • 05:27 – Ralf talks about how he uses the Q&A section of his Piazza discussion board
  • 05.50 – Demonstration of how to create a menu link in Blackboard
  • 07.07 – Student sign up – explained
  • 07.35 – Ralf explains the different posts types (note, question and poll) and provides examples
  • 11.48 – Tips and advice for using Piazza
  • 14.47 – Linking a Blackboard course item to a Piazza post
  • 15.43 – Using LaTex in a post.
  • 17.08 – Linking between posts in Piazza