Fostering equitable collaboration: a study on Slido’s impact on student engagement in higher education

This mixed-methods study part of PGCertificate in academic practice explores how anonymous digital tools can create a more equitable learning environment for a diverse group of 39 undergraduate students. By integrating Slido’s Q&A and polling features, the researchers aimed to provide "meaningful and safe access" to the curriculum, effectively bypassing traditional classroom hierarchies. These hierarchies often silence marginalized or international students who may face cultural barriers or language-related anxieties in a standard verbal setting.The empirical data indicates a transformative shift in classroom dynamics, as student engagement rose from a verbal baseline of 15.38% to 54.54% during the digital intervention. The importance of privacy was clear, with 92.8% of contributions made anonymously; significantly, all primary Q&A contributors were international students. Quantitative analysis further established a strong correlation between user experience and perceived content quality ($Rho = 0.659, p < .001$), reinforcing the "Personalization-Agency Loop" where students feel more empowered when they have control over their digital interactions. Qualitative feedback revealed a "critical dichotomy" in how students perceived the intervention. While over half of the responses were general in nature, a subset of unique contributions provided specific roadmaps for pedagogical improvement. These themes included a call for deeper integration of technology into the curriculum, inclusive design for neurodiversity—such as color-coding for students with dyslexia—and the use of more dynamic, real-time collaborative tools.Ultimately, the findings suggest that anonymity is a foundational requirement for true inclusion, as it allows students to participate in formative assessments without the fear of social judgment. However, the study concludes that for this success to be sustainable, educators must move beyond using technology as a simple polling tool. Instead, they must develop the digital fluency necessary to transform these platforms into holistic, collaborative spaces that empower every student.