When Armir Camangian enrolled in BIO 31 this semester, he knew the reputation of the anatomy class: heavy memorization, late nights and study sessions that often left students overwhelmed.
Rather than go it alone, he built a Discord server where classmates could trade flashcards, swap notes and hold virtual study groups.
“It created the feeling of being in a classroom, but entirely online,” Camangian said, recalling how a similar setup helped him in Harvard’s free Intro to Python course where he learned the setup. “I do think this Discord model could expand to other classes or departments at Delta.”
The server is simple: organized channels for resources and conversations. Its impact goes beyond convenience.
For Camangian, it’s about making anatomy less isolating and giving peers a way to lean on each other.
Discord’s popularity in higher education reflects what Delta students are experimenting with locally. The platform counts more than 150 million monthly users, with servers tied to over 200 colleges and universities worldwide, according to the education technology nonprofit Jisc. A systematic review published in Journal of Digital Life and Learning found Discord delivers “increased social presence” and “enhanced student learning outcomes” compared to more traditional platforms.
For alumni like Edward Seibel, who transferred to San José State University after Delta, Discord study groups have been more than a trend: they’ve been a bridge.
“Discord study groups at Delta provided a helpful learning environment, especially during peak pandemic when I was at Delta,” Seibel said. “At SJSU basically every class has these special spaces.”
Seibel noted a distinction between the two types of groups he’s experienced. “Discords led by professors allow them to casually talk to students and answer questions, while student-led discords are more social and let students be themselves with memes and such,” he said.
The difference at a large university, he added, is scale. “Instead of class-related Discord, there is a giant Discord for my major which contains subcategories for each class with resources and people who have already taken the class before. Students who are lost are able to find help and don’t have to wait for a new Discord to be made for each class.”
Faculty have taken notice. Professor Adriana Brogger, who teaches in Delta’s Digital Media program, said she has seen students use Discord for years and believes it offers collaboration that Canvas can’t replicate.
“Discord allows students to communicate in real time and build community in a way that Canvas or email just can’t compete with,” Brogger said. “Canvas is great for assignments, but not for collaboration with each other.”
She added that the platform helps students practice professional skills.
“With all the options for texting, file-sharing and screen-sharing, it’s very similar to Slack or Teams,” Brogger said. “Students are learning to manage multiple conversations, give and receive feedback and coordinate timelines. All of those are transferable skills.”
Still, she cautions students to be mindful. Privacy and distraction remain concerns, and she urges students to limit personal information and manage focus.
“With messages happening in real time, it might be a lot to manage,” Brogger said. “This is where setting timers or using the Pomodoro technique can help.”
The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, designed to improve focus and reduce burnout. It works by breaking work into 25-minute intervals (called “pomodoros”) followed by short 5-minute breaks; after four pomodoros, a longer break (15-30 minutes) is taken, according to Pomodoro Technique’s website.
For Camangian, benefits outweigh risks. Anatomy exams demand sharp recall of hundreds of terms and diagrams, and having a space to quickly ask questions or check in with classmates makes the course less daunting.
What began as one student’s idea now hints at a broader shift in study culture at Delta: students building their own communities and reshaping how learning happens outside the classroom. Alongside peer-run spaces like Discord servers, students also lean on the official Delta College Facebook group, a school-moderated forum where they can ask questions, connect with classmates, and sometimes even get answers directly from faculty or administrators. Together, these spaces reflect a growing mix of student-driven and institution-supported networks that extend campus life far beyond the classroom walls.
“It can be a great online study tool,” Brogger said. “It’s supportive. It helps students connect.”
For Camangian and his classmates, that’s exactly the point.
