Free Trial vs. Premium Community
At-a-Glance Comparison
Understanding the Free Trial
Understanding the Premium Community
Upgrading from Free to Premium
Yellowdig offers two community options—Free and Premium. This article guide will help you understand their differences and available features.
Free Trial vs. Premium Community
The choice between a Free Trial and a Premium community depends on your duration needs, the level of administrative control required, and the desired features.
At-a-Glance Comparison
Understanding the Free Trial
The Free Trial is designed for short-term use and temporary communities. It allows you to experience Yellowdig’s core functionality at no initial cost.
Duration and Access
- A Free Trial Community is fully functional for 30 days.
- After this period, the community automatically switches to Read-Only mode.
Read-Only Mode
When Read-Only mode is active:
- Members can view all past content (posts, comments, and replies).
- New participation—including posting, commenting, and reacting—is disabled for all members.
- A clear message appears at the top of the community feed explaining the status.
Feature Limitations
- Point System: Only the Freeform Points system is available, limited to 4,000 points.
- Administration: Owners and Facilitators have reduced functionality once the trial begins, including restrictions on changing ownership and performing certain admin actions.
- LMS Integrations: Grade Passback and other LTI-related features are not included.
Understanding the Premium Community
A Premium Community is the best option for long-term use, full feature access, and complete administrative control.
Ongoing Access and Control
Premium Communities offer unlimited duration and full administrative permissions at all times. Owners and Facilitators maintain complete control over settings, roles, and community status indefinitely.
Advanced Features
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Customizable Point System: Choose between Freeform Points or advanced weekly point systems. You can fully tailor participation settings to your course or group goals—or disable the point system entirely (not recommended).
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LMS Integrations: Premium Communities support Roster Management and Grade Passback with your Learning Management System (LMS).
Upgrading from Free to Premium
If you start with a Free Trial and later decide you need the benefits of a Premium Community, email us at partnerships@yellowdig.com for details on upgrading your community.
Here’s what your learners can expect:
- Payment Requirement: If your organization uses a learner-pay model, Learners will be prompted to pay to access the community.
- Continued Participation: The read-only restriction from the Free Trial is lifted and Learners regain the ability to post, comment, and participate.
- Expanded Point System: The Premium community unlocks other participation options. Owners and Facilitators can re-configure and adjust the point system. This means learners might see new ways to earn points or have their progress tracked differently depending on the settings. For more on point systems, see the Participation Settings guide.
- Grade Integration: Premium communities support grade passback to your institution’s LMS (like Canvas or Blackboard). This means that Yellowdig participation and points can be reflected in the course gradebook.
- No Loss of Progress: Previous posts, comments, and points remain in the community.
Audience: This help article is for Instructors, Designers, and Administrators. Students or Learners cannot access these features and settings.