GatherTown: A platform for building online community

Fourth-year is a pivotal stage for psychology students in their academic journey and can have significant implications on their future careers. At JCU, fourth-year psychology students present their research at an online mini-conference that concludes their academic year. When conducted via Zoom, this event provided limited opportunity for staff-student and student-student interaction. Therefore, to enhance the student experience, a more interactive virtual platform, GatherTown, was trialled as an alternative. A mixed-methods study was conducted to consider student (n = 26) and staff (n = 7) experiences and perspectives regarding the usability of GatherTown. Participants rated GatherTown as highly usable and preferred it over Zoom. Qualitative responses indicate that participants felt that the platform was interactive and replicated real-life interactions. However, some students and staff felt overwhelmed by needing to understand and use an additional platform indicating that without proper introduction, participants may not gain full benefits from the platform. The findings suggest that GatherTown can be used for collaborative learning to help build an online learning community and sense of belonging; however, training students and staff on the new platform will take time and effort.

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AusPLAT 2025: Australia Psychology Learning and Teaching Conference: Fostering Wellbeing and Sustainability in Psychology Education

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