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instructor resources

getting started

  • Sign up — register to use Sway with your students.
  • Short explainer video — how to create assignments for your students on Sway.
  • Topic statements — a collection of discussion topics that have worked well on Sway.
  • Course language — syllabus and assignment language you can adapt, further down this page.
  • Reports showcase — how other instructors are using Sway around the world.

documents to share

help & suggestions

  • Sway Instructor Assistant — answers most instructor questions and can troubleshoot common issues. If it can't help, it escalates your question directly to the Sway Team.
  • features@swaybeta.ai — suggest new features.
  • Mailing list — occasional updates about new features and milestones.

course language

The language below can be adapted for syllabi and course announcements.

syllabus language — Sway as a required course component

This semester, some of your assignments will involve discussions that take place on Sway, an educational chat app that's free for everyone in this class. Sway will pair you with a classmate and use AI to facilitate a discussion between you.

To create an account, visit: [REGISTRATION LINK]. Use your official [INSTITUTION NAME] email address to register.

Every Sway discussion assignment has two parts:

  1. Complete an opinion survey: You must complete the survey by the opinion deadline to be matched with a classmate. If you miss this deadline, you cannot complete the assignment.
  2. Chat with your partner: You must progress to 100% and complete the brief understanding quiz at the end by the completion deadline to receive credit for the assignment. After completing the chat, you'll get a quick quiz to assess how well you understood partner's viewpoint and reasoning.

You must message your partner no later than [X] hours after the opinion deadline. You and your partner should promptly agree on a plan for completing the assignment. Failing to contact your partner—or waiting until shortly before the completion deadline—prevents them from completing the assignment. If the platform detects that this has happened, your account will be suspended and you will need to contact me to participate in future assignments.

privacy

Students should feel comfortable exploring and challenging even their most deeply held beliefs, so your chats are private; only you and your partner can read them. However, the platform automatically checks to ensure that students are broadly engaging with the topics that I assign. I will see the results of these checks and I will also see your scores from the brief Understanding Quizzes that you'll complete after each chat.

opinion survey

Sway will send you an email receipt shortly after you complete the opinion survey. If you haven't received the email receipt, your opinions haven't been registered. Return to the platform and re-enter your opinions before the opinion deadline or you will not be able to participate. Ensure that your wi-fi or mobile network connection is stable and that you remember to use the "Submit" button at the bottom of the survey.

timing

Chat length is determined by Sway's progress meter, which you'll see in the main chat window when you're completing an assigned chat. To make progress, both you and your partner must contribute to the conversation. Once your progress reaches 100%, you'll receive a personalized post-chat quiz. (You can continue chatting after completing the quiz.)

Sway chats aren't strictly timed, but you can expect them to last approximately [X minutes] if you complete the assignment in one go, sending messages back and forth at a normal pace. If you chat asynchronously, your chats will take slightly longer to complete. I suggest not focusing on the progress meter. Your chats will go best when you're focused on engaging in a real conversation.

coordinating with your partner

While you and your partner might arrange a time to complete the assignment in one sitting—if you can, I recommend doing this—you can also complete it across a few sittings or by exchanging messages asynchronously at your own pace—just make sure to turn on notifications for new messages!

Your progress percentage isn't about how much you write—it's about how well you're having a real conversation with your partner. Think of it like talking with someone in person where you naturally take turns and respond to what they say.

how to make good progress

  • Have a real conversation: Send a message, then wait for your partner to respond before you continue
  • Actually respond to them: Don't just state your own views—talk about what they said
  • Keep responses focused: Avoid writing mini-essays; aim for thoughtful but conversational responses
  • Both people should talk equally: Make sure you're both contributing to the discussion

If you're stuck at 95% completion, this usually means you need more genuine back-and-forth conversation. Check if you've been:

  • Sending several messages in a row without waiting for your partner
  • Only talking about your own ideas instead of responding to theirs
  • Writing long speeches instead of having a conversation

What doesn't work:

  • Don't send lots of quick, short messages just to seem more active
  • Don't write extremely long responses that don't leave room for your partner
  • Don't ignore what your partner said and just keep pushing your own point

viewpoint diversity

Sway will automatically pair you with a classmate based on your answers to the opinion survey. It aims to match you with a student who disagrees with you. However, sometimes you might be paired with a classmate who agrees with you. In this case, either you or your classmate will be tasked with playing Devil's advocate (i.e., arguing for the side you don't personally believe).

sample assignment language

Topic focus: Abortion and bodily autonomy Opinion deadline: Jan 23, 11:59 PM Completion deadline: Jan 28, 11:59 PM (including quick post-chat quiz) Minimum approximate chat duration: 45 minutes

Remember, if you miss the opinion deadline, you will not be able to participate in this assignment.

To enter your opinions, simply log in at chat.swaybeta.ai before the deadline. If you haven't already created your account on Sway, leave yourself a few extra minutes to do so.

Sway will attempt to match you with another student who disagrees with you on a topic. Occasionally, however, you might be matched with a classmate who agrees with you. In such cases, either you or your classmate will be chosen to play devil's advocate (i.e., argue for the side you don't personally believe). Sway's Guide will be there to make sure the devil's advocate formulates the strongest possible counterarguments.

Enter your opinions and get started as soon as you like—just visit chat.swaybeta.ai.

syllabus language — Sway as an optional course component

To give students more opportunities to discuss course materials outside of class, I've made Sway freely available to you.

Sway is a chat platform, similar to WhatsApp or iMessage, but it's specifically designed to facilitate meaningful discussions on controversial topics. It is part of an educational research project at Carnegie Mellon University; you can learn more about it at www.swaybeta.ai.

You can create an account at go.swaybeta.ai/register using your official school email address. Once registered, you'll see a list of topics, including:

  • [Example of some topic statements that students can chat about].

When you create an account, Sway will automatically pair you with other students from our class who hold different perspectives. The goal is to explore topics and deepen your understanding by engaging with someone who sees things differently. I'll periodically add new discussion topics to our class's Sway chats.

This is an optional component, but I believe that having serious discussions with people who don't share your perspective should be an essential part of your education. Often, it's also deeply rewarding on a personal level, so I hope you'll check it out!

[If you wish to give students the opportunity to earn bonus credit by participating, you can mention the details here.]