University students use social media tools not only to connect with friends socially but also to collaborate with classmates. Many universities have embraced academically-focused social media platforms such as social question answering (SQA) applications to make student interactions easier. This study addresses how students in a face-to-face biology class use an SQA called Piazza. This SQA enables students to communicate asynchronously about course content in short question and answer exchanges. Although most students participate as anonymous observers, this study suggests that Piazza enables student interactivity, content creation and the formation of a knowledge community.