I want to discuss one word with you. Slack.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines slack in the following ways:
adjective \ˈslak\
: not stretched or held in a tight position
: not busy
: lacking the expected or desired activity
: doing something poorly because you are not putting enough care or effort into
I want to add a third definition:
noun
: student-centered LMS for a 21st-century educational context
In doing a bit of research on it, I came across a blog by Mathias Elmose (2015), that discusses the use of Slack as a student-centered LMS for a 21st-century educational context.
The Slack application has been around since late 2013 and is essentially a messaging app for teams. We are currently using it among our LRNT 523 cohort and playing with the ins and outs. I have been using it here and there for over a year and well … FUN FUN FUN. There is a lot more to offer than what meets the eye. Here is a video that gives a brief overview of how it works.
Mathias Elmose (2015) posted his thoughts on the app known as Slack on his blog. Up until recently, Slack has mostly been associated with business platforms, but Elmose is promoting its use for education. In a previous blog post, I mentioned how “technology needs to serve a need and not the other way around.” Elmose believes that Slack can do just this – that will be able to “support learning by default.”
I believe that learning happens when educators provide experiences that give learners opportunities to engage meaningfully in activities that promote peer interaction. This brings into the forefront two learning theories – constructivism and connectivism. Both of these theories help to engage learners in a 21st-century learning landscape – one that takes the teacher off the stage and encourages digital networking.
(Click on the graphic to see it better)
Slack is an interactive environment where you can post, comment, and share ideas. Elmose believes that “it is collaboration” and it will help to shift from teacher-centered to a student-centered learning context – it will help to build a community of learning in the classroom. These communities of learning are necessary to promote opportunities for students to take owner-ship of their learning.
Main Features/Pros:
- Interactive environment
- Effective and efficient communication tools
- Extensive app integration(gmail, google hangouts, dropbox, simple poll, skype)
- User-friendly interface
- Open Source
- File Sharing
- Search function is awesome
- Use of “channels” to organize conversation topics
- Project Management Tool app integration (see list of possibilities here– I am trying out Kyber)
- Multiple teams
- Reasonable cost to go premium
- Efficient support team – I have already contacted them a few times
- Mobile device and desktop accessibility – IOS & Android
- Makes communication fun!
Cons (In connection to my LMS train of thought)
- Unlike Samepage – which I also like – it doesn’t have as smooth of project management tools (but this is something that could definitely be added as a main tool in the platform and not just an app you integrate)
- It doesn’t have all of the administrative tools such as rosters, assessment/testing and grading capabilities
It really doesn’t have a lot of cons…and although those are big ones for administrative aspects to an educational setting, the ability of the app to engage students in the learning process, in collaboration, in 21st-century digital skills is more than enough of a reason to use it in a classroom.
Elmose, M. (2015, April 23). Is Slack the new LMS? (Blog). Retrieved
from https://medium.com/synapse/is-slack-the-new-lms-
7d1c15ff964f.
testing
Received!
Bobbi,
It may seem like a basic question, but how does Slack relate to constructivism and connectivsim?
Darin
Hi Darin,
Good question! In 200 words or less, connectivism is where the learner uses the internet and its technologies to provide opportunities to learn and to share information with others. Thus, Slack a collaborative platform is a web-location where people gather to meet, connect, and exchange information, affording opportunities for people learn. With this, the constructivist theory has an element of the social learning. The social interaction is important to constructing knowledge. Collaboration with other people that Slack provides naturally lends itself to working within the constructivist approach–moving away from teacher-centered learning to student-centered. Slack, although not an LMS, but could be used as one, it has characteristics that foster information sharing and gaining knowledge with someone else besides only an instructor.
Hope this helps!
b
I teach web development and started using Slack half-way through the semester with my JavaScript students. After I marked an assignment, I would post my code on Slack (another great feature – you can post
!) and then invited my students to post their alternative solutions and discuss the differences. I didn't know about constructivism and transactional distance at the time, but now that I do, I will do the same exercise again this year with an eye for applying those strategies specifically. I should add that I did not get a great response last year, so I have no tips to offer, but I didn't implement it until late in the semester, so hopefully, I will have a better response this year starting from Week 4. Thanks Bobbi! I also used it this summer as a PM tool and loved how easily it integrated with Trello.Oops, I typed the less-than sign with the word “code” in it, then the greater-than sign, which WordPress took to be the HTML code element, and turned the rest of my comment into monospace. Sorry about that! It should read, “- you can post < code >”
If you discover any “fun” tips or strategies … please share!
Hi Bobbi. Great overview and references for Slack newbies. I am just beginning to explore this tool with our new 523 colleagues and am enjoying it. My only challenge so far are the multiple streams or topics – I find there are too many and I quickly become disengaged if one stream has no new content. Do you use it with students or colleagues? Any best practices to maintain engagement or manage cognitive load? Hope all is well!
Hi, Karen — I have only used Slack with colleagues and have looked at different ways I can use this with my students. A colleague of mine, the one I am currently using if for planning and collaboration, first thought to throw Slack as a management system for our students’ projects. However, our school used a decent LMS (Veracross) and didn’t seem right to introduce Slack or the right project. I am interested in trying it and seeing what comes of it.
Maintaining engagement — good one! There is a lot of threads and a lot of people commenting leading to follow this chain of chatter that may or may not be relevant = disengagement.
Suggestions are nothing tech-based, but rather common sense. It depends on your use and purpose for Slack. I have never used Slack with this many people. This is a new experience for me, and I find it overwhelming. My purpose for Slack is a tool to collaborate and not chat (unless coursework). This lack of chatting then limits my involvement in Slack and not using it to build community but as a collaboration tool, only. For my students in a classroom setting, I envision a couple of cool things for projects and threads per team/group to monitor their work.
But, we shall see. More to explore in that area for sure.
Let me know what you discover and if you are re-engaged in its use, if more purposeful.
OMG my assignment 1 sucks compared to yours.
Well done Bobbi!! I liked Samepage, but this seems easier to connect.
Bobbi,
Thanks for your comprehensive overview of Slack. I watched the video and printed the infogram 🙂
I used Slack a couple of years ago to organize activities at a conference. I didn’t find it all that useful then–Whatsapp would have been better. I’m using Slack now with Alfonso, Gavin, Klaus, Jason K. for our Activity 7 and I really like how I can check-in on my desktop, my tablet and my phone.
I’m not sure how I will use it in my practice yet. I deliver multi-week writing-for-business courses online, so maybe I’ll try having one of my cohorts weigh-in on Slack instead of in Moodle or WordPress (I’m using WP Courseware).
I’m going to investigate whether I can include a Slack feed on the sidebar in a WordPress site.
Thanks again!