Review about using Slack as an educational LMS.

1. 4 ELT
Overview
Slack is a simple and dynamic cmmunication tool which offers
integration with services students and teachers use every day such as
zoom, google docs and more.
By using specific filtering, the user can easily search/find information
previously discussed. Slack also allows for private or one to one group
communication and it is accessible on the go via the app. Perfect for
projects and a differentiated curriculum. Also private direct messaging
from student to teacher.
As Slack acts like an instant messenger, this helps to ensure more
efficient communication between educators and students. Students are
notified and communication is instant aneous and Slack takes"social
learning to the next level.
Add apps to even make the learning experience that much better!

2. Ease of Access
Setting up a Slack account is easy, involving the completion of a few
simple steps before an account can be accessed. To use Slack, the user
needs to fill the sign up form on Slack’s home page and follow the
onscreen instructions as you go along.
Slack’s desktop app is available for Mac, Windows and Linux (beta
versión) and its mobile app for iOS, Android and Windows phone.
Pedagogical Use
Slack was designed to be a powerful communication tool to aid team
collaboration. Its main use is to provide a platform for volumes of
communication among large teams or classroom. As communication
on this scale can become unmanageable and inefficient, this tool can
be used to ensure that communications happen all in one place and can
be segmented by creating Channels for various topics. Educators can
assign users to as many (or as few) channels as they need in order to
keep topics visible to the class members who want to see any individual
topic.
Reviews
“Slack has certain features that make it perfectly suited for work,
including automatic archiving of all your interactions, a good search
engine and the ability to work across just about every device you use.
As it is hosted online and is extremely customizable, Slack is also easy
for technology departments to set up and maintain.” - Fa rhad
Manjoo( NY Times)
www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12
Make your class at https://slack.com/create
"Right now you could setup a Slack team, invite your students and
have a much better learning environment than any LMS currently out
there (well that I know of). Simply by the fact that Slack is an active
environment by default ... It’s psychological. You feel like you are
more present and in an active environment." - Mathias Elmose,
Slack - The New LMS.
https://medium.com/synapse/is-slack-the-new-lms-7d1c15ff964f

3. Advantages
 Excellent private backchannel. Great for essential
communication and discussion.
 Wonderful, rich set of tools and options.
 Most discussions in Slack are also archived and made
searchable. As a result, over time, the chats build up into a
corpus of deep historical knowledge. Accountability for
teachers.
Disadvantages
 No assessment feature. No quiz builder.
 Requires thoughtful use to be effective.
 Students can be tempted to use it as a generic social tool
 It does not support Boolean search: you can search messages
using one term, but not several
 Notifications can be bothersome. Some students can turn them
off and miss events, announcements.
Conclusion
Slack is a powerful communication tool to aid class collaboration and
teaching. Educators can assign students to as many (or as few)
channels as they need in order to keep topics visible to the class
members who want to see any individual topic.
Slack is social learning. Students learn English through communication
and interaction. Constructing their knowledge.
At a minimum teachers should use Slack as their staff communication
tool! It is much more effective than email or regular flat LMSs or
message boards. And it's free!
Free Version - Add up to 10 Apps To Facilitate Your Teaching
1. Video Communication. Zoom. Hangouts. Skype.
2. Audio Messages. VoiceMessage.
3. File Storage. Google Drive. Dropbox.
4. Surveys. Simple Poll. Polly.
5. Class Calendar. Google Calendar. Eventbot Calendar
6. Fun stuff. Giphy (share gifs)
7. Project and task management. Trello.
8. Attendance. Jibble.

4. Getting Started - 7 Basic Steps.
1. Make your first class (Slack Workspace).
2. Add channels (parts of your course)
3. Add your Slack Apps (up to 10 free)
4. Set up a calendar for class sessions.
5. Set up your content in your channels.
6. Customize your Slack. Appearance. Notifications.
7. Invite students individually or by link.

5. https://eltbuzz.com
https://resources.eltbuzz.com