This is the second time I'll be using SLACK as a back channel conversation space for an online course. The course is Critical Digital Literacy. It is offered to Faculty of Education students in both Orillia and Thunder Bay. Students also range from PJ to IS (primary junior to intermediate senior) so they will bring a variety of skills and interests into the course. The
main course site is built on the external web and mirrored within Desire to Learn, the learning management system, but last year I tried using Slack as a less formal, conversational space where students could interact and provide feedback to each other on their project work without feeling they needed to have their responses in sentence, paragraph, logical sequences where every word counts.
In order to differentiate between these two spaces, I use the words
discussion & comments when referring to D2L and the word
conversation & feedback when referencing Slack contributions. Since I wasn't as consistent in differentiating the purpose of these two digital spaces some students were confused about how and when to post in each of the locations. In both spaces, I structure groups to reduce the volume of posts and responses but the groups are structured differently in each of these digital learning environments.
Before the students are introduced to SLACK, I send out an email informing them of this alternative digital space and provide a two-page How-To-Guide that includes links to helpful video tutorials. Even if students have used Slack, this is a new application with new terminology and actions to take. As part of the critical digital literacy 'using' - problem solving and 'code breaking' - common operations, conventions.
Once the initial email has been sent, I follow up with the invitation from within Slack to the students - emailed to them within the application. As students enter into the space, I welcome them with a personal @mention. I've included an avatar image created in Bitmoji to enhance the playfulness of the space. This is also evident in the 'channels' that all students join when they accept the invitation - welcome, fun-but-random, q&a, sharing, tweeting. I'll structure the groups once the majority have responded to the introduction survey so I can combine students who may know each other or can support each other through similar interests.
The formality of the D2L space is evident in the formal language I choose to use in the welcoming announcement that students will receive when they enter the course learning management space.
