By asking each student to comment on the readings and materials beforehand, Professor Helmreich has observed many improvements to the quality of learning. He described his usage of Slack directly in the courses that he teaches, as a way to promote thorough preparation for each class session.

Speakers came from an impressively diverse range of backgrounds to provide a varied perspective on stories, advice, and ideas on best practices for using Slack in and around the classroom.įirst up was Professor Stefan Helmreich, who teaches in MIT’s anthropology department. In this December 1 xTalk, Assistant Director of Residential Eduction Aaron Kessler moderated an open discussion of Slack in education. But while Zoom captures the limelight of everything from handling several hundred participant lectures to lively small-group discussions with their well-known “breakout rooms,” Slack has been equally useful as the prime form of asynchronous communication, keeping relevant participants up-to-date without unnecessarily disturbing others. Zoom and Slack: the dynamic duo of the pandemic, the pair of tools that are absolutely indispensable in these online years.

Slack for online classes