Reviewed by: Zach Lonsinger

Details

• Seller: Slack Technologies, Inc.
• Category: Business
• Current Version: 2.35
• Current Version Updated: Oct. 1, 2015
• Release Date: June 13, 2014 (1.42)
• iOS, Android
• Cost: FREE

Review

Slack is awesome. I may be biassed, but out of all of the group messaging services I have used, nothing else compares. At its very core, Slack is “team communication for the 21st century“.

I have never used this for education purposes, but I have many great ideas! As you can see in the image to the right, I am a part of four teams. The one highlighted is the PSU Multimedia Specialists team. Each hashtag represents a different conversation. An education use would be for the teacher to use this for a specific course, and create group chat channels for small group projects or work. This would allow every student to access each other group’s chat channel, if the instructor set it up like that, or each chat channel can be kept private. The add-ons and functionality of Slack is simply amazing. It’s intuitive and growing every day. One of my favorite function is the integration of certain 3rd party apps, for example, Google Hangouts. Any user can simply type /hangout and a link appears to a Google Hangout that everyone can quickly jump into for a quick face-to-face meeting. Each chat channel is also searchable, too—so any piece of information is never lost!

I’m starting to see a theme of my mobile app reviews: teamwork and collaboration. Having people a click away is becoming the norm, and younger people are growing up expecting this. “Audiences expect higher levels of interactivity and programs tailored to individual needs” (p. 13). Mobility is highly important and will continue to be a crucial factor for the next generational workforce.

Specific 21st Century Skills Utilized (p. 25-28)

• Learning and Innovation Skills
  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
  • Creativity and Innovation
  • Communication and Collaboration
  • Cross-Disciplinary Thinking
  • Visual Literacy
  • Basic Literacy
• Information, Media and Technology Skills
  • Information Literacy
  • Media Literacy
  • ICT Literacy
• 21st Century Themes
  • Global Awareness
  • Financial, Economic, Business, and Entrepreneurial Literacy
• Life and Career Skills
  • Flexibility and Adaptability
  • Initiative and Self-Direction
  • Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
  • Productivity and Accountability
  • Leadership and Responsibility