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Getting Started with Slack

Slack is a tool that allows teams to communicate quickly and efficiently. It is instant like texting, but it is powerful like email. We will use it for all communication in this class. You can use it for things like:

  • Asking for help
  • Sharing information that the instructor is asking for
  • Letting everyone know if you will be absent or late
  • Giving help
  • Talking about things related to the class
  • Reading updates from the instructor about the class
  • Sending messages to only one person

We use Slack in place of Email or texting in this class because it has a lot of powerful tools and features, such as the ability to share screenshots, react with emoji, respond to comments in threads, join channels that are about a particular topic, share files, share code examples, and much more!

Slack will be installed on your phone as well as your computer. This way you can get up-to-date information no matter where you are but you can also use powerful features on your laptop when doing your homework.

Instructor: Before starting the course, setup a Slack group for the class

Objectives

  1. Establish Slack as the primary method for communication in this course
  2. Setup Slack accounts
  3. Post a greeting in the slack channel

Student Instructions

  1. Find the email invitation to Slack in your inbox. The title will be “[Instructor’s Name] has invited you to join a Slack workspace”
  2. Click “Join Now” and follow the account management procedures above to create an account, saving the password in the Google Chrome Smart Lock.
  3. Install Slack on your phone and log in.
  4. On your phone, navigate to refcode.slack.com. If you are on Android or on iOS and using Chrome, Chrome should auto-fill the login details (you may need to re-enter your email if it puts a username there).
  5. After logging in, you will be presented with an option to install Slack, follow the steps to install Slack.
  6. Post a message in the #general channel when you have logged in on your phone.

Homework

Ask a question, provide a response to a question, or post a sample of code in the Slack channel.