When I had to brainstorm which venture, product or trend to cover for the A1 report, I wanted to research and analyze on a product which was widely used yet had room for improvement. As we've seen throughout the report, Slack is by no means perfect and this is precisely one of the reasons why I chose to analyze Slack as I often see value in providing advice on how to improve rather than finding a product which is bland, with little room for growth. As I'm currently using Slack for another MET course (ETEC544), I think it's interesting to analyze Slack from the perspective of (i) a user/MET student (ii) business educator and (iii) objective ventures analyst. Analyzing the flaws in a product is a more challenging yet meaningful way to understand its current position on the market.
Another criteria which I considered was, the product/venture had to be global. This was partially inspired by the fact that our MET community is comprised of local, provincial and international students and the future of remote learning is heavily connected to the global network. Furthermore, as most of the classes I teach include exchange students from different countries, I personally value the concept of sharing ideas between different cultural backgrounds and experiences.
Slack remains relatively new for me as I’ve only started using it for another MET course this semester. Previously all my courses were conducted through Canvas and the shift to Slack was actually quite refreshing and brought a new experience towards how I perceived my studies. Oddly enough, I found myself participating more as using Slack felt very natural. As my initial impressions of Slack in these 5 weeks have been quite positive, it was clear to me that there is a clear difference between using Software as a Service platforms for studying compared to LMS platforms.
More importantly, this experience has made me reconsider ways on how to teach and whether online learning can be changed to be more engaging, fun and interactive. Most of my students tend to say that I'm a very practical and efficient person and I usually joke to them that the current LMS tools we use to learn are outdated. Slack has encouraged me to think about how to improve my teaching style by actively making use of the emerging tools available. There are times when I'm aware of similar communication tools but will hesitate to use them for formal teaching as I tend to (over)consider the pros and cons for each one. It's one of those situations where I recognize the current methods are slow but reliable yet I don't want the hassle of convincing everyone else to use Slack (or similar tools). With that in mind, this experience has inspired me to be on the lookout for upcoming forms of technology which will be useful for teaching.
As a venture and form of emerging technology, I think Slack has the potential to be useful within educational settings and supports the notion of Web 2.0 and ubiquitous learning in a positive way. Users can remain constantly logged on and learn as if they’re receiving instant messages. Learning does not feel forced in these circumstances but rather naturally integrated into an individual’s lifestyle. As I’ve been using similar tools such as Zoom, Google Docs and Teams for both work and academic studying the past 2 years, it felt natural to analyze a product which is personally relatable and fits into the current culture of remote working.
Communication and engagement is one aspect which is often hard to maintain in classes yet with Slack, I feel that the gap between teacher-student communication has decreased while encouraging students to socialize. This kind of learning culture is perfect for the MET course as everyone learns remotely, having the option to chat with other students is a welcome feature.
That being said, Slack is far from perfect as it lacks many important features required for online collaborative learning. At times it’s a hassle to open a Zoom link within Slack to join a virtual meeting or being re-directed to Google Docs to access a cloud document. However, this is precisely the reason why I chose to cover Slack for my A1 report as I definitely see potential in Slack to improve and grow as a venture and technological product. A product doesn’t need to be popular for it to be considered as a good venture but rather, I personally value potential growth as a key performance indicator for a company’s level of success.
This report was a good experience in encouraging me to analyze an existing venture and product from an educational perspective. Learning about what works and what doesn't is important and serves as an effective foundation and launchpad for the A3 assignment where I'll have the opportunity to pitch an original venture idea.
Another criteria which I considered was, the product/venture had to be global. This was partially inspired by the fact that our MET community is comprised of local, provincial and international students and the future of remote learning is heavily connected to the global network. Furthermore, as most of the classes I teach include exchange students from different countries, I personally value the concept of sharing ideas between different cultural backgrounds and experiences.
Slack remains relatively new for me as I’ve only started using it for another MET course this semester. Previously all my courses were conducted through Canvas and the shift to Slack was actually quite refreshing and brought a new experience towards how I perceived my studies. Oddly enough, I found myself participating more as using Slack felt very natural. As my initial impressions of Slack in these 5 weeks have been quite positive, it was clear to me that there is a clear difference between using Software as a Service platforms for studying compared to LMS platforms.
More importantly, this experience has made me reconsider ways on how to teach and whether online learning can be changed to be more engaging, fun and interactive. Most of my students tend to say that I'm a very practical and efficient person and I usually joke to them that the current LMS tools we use to learn are outdated. Slack has encouraged me to think about how to improve my teaching style by actively making use of the emerging tools available. There are times when I'm aware of similar communication tools but will hesitate to use them for formal teaching as I tend to (over)consider the pros and cons for each one. It's one of those situations where I recognize the current methods are slow but reliable yet I don't want the hassle of convincing everyone else to use Slack (or similar tools). With that in mind, this experience has inspired me to be on the lookout for upcoming forms of technology which will be useful for teaching.
As a venture and form of emerging technology, I think Slack has the potential to be useful within educational settings and supports the notion of Web 2.0 and ubiquitous learning in a positive way. Users can remain constantly logged on and learn as if they’re receiving instant messages. Learning does not feel forced in these circumstances but rather naturally integrated into an individual’s lifestyle. As I’ve been using similar tools such as Zoom, Google Docs and Teams for both work and academic studying the past 2 years, it felt natural to analyze a product which is personally relatable and fits into the current culture of remote working.
Communication and engagement is one aspect which is often hard to maintain in classes yet with Slack, I feel that the gap between teacher-student communication has decreased while encouraging students to socialize. This kind of learning culture is perfect for the MET course as everyone learns remotely, having the option to chat with other students is a welcome feature.
That being said, Slack is far from perfect as it lacks many important features required for online collaborative learning. At times it’s a hassle to open a Zoom link within Slack to join a virtual meeting or being re-directed to Google Docs to access a cloud document. However, this is precisely the reason why I chose to cover Slack for my A1 report as I definitely see potential in Slack to improve and grow as a venture and technological product. A product doesn’t need to be popular for it to be considered as a good venture but rather, I personally value potential growth as a key performance indicator for a company’s level of success.
This report was a good experience in encouraging me to analyze an existing venture and product from an educational perspective. Learning about what works and what doesn't is important and serves as an effective foundation and launchpad for the A3 assignment where I'll have the opportunity to pitch an original venture idea.