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Quick questions
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"Is problem 3 due Friday or Monday?" — fast, informal Q&A
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N/A — too slow for real-time back-and-forth
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Official announcements
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Optional cross-post / reminder
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Primary channel — every student must see it, regardless of Slack adoption
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Grades
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Notification only (grades should not be posted in Slack)
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System of record — gradebook, rubrics, grade appeals, official documentation
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Assignment instructions
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Reminder/nudge that something's due
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Full instructions, files, rubrics — the authoritative version
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Syllabus
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N/A
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Lives here, referenced back to as needed all semester
|
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Peer collaboration / group work
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Dedicated project channels, real-time coordination
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Optional group discussion boards or assignments for anything gradable/attributable
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TA / instructor team coordination
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Private back-channel for the teaching team
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Not typically used for staff-only coordination
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Class community building
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Strong fit — topic channels, informal support, culture-building
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Discussion boards work, but feel more formal/asynchronous
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Polls / quick sentiment checks
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Yes, via Slack apps (Polly, Simple Poll, etc.)
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Canvas surveys/quizzes for anything graded or requiring a record
|
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FERPA-sensitive or individual student issues
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Avoid — even private channels aren't the right tool — this includes grades
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Canvas Inbox/email or SpeedGrader comments
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Academic integrity / appeals record
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Slack messages will be retained, even after the Workspace has been archived.
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Required — Canvas retains the auditable trail
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Accessibility / universal reach
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Not guaranteed every student checks it consistently
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Canvas notifications reach all enrolled students by default
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Content that needs to persist for reference
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Risk of getting buried in channel history
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Canvas course shell stays organized and searchable
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End-of-semester recordkeeping
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Channels can be archived (retained but read-only)
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Canvas remains the permanent academic record
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