Slack

Slack is a channel-based messaging app that is popular among many course staffs to communicate since it is typically faster and more casual than email.

Multi- vs. single-workspace

Some courses have a different Slack workspace for each semester for easier access control since people who are no longer on staff should not have access to sensitive data. Other courses have a single workspace where all past and present staff reside, which can facilitate hand-offs and knowledge transfer. Sensitive conversations can be managed using private channels (e.g. #sp25-admin instead of #admin).

UC Berkeley does not currently provide premium versions of Slack (see their pricing), but some courses may decide to use a portion of their budget for this. The main benefit is that messages are retained for a long period of time, rather than being deleted. Slack has historically offered education discounts that you should look into when estimating cost.

If you would like to purchase a premium Slack subscription:

  • If you are associated with an EECS or CS course, contact your faculty instructor and see if they have discretionary funds available and submit a purchase request through ERSO intranet. Avoid making a purchase with a personal credit card and reimbursing after the fact, because it may not be approved. (See also: UC Berkeley Supply Chain Management Software & Services Reimbursement Form.)
  • If you are associated with a DATA course, email ds-courses @ berkeley.edu in advance with the total cost and a brief explanation for why the subscription is necessary.

Channels to have

Below are some suggestions on what channels to have in your course staff Slack, in no particular order:

Channel Public? Description
#general ✅ General work conversation and announcements. A good place to pin/bookmark important documents, like the staff meeting notes.
#random ✅ Anything that doesn’t fit the other channels
#head-tas, #tas, #tutors, #readers, #academic-interns ❌ Channels by staff role
#disc, #hw, #lab, #projects ✅ To discuss assignment content and development
#infra ✅ To discuss course infrastructure
#midterm, #final ✅ To discuss exam creation, logistics, and day-of coordination. Can also be used as a log for academic misconduct
#covers ✅ To request a cover or take a cover, for example if staff has a time conflict for office hours or their section
#ed ✅ To discuss Ed posts, for example if a staff member isn’t sure how to respond to a question
#extensions ❌ A channel for updates by the Flextensions Slack app. Should be private to protect sensitive student data.
#union ❌ A private channel for ASEs only (no instructors) to discuss union-related matters
#spotted ✅ A channel to post pictures of other staff members when you spontaneously run into them on campus. Pairs well with Spotbot

Slack etiquette

  • Use Threads to organize discussions.
  • Avoid messaging people outside of working hours, unless absolutely necessary: Instead, utilize Slack’s schedule send feature to send your message during working hours.
  • Public channels vs. private channels vs. DMs: Generally, staff should be encouraged by instructors and head TAs to communicate in public channels as much as possible so that information is not siloed, staff do not have to play a game of telephone, and no one staff member is overloaded with answering questions on Slack. Private channels and DMs should be reserved for conversations that are sensitive.
  • Only ping people when necessary. Also be aware that @channel will notify everyone in that channel, while @here will only notify people in that channel who are currently active.

Useful Slack Features

  • Pin or bookmark important links
  • Set a personal reminder about a particular message. This can be useful to remind yourself to do a task by a particular due date, or if you are a head TA, you can set reminders to check if a task you delegated has been finished by a certain date.
  • Set Slackbot reminders. This can be useful for setting up recurring reminders, such as reminding staff to deploy weekly assignments or submit their timesheets on Caltime. You can setup automated reminders to DM individual people or an entire channel.
  • Schedule send messages. This can be useful for head TAs who need to remind staff to do something at a later date, or to avoid messaging people outside of working hours.
  • Slackbot custom responses can be used to automatically respond to a message that fits certain rules. This can be used to answer FAQs or as a free substitute for Slack groups. For example, you could setup an autoresponse for the string "@head-tas" that will ping all of the head TAs. (We recommend doing this in a thread to avoid clutter.)
  • Apps and integrations

Other Slack workspaces staff should join

To join any of the Slacks below, someone who is already in the Slack can send you an invite link, but it will expire in 30 days. For UC Tech, your request to invite someone must be approved by a workspace admin.

  • EECS Crossroads: An unofficial Slack for UC Berkeley EECS instructors and course staff. Can be useful for asking for cross-course communication, determining if the Soda Hall copy room is currently being used, if you find a lost copy card from another course, getting pedagogical advice, etc.
  • DS Crossroads: An unofficial Slack for UC Berkeley DS instructors and course staff, similar to EECS Crossroads.
  • UC Tech: A Slack to discuss technology used by the entire University of California system. DS instructors and staff can find this workspace useful to talk to the folks who manage DataHub (#ucb-datahubs). #cdss-course-tools and #siteimprove (web accessibility) may also be of interest.

Custom Emojis

Slack can be a great way to create a fun staff culture, especially through custom emojis. Slackmojis is a great repository of free Slack emojis.