Looking for a great, free app to facilitate team communications? Check out Slack and three ways of using it to connect with others.

Become a slacker!

Slack is a free, real-time messaging, archiving/search tool in use by 5.8 million weekly active users. It uses channels to organize conversations, which are then threaded together.

You can create any channels you might need, which means you could have one for each grade level or department, one for planning social events, one for the technology department, etc.

Here are some self-reported improvements from Slack users:

32% boost in productivity

50% fewer emails

Informal idea sharing nurtures creativity

While Slack may feel like the casual instant messaging you do with Facebook Messenger, staff need to remember it is work-related and that workplace policies apply. It might be helpful to remind them of this periodically.

In addition, you may want to add a channel just for the sharing of fun things (such as a local restaurant having a special or a cute kitten video).

Staff members can opt in or out of this channel as they wish.

Add-ins like BusyBot can be added to Slack to create to-do lists and engage in task management. You can also add reaction emojis to heighten interaction without the need for tapping in a message, which can be a real time-saver.

You can use channels for open conversations focused around a specific topic.

Channels are searchable and archived, unlike direct messages to other team members.

Want to *bold* or _italicize_ a word in Slack chat? Place asterisks to bold and underscores to italicize.

Quote content by placing a less than symbol (<) in front of it.

Access more keyboard shortcuts on your computer with the following key combination:

• Mac - Command + /
• Win - Control + /

Blend a variety of video conferencing options. Stay in touch with video with one of these add-ins:

• Appear.in: Provides for eight call participants, and you can use the /appear slash command to start a video conference in your channel, making it easy for others to join the call.
• Google Hangouts: Start a Hangout with /hangout in any channel to get a link to share with others. A Slack control panel will appear and you can invite other Slack team members to the video conference.
• VideoLink2.Me: This offers audio/video conferences with file and screen sharing directly in your web browser. It supports six or more people, depending on the users’ internet bandwidth and connection speed. Use the /videolink slash command to create a conference room and share its link to your channel.