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Using Zulip for a class

Welcome to Zulip! This pages offers some tips for using Zulip for a class. If this is your first time using Zulip, we recommend checking out Getting started with Zulip to get oriented.

Zulip works great as the communication hub for your class, providing a single place for:

Posting lecture notes and announcements

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Many classes use a dedicated channel to post general announcements, for example:

  • #announcements > office hours: My office hours this week will be rescheduled from Mon, Oct 11 2021, 1:00 PM to Thu, Oct 14 2021, 3:30 PM.

Share lecture notes and reading materials with drag-and-drop file uploads, for example:

  • #Unit 3: Sorting algorithms > lecture notes: Here are the notes from today’s lecture. lecture notes 10/2.pdf You can view a recording of the lecture here.

Formatting tips

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Answering students’ questions

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In Zulip, channels determine who receives a message. Topics are light-weight subjects for individual conversations. You can more about channels and topics.

Zulip works best when each conversation has its own topic. When you have a question to ask, simply start a new topic! For example, one might see the following topics in a channel where a lecture and the corresponding assignment are being discussed:

  • problem 2a clarification
  • question about slide 7
  • code not compiling
  • LaTeX diagram help

Zulip will show auto-complete suggestions for existing topics as you type, which helps surface relevant previous conversations. You can also use the search bar to check whether a question has already been addressed.

You can mention the person who asked a question to make sure they see timely answers.

Resolving topics

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When a question has been answered, you can mark a topic as resolved. This makes it easy for course staff to see which conversations still require their attention.

Coordination among teaching staff

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Use private channels to coordinate among course staff, for example:

  • #staff > homework 2 exercise 3b: How many points should I take off for this? The assignment says clearly to use Python 3 syntax.

    print result

Virtual office hours

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Zulip works great for virtual office hours! With a dedicated thread for each question, it’s easy to have several discussions at once.

  • Course staff can respond to multiple questions in parallel, making efficient use of their time.
  • Students can participate in real time, or learn by reading the conversations afterwards.
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