Union Technologist #31
October 1998

Corresponding with Parents and Students via E-mail

I am starting to get requests from parents to correspond with teachers via e-mail. You may also be getting those requests. E-mail can be a much more convenient communication vehicle than playing phone tag. It is your choice when to begin using e-mail, it is not a requirement. As the professional, you can decide when technology will further your classroom and professional goals.

Because there are few clues in an e-mail message as to who you are actually writing to, I recommend you get independent confirmation (i.e. not just via e-mail) of a parent request to use e-mail for correspondence specific to their child. This is especially important if the e-mail name does not correspond with the parent's name, but is appropriate in any case. E-mail addresses can be easily created using any name that someone chooses, there are no checks for the authenticity of a name.

Some information about students is private, use good judgement in e-mail correspondence just as you would over the phone or other situations where it is not possible to guarantee that you know who you are talking to. Legally confidential information should never be included in e-mail. Homework assignments, general advise, and non-confidential information on how an individual student is doing can be very useful to parents and the student.

If you have very many parents and/or students that use electronic communication, you can easily create an address book entry in your e-mail program that includes multiple addresses. Then you can send general information about your class to a group of e-mail addresses without having to type them in each time. If you have a very active electronic component to your class, you could even use a mailing list or discussion board to encourage two way correspondence between the group rather than just you. We are currently experimenting with these services on HeightsNET.

Also remember that e-mail should be considered somewhat more formal than verbal communication. Always reread a message before sending it. Many E-mail programs now include a spell checker that can quickly find typo's and misspellings.

Technology Support Strategies

With the exponential increase in technology in our homes, schools and many other aspect of our lives, technical support and training needs are increasing faster than ÒofficialÓ support staff can ever keep up with. Here are some tips to keep you going with a minimum of frustration:

  1. Don't fix it if it isn't broken. The latest version of a piece of software is not always the best. New versions often have bugs (programming mistakes). If you don't need the new features, let someone else find the problems. Expect that when you update your Operating System (such as from Windows 95 to 98) you will find that some software will no longer work and you will have to upgrade or replace it. Our school district still purchases computers with Windows 95 installed for these reasons. (The converse of this advice could apply to your instructional strategies, the first place to explore classroom technology integration might be with learning objectives that your students are having trouble with.)

  2. If you do install new software, do it one program at a time. That way if you start having problems it is easier to identify what might have caused it.

  3. If you are having problems, don't immediately start changing preferences and configurations that were working. The first step is always to just restart your computer. Use the shutdown/restart command in the Start menu (Windows) or Special menu (Mac). If you are getting frustrated, do something else for a while. Sometimes with a fresh attitude, the solution becomes obvious.

  4. Most software has extensive help built into the program. Often the help is context sensitive, meaning that it knows what you are currently doing and will start out in that help content area . There are usually searchable indexes and clickable related links that can aid in finding answers quickly.

  5. Most companies now maintain extensive help systems on their web sites. Try typing www.company/product.com (substitute a real company name or product name) or use a web categorizing service such as Yahoo to find the company's web site. Often complete manuals and the latest versions of software are available. Sometimes there are even areas devoted to supporting instructional uses for the product. The school district web site will be including more support over the course of this school year. The Teachers Union maintains back issues of the Union Technologist at http://www.chuh.org/CHTU/Technologist.html.

  6. When seeking help from others, try to define the problem as precisely as possible. Copy down the exact wording of an error message. Make notes of what you were doing when the error occurred, including the program name and version. Can the error be repeated by doing the same thing again? What type of computer, amount of RAM and Operating System version do you have?

  7. Take advantage of friends, neighbors, students, parents and user groups. Often someone else has already experienced the same problems and frustrations and can give you their hard learned advice and suggestions. Your Teachers Union sponsors a monthly user group meeting that is a good time to pick the brain of colleagues from other schools in the district.

  8. E-mail can be an efficient means of seeking help. For example, I am more than happy to attempt to help you with a problem in this way. You can write me at S_Titchenal@staff.chuh.org. If I can answer your question easily I will do so, otherwise I will refer you to options such as those listed in this article.

  9. If the problem is with school technology, talk to your building and district support staff. A number of new people have been hired to help you with curriculum integration issues in addition to technical problems. They all want you to be successful. Ask again if you don't get the help you need the first time.