E-mail is Educational

There is a special kind of learning that takes place when students interact via email. The obvious learning activities include writing and typing. Writing can be divided into many categories: interpersonal communication, written conversation, question and answer, short essay, etc.

Some less obvious learning opportunities are also available when your students have email. Some of these are explained in this paper by S. Patterson and L. Swanson. Examples are:

• Impersonations: interchange with others who are in character. This is a fantastic way to learn about great people in history, different cultures, etc.
• Daily Media: electronic newsletters delivered via email. There are hundreds of these. Students can share what they learn from these with others in the class. Examples might include a daily: fact, word, historical event, poem, political quotation, and many others.
• Electronic Pen Pals: an experience to learn about another person one note at a time. Connection services exist on the internet to bring together students from different parts of the world to participate in this activity. Here is a link to the The Intercultural Email Classroom Connections web site. The ESLoop also lists several different pen pal sites for student email.
• Question and Answer: includes everything from ask a reporter to ask a scientist. There are many companies and individuals willing to communicate with students who ask questions. Pitsco also offers a wonderful site called Ask An Expert.
• Email Mentors: a few projects exist to match successful adults with students who can benefit from the interchange.
• Electronic Appearances: communication that stems from online involvement in a webcast event, such as a summit meeting on education, child abuse, feeding the poor, etc. Students follow the event and then make an electronic appearance by sending their comments to the event via email.

More opportunities are being created all the time. For more information on this subject, visit the Community Learning Network.

Interpersonal exchange, especially via email will be a significant part of your student's lives. Gaggle.Net makes it easy for you to provide a safe educational experience with email.

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