Student E-mail
One of the unique things that technology can provide is the ability to collaborate with others outside of the classroom. Prior to the Internet and email, connections with other communities of learners - historians, scientists, artists and the like, were very limited. If we want to take advantage of this unique oportunity for our students to interface with experts we need to provide the means to do that. Email is a start.
In my particular situation, I can’t say I know of anyone who has students in contact with an expert outside of the classroom. Why? I suspect because it just isn’t convenient, or easy. How can we expect students to be involved in this sort of dialogue if we are not providing the tools, such as email?
Naysayers bring up the issues of security - How can we control what students write? Does email open up an area that can lead to management difficulties? I’m not sure. I don’t know if the concerns are real. Or are the warnings just a way to put off the extra set up time and management that student email accounts would require. A few months back, I did an informal survey of some schools in the area. It was pretty evenly split - those who give students email and those who do not. I wonder what sort of issues those that have student email encounter. I wonder what they see as the benefits to the students. This may be an area worth pursuing, especially if we are serious about changing the focus of learning where students communicate with experts and have access to this type of authentic information.
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