Read Receipts for Gmail (Tracking/Confirming Emails)

I think as technology has become increasingly integrated into our lives, our expectations for communication have changed. We live in a world where communication is not just instantaneous, but we want to confirm that what we sent was also received. We've all had the dreaded bounce-back email and the unreturned phone call, leaving us as educators feeling powerless. We want to make sure the message we have, especially when it's important, is sent as well as seen.

Most are familiar with "Read Receipts" on our cell phones (a whole debate on its own), but why not also use this when you need to send pertinent emails?

In our professional capacity, having the ability to see if someone has read an e-mail can be immensely powerful. I know many of you have had important correspondence lately, particularly the elementary buildings, as you're preparing for Parent Teacher Conferences. And while you may not want to use this for each email you write, it is good to consider turning on "Read Receipts" when you have an email that is of particular importance and timeliness.

There are many ways to do this, but I recommend you install Boomerang for Gmail. It has many other features that are good that are free, such as the ability to pause your inbox when you need a break, but the email tracking is top-notch. Once you have it installed, all you have to do is click on "Track" which will appear at the bottom of your email. See photos on the left.

Also, our own school Gmail account has this feature built-in, but after doing research, this seems to only work with correspondence within our district at this time.