Module 2: Writing an effective email

How does that email (above) make you feel? Do you feel inspired to work on this class? Is it a little short on detail? As on online instructor, many times you do not see the students week after week. You would like to think that they are keeping up, but how can you tell?

The email is very important for setting the scene each week of instruction. It provides opportunities to:

• make announcements

• review what was done during the previous week

• further clarify important components of your class

• offer a detailed glimpse of the week to come

• provide links to important sources (website, photo sites, social media sites, etc.)

• provide a method for students to respond to you

• maintain that crucial link between you and the class

All online classes must include an email prior to each week which would provide this information and more. As in instructor, you must be familiar with the components and understand how to create an effective, easy to read document.

One of the most important tasks of an online instructor is the weekly email. This is one very important form of communication you have with your online students. It is important that your email is succinct, complete and easy to follow. It should include enough information to get the point across but should not be so wordy as to distract (or turn off) your student. Let’s dissect an email for important components.

NOTE: The example, below is an image. None of the links work. Look for an explanation of the numbers below.

Seen in the image above

Sending to: (#1 above) Student emails should not be visible to class members. So, you need to insert them under BCC. If you are using SDCCD Outlook, you can just put the DL into BCC. (DL stands for distribution list, and is the way that Outlook organizes groups.) I also include my email in the TO space so that there is an email address visible to students (not necessary). If you have a co-teacher, you should include them either in the TO or the CC space so that they are visible to the student.

Subject header: (#2 above) Make sure that the subject header includes the name of your class, and some information about this coming week. Students can then search their emails if they are looking for a particular week.

Attachments: (#3 above) Attachments should be clearly named. Handout is not a good name. Handout with topic name is a good name. Save handouts in PDF, as some students may not have Word on their computer. I keep a Word copy and a PDF copy on my computer so I can edit the word and send out the PDF.

Font size: (#4 above) Set your font size for at least 12. In some email accounts such as gmail, you cannot specify a size, but can say small, normal, large and huge. Large may come out too large for our students, so normal is the best choice with those accounts.

Greeting and first paragraph: (#5 above)There should be some greeting line. I use Hi all or Hello everyone. You might have a better idea. The first paragraph should start with a pleasantry of some sort before diving in.

Order of topics (#6) Keep a clear order in your email. Start with the past (remind them of the previous week, ask for questions) and then continue with the present (this week).

Clear Headings with space (#7 on the handout) Your email should be organized with headings (in bold) and double spacing between headings. Much easier on the eyes!

Links (#8 above)) Since you are sending this electronically (as an email), your links do not need to show the address. Instead, use text and attach a link to the text. This is also much easier on the eyes and makes your page cleaner.

Course website: (#9 above) Always include a link to the course website. If you have created a simple domain name (brainhealthysd.org for example), you would use that as the text, and make it a link (When making this a link, you must include http:// before it. However, students can simply type in brainhealthysd.org and get to the site (without including http://).

Your ending and signature: (#10 above) Try to end with another pleasantry. I sign with my first name, and then the signature attached with my email follows. You can set up your signature information in Options on the Outlook site.

Remember: Simple and clear!

If you need assistance with some of these tips (inserting links, creating a signature line, etc.) please feel free to reach out. Good luck!

BCC students

BCC in an email allows you to include participants who cannot see each other. Any name in the BCC can only be seen by the person who sent the email. It is very important that we BCC our students, as we do not want to expose email addresses.

Creating your student list

Along those lines, you will be creating a master student list that can be used to quickly send to the class. For the student list, you have two options. Our school email allows us to create a DL. The other option is to use a copy and paste format. I prefer the copy and paste format, as it is easier to modify, and can be used with either the district email or Google email.

Copy and Paste format

I prefer the copy and paste format, as it allows me to easily see who is on my list, allows me to organize by name and/or by email, and is easy to add and delete. I can also use that same list to keep track of who is in my class and who has dropped. To create a student list:

• I recommend using a spreadsheet like Excel. This makes it easy to reorganize.

• From your student information, create the list. You will have 3 columns: last name, first name and email. In the email column, add a semi colon after each entry.

• As you add names, you can put them on the bottom of the list and then reorder using the tools of Excel

• When it is time to send the email, highlight the column of emails, and click copy. Then, click into the BCC of the email and click paste. If you have neglected to use a semi colon, the email program will not recognize the 2 emails which are together.

District DL

Your other option is to create a DL on the district email site. The advantage is that it will always be there, in your account.

Attachments

Make sure that your attachment names make sense. Describe what you are attaching (handout for web class vs. handout)

Spacing

Spacing is very important. We want to see our information in chunks, with white space separating the different topics.

Bold and Underlining

Use bold sparingly. It is great for headers and if there is a particular word or phrase that you want to stand out. Too much bold loses its value. Never underline in your email. This should be reserved for links.

Links

You will be linking to your websites and to other resources.

To create a link, you will highlight the text or web address and click on the link icon. Depending on the email program you are using, the icon will be different.

• On our district email, it looks like a globe. After highlighting the text or web address, click on the globe. You then type the web address into the box. (Or you might copy and paste the link into that box). Notice our district email begins with http://. You can add your address after that, or you can replace the entire link.

• On Gmail, the link icon looks like a horizontal paper clip. After selecting the text or web address, click on the link icon. If it is text, it will prompt you to type the link into the box. If it is a web address, it will automatically become a live link.

Personally, I prefer to eliminate the web address in the link. So the student will see: Here is our website topic for the week instead here is the website topic for the week: https://sites.google.com/sdceonline.com/brainhealthysd/weekly-topics/museum-of-making-music . That said, there are instances where you will include the website. If you have a student with visual challenges who is using a screen reader, you may have to include the link.

This is your chance to see how well you understand email.

You will construct an email for your students. The information for your email is included below.

You will be assessed on the following:

• Overall look (Visually pleasing, organized in chunks, white space)

• Student emails (where were they included)

• Subject header (clarity)

• Organization of content (organized in a defined way, easy to see different levels of content)

• Fonts and formats (font easy to see, size is large enough, use of bold and underlining)

• Links (did you use a name, or include the web address instead?)

• General tone (friendly, helpful, informative)

To proceed, you will open your email program and compose an email.

Include the information below in a well-constructed email, using what you have learned in this tutorial. Make sure and review how you will be assessed as well.

If you like, you can send to me (maryburns@sdceonline.com) when you have completed it

Information to include in email:

• These are your students: a1@sdceonline.com, a2@sdceonline.com, a3@sdceonline.com

• I am your co teacher (mburns@sdccd.edu)

You are in your 3rd week of your online health class. Your topic is eye health. Last week, you discussed the ear and since then have found a really good resource. (https://medlineplus.gov/eardisorders.html) You also have a Facebook page which you want to remind students to visit (https://www.facebook.com/SDCEOnline) There will be an interesting show on PBS next Thursday on eye health. Tell us about this week's lesson. Include your website address (https://sites.google.com/sdceonline.com/healthonlinefall2017) End your email and send.