Jay
Heap,
Coosa High School
Rome Georgia
Written communications skills are necessary in all areas of
education. What can teachers in vocational areas do to increase
the opportunity to practice technical writing and communication
skills? E-mail and electronic bulletin boards can create an effective
way for students to use technology to improve written communications.
Educators now have the ability to create a learning environment
for students that is interactive, informative, and fun. Email
has been used in classrooms around the world to increase student
participation, improve formal writing skills, and gather information
from informal sources.
An Australian
curriculum guide state “ Students use language
to understand, develop and communicate ideas and information
and interact with others. Students interact with people and cultures
other than their own and are equipped to contribute to the global
community.” (Department of Education and Training, 2005)
The guide goes on the state, “ Email has changed the way
we communicate in print, because it is so quick, easy and convenient” (Department
of Education and Training, 2005.)
This medium
is currently being used in many ways. Studies have shown that
when students communicate in an asynchronous environment, especially
in the education arena, the written communication is often
more formal than typical classroom discussion. Because of the
time allowed to respond, students are able to “formulate” a
more appropriate response to only questions via email or bulletin
boards. “The consensus among my online colleagues is that
when instructors require that students submit carefully written
and proofread assignments, the quality of many students' work
improves over the duration of the course.” (Kassop, 2003)
This also makes a great opportunity to teach “netiquette” and
proper use of Internet resources. A terrific source for email
rules can be found at Rules
for Email Users,
Several methods of incorporating email or bulletin boards into
the curriculum include: having written assignments submitted
via email, requesting comments to posted questions on a bulletin
board, creating cooperative learning groups within an electronic
environment.
When students
begin using the electronic communication methods, discussion
usually becomes more thought-out and precise. “online
education fosters higher-quality discussion. Before students
respond to an instructor's discussion question or to classmates'
posted comments, they can refer to their course materials and
think through their answers. As a result, students have the opportunity
to post well-considered comments without the demands of the immediate,
anxiety-producing F2F discussion, which often elicits the first
response that comes to mind rather than the best possible response.” (Kassop,
2003)
Email and electronic discussion boards can easily be set up
by any classroom teacher. Many sites offer free email to any
users that can be accessed by an Internet connected computer.
Other companies provide free access to bulletin board sites to
educators. These companies include major search engine providers
such as Yahoo!, Google, and MSN.
Want to create an exciting learning environment in your classroom?
Incorporate electronic communication methods and watch student
performance soar. For even more fun with online communication,
check out Blogs and Wikkis. These newer communication methods
have unique components that will provide hours on online adventures
for you and your students.
Resources
Department of Education and Training, Resourcing the Curriculum,
Email in the Classroom, Retrieved from http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/email/,
2005.
Kassop, M., 2003, Ten Ways Online Education Matches, or Surpasses,
Face-to-Face Learning. The Technology Source. May/June.
Retrieved from: http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1059,
February 13, 2005.
Using Email
and Bulletin Boards to Increase
Communication