Compose, Edit and Send Email Messages

Scan your webmail or stand-alone email client to look for the button or link that lets you send a new email message. The name and location of this button or link may vary. Click on this button, icon or menu item to open a new email message.

You will notice that some of the buttons may have changed. Scan each of the new buttons to see what is available. The Help files that you found earlier will have very specific information on what each of the features available with those buttons.

Click in the box to the right of TO: and type my email address:

bobjost@gmail.com

Carefully enter this email address using the user@host format that we discussed earlier. Email servers are very picky. Most email address are typed with all lowercase letters and no spaces between letters. Be sure that you don't accidentally enter a space character after the last letter.

Next, click the box to the right of Subject: and enter title for your email message. For this message enter:

email A

Note: What you type in the subject box may be the most important part of the message. Folks who get a lot of email often just scan the headers and do not read all the messages. Leaving the Subject: blank or typing something frivolous or unrelated to the message content by result in your message being ignored.

Junk mail filters also scan the Subject: line and may delete messages that appear to be junk mail. Messages with generic Subjects like Hello, Help!!!!!!, For Your Information, etc. are often shuffled off to the junk mail folder or deleted outright.

Click in the message body section and type the following in your message:

• Introduce yourself and briefly tell me about your present teaching assignment and your previous experience with the internet and world wide web.
  
• Tell me where you found yourself on the Email Skills Checklist that you completed earlier (Beginning, Intermediate, Proficient).

Send the message by clicking on the Send button. A window confirming that you message has been sent may appear briefly on the screen.

In a matter of seconds, the message will be routed through your mail server and will be delivered to my mail server. If I happen to be using my email at the time, the new message will appear in my inbox. If I am offline, it will appear the next time I check my email.

I will make every effort to respond to your email message within 24 hours.

Record the date that you completed the email A assignment in your logbook.

Netiquette Issues

Since all we have is words, we have to be very thoughtful when composing professional email messages. The body language and voice inflections that are such an important part of face-to-face or phone conversations are missing in email and must be compensated for with clear, concise writing.

If you think an email message might be a misunderstood, arrange a meeting or call the person.

Keep in mind that most professional email is archived and may be reviewed by the institution providing the email service. It is virtually impossible to retract or delete an email message once it has been sent across the network. Thoughtfully review the message before you click the send button.

You probably noticed that there are some text formatting options available on the screen. Deciding whether or not to use these options is a matter of personal choice.

However, keep in mind that there is a big difference between personal and professional email. Most would agree that the focus of professional email should be on the text, not the formatting. As an educator, you will also want to pay very close attention to spelling and grammar. Using cute little emoticons and commonly used txt shortcuts may reflect negatively on your professionalism in some circles and are best kept for personal email.

Another Way to Practice Your Email Skills

Sending practice messages to your own address is a great way to hone your email skills. It may seem a bit strange to send email to your own address but this is actually an excellent way to practice all of these email procedures. You will immediately see the results. Plus... if you make a mistake, it may be less embarrassing since you will be the only one who sees that mistake.

Next: Sending Messages to Multiple Recipients