IN BLACKBOARD, go to <COMMUNICATIONS> and click on <GROUP PAGES>.

Click on your group. A list will appear with name and email address. Send an email to anyone of the people in your group.

To check if anyone has written to you, you will have to check your web-based email.

As soon as you receive an email message, open it and, if your system allows it, add it to your address book. I recommended using LYCOS because it has this feature. Other systems may have it as well.

ARCHIVING IS THE KEY

If you use Lycos, you may also want to create folders for each of the members of your list. This will allow you to archive messages and keep track of your traffic.

This is extremely important when you are dealing with several students who write to you all at once.

ATTACHMENTS

You can send and receive word-processing documents and images attached to your email messages. Create a WORD document, name it and close it. In your email program click on ATTACHMENT and browse your computer drives until you find the file. Open it, attach it and send it.

The activities can be initiated by the teacher or left to the initiative of the students.

Once the email activities are completed, they are forwarded to the instructor for evaluation.

BASIC

• Association: send a message composed of one single word. Your email pal will reply adding a related word and so forth. The game is over when your list reaches a set number of words. Can be done in a round-robin format.
• Semantic area: same as above, without the restriction of association, but limited to a topic or area (railroad station, living room, my room etc).
• Noun/verb; noun/adjective: select the game and take turns. Choose a noun and ask for a verb or an action (or adjective) related to the noun.
• Explore the Web, send a link with one or two questions about the content of a specific webpage.
• A word a day: translation/synonym/antonym/definition.

INTERMEDIATE –ADVANCED

• A proverb a day: explain the meaning of popular proverbs
• Round – Robin stories. Rewrite a popular story paragraph by paragraph and add changes and twists.
• Composition-rewrite: this type of activity requires the use of attachments. It is a very useful exercise as it allows the teacher to receive a clean document. You can underline the parts that need rewrite adding your suggestion in parentheses and return the piece to the student. The process can be repeated.
• Same principle as above. Receive an attachment and send it out to all the students for them to make corrections and return it with their improvements. You can choose to leave the piece as it is or underline the mistakes.
• FOR CLASSROOM WORK: have the students send you their compositions, select the most representative, print them and hand them out in class for correction.