Top Tips

The problem is that you probably have several E-mail accounts. School, home (from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), night school class at a college or university, and several "free" or throw-away accounts.

Tips fall into two categories, i.e.,

Category One:

E-mail from an integrated communications environment (such as Microsoft™ Exchange and Microsoft™ Outlook Web Access), or Novell™ Groupwise."

Category Two:

Web Mail such as the service provided by your ISP or any other Web-based system

Integrated E-mail System Tips

Here are some tips to help deal with this complex communications software. Fortunately, the complexity of this software allows for automation streamlining.

• Create and use folders to organize and store your E-mail messages
• Keep up with this process, move messages and update at least once a week.


• Create folders for important campus and classroom communication, and don't delete these until the end of the school year
• Export messages in whatever format your system allows
• This allows restoring the messages later


• This recovers messages that could be lost in a mail server crash


• Note: Do not just drag and drop mail messages into a desktop or hard drive folder
• Many messages, particularly those of a message thread have the same subject line. Copying multiple messages with the same subject line will cause the last copied message to overwrite the message that was copied before it


• This overwriting happens without warning
• Sort messages within folders


• Avoid using "gimmicks" such as stationary, icons, or any "Spyware-related" enhancements
• Spyware slows down your computer system


• Spyware compromises the security of your computer, compromises the security of your personal information, and compromises the integrity of your school district's computer network


• When a program offers to "improve, change, adjust" the functioning of your E-mail program, DON'T YOU DARE!


• Even if you don't appreciate the marketing success of Microsoft™, please understand that Microsoft™'s engineers are saints compared to the "scum" that create Spyware


• Turn off weird formatting on messages. Dancing flowers, fluttering birds and "junk" of any kind has no business in professional E-mail.


• And, never click on an invitation (on the bottom of an E-mail message that you receive) to give your E-mail messages the same "enhanced functionality" (Note: "Scum-speak" euphemism for "installing Spyware")
• You might just as well wear pajamas and bring your teddy bear and blankie to school as to litter your E-mail with "trash"


• Just because you work with children does not mean that you should act like a child
• Create templates, either within your E-mail program, or with a text editor or word processor


• Create Groups or Recipient Lists, and send one message to everyone in that group


• Allow the program to auto-complete addresses within the system


• Turn on the "Span" filter on your account, but check before deleting all the messages in that folder


• Turn off the "Preview Pane"
• Some viruses can launch even if you don't open the message, just by your scrolling through the list of messages with the "Preview Pane" enabled


• Scrolling through an overly large message could cause the system to seem to "hang" as the entire message is processed
• Add a signature to your E-mail with your contact information


• Avoid sending attachments in Microsoft™ format.
• Convert the attachment to RTF of PDF formats


• Sending a attached document in Microsoft™ Word format also sends much more information (such as history and deleted paragraphs, and lots of document properties that you might not want others to unravel


• That paragraph that you thought you deleted at the last minute because you decided that it was inappropriate could still be embedded in the attached document


• Don't say that you were not warned

Web mail Tips

The tips for using Web mail are easier...

• Try to consolidate the reading of as many different E-mail accounts with the same program


• Set this up with a E-mail reading program that can access and read as many accounts as possible


• Set up accounts to forward all mail to a central account


• Use "Free" or "Throw away" accounts whenever enrolling for online sites or services
• All sites promise not to release your name, but some do anyway


• Some sites send you so much mail after you sign up that you can't tell the difference between that mailer and a Spam mailer




• Only enroll in sites that offer a "double opt in" (confirmation process)


• Be prepared to abandon your free account and establish another when the Spam level becomes too time consuming to process


• Establish an approved correspondents "white list" so that messages that you want are not filtered by the Spam filter

Final Tips

Remember, E-mail is for "quick and dirty" communication. Keep messages short, and keep your "cool."




If the message is long, controversial, or written in anger; write it on paper, and mail it tomorrow when you have a fresh perspective (and the ability to trash or rewrite before the letter is sent).




Equally important: Be sure that you check whether you are replying to one person or to many people before selecting the "send" icon or menu item. You know the horror stories.




Unfortunately, this is a mistake that is easy for teacher to make because they experience so many interruptions. Coming back later, it is easy to forget that your confidential comments were written for only one recipient. Readdress first, and check again before sending.

Another Shameless Pun

Care in using E-mail can keep this time-saving tool from tipping the scales against your future employment.