USE E-MAIL

Throughout Integrated Distance Education Version of ECh 5602, Seminar 2, in the Master of Education Cross-Disciplinary Study of Children and Families, E-Mail was used in at least three major ways: 1) as a planning tool for Helen and Betsy, faculty members who were team teaching the class, 2) as a formative communication and evaluation tool between students and faculty, and 3) as a way to exchange case study and critique comments among the students and with peer mentor.

*Planning Tool for Faculty

As faculty members team teach courses, they frequently encounter difficulties with incompatible time schedules. This was certainly true for Betsy and Helen. However, they were able to accomplish much of their specific planning through e-mail. This worked especially well because they had team taught the course face-to-face in its first offering as opposed to distance education format. Here is a sample of one of their e-mail planning exchanges outlining the material for the summer class: use of technology (ITV and WEB to connect the whole group; e-mail to connect pairs; synchronous chats for critique) and evaluation tools (group debriefing records, group commentaries, individual reflection papers, principles for professional practice, follow-up interviews.)

*Communication and Formative Evaluation Tool--Students and Faculty

Because this course was venturing into new territory in terms of its particular combination of ITV, sychronous chats, on-line course syllabus, and e-mail, it was important to keep in touch with students. One vehicle for this was the daily one-minute paper. Here students were asked to answer the following questions: 1) what was the most important thing you learned today? 2) what is your biggest concern at this point? 3) what strategies are you using to cope with your concern?

Here are a few samples from different points in the course. At the beginning of the course, a student indicated that all was well with her and her e-mail communication. Also comments about the many choices available to families and professionals as evidenced in the cases and discussions were given. Later, there was a reflection that it was becoming much easier to communicate in 2-way and 3-way chats. Still later, a student commented that "the chat was really something else" as well as talking about her case writing.

*Student-to-Student Communication and Critique

Students began in a "home" group where they were assigned to a partner who would be a sounding board for the emergence of ideas and first draft of a case study based on individual professional experience. Later, the cases developed in the "home" groups were sent to other members of the class who had not seen the case study previously. Group commentaries were written.

Here is an excerpt from one of the group commentary critiques sent by e-mail to the writer of the case. This e-mail highlights the good moral and ethical dilemmas in the case being critiqued as well as the challenging attitudes. Comments about the addition of a male role model as well as alternative ways to deal with inappropriate behavior on field trips were included in the critique.

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