{"id":9955,"date":"2016-08-18T12:18:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T17:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=9955"},"modified":"2016-08-18T12:18:25","modified_gmt":"2016-08-18T17:18:25","slug":"tips-to-help-you-manage-student-emails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/tips-to-help-you-manage-student-emails\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips to Help You Manage Student Emails"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Janice Florent<\/p>\n

\"pile<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Unlike face-to-face instructors, online instructors are generally inundated with questions from students by way of email messages. It doesn\u2019t take long for an online instructor to feel like they are drowning in student emails.<\/p>\n

In a recent eLearning Industry<\/a> article, Dr. Liz Hardy provided five tips to help you manage student email to avoid a flood of student email. Those tips are:<\/p>\n

1. Make communication time frames clear.<\/h3>\n

Tell your students what to expect when communicating with you. When your students understand your communication rules, they are more likely to work within those rules.<\/p>\n

2. Prevent unnecessary student emails in the first place.<\/h3>\n

Set up your Blackboard course to be as learner-friendly as possible. If your students can find the information they need without extensive searching, they\u2019re less likely to email you for help with simple questions. By encouraging self-directed learning<\/a>, you find that student email more often relates to valid questions - rather than multiple queries about when the next assignment is due. <\/p>\n

Consider using the \u201cthree before me<\/a>\u201d rule, which pushes the responsibility of locating an answer to frequently asked questions to the student. The student must prove to the professor that he\/she has attempted to obtain the answer from three different sources prior to contacting the professor.<\/p>\n

Additionally, you can minimize emails by utilizing Blackboard for assignment collection. The Blackboard assignment tool<\/a> is an efficient way to manage and collect your student\u2019s individual and group assignments digitally and can help to unclutter your inbox.<\/p>\n

3. Scan your inbox before you answer even one student email.<\/h3>\n

Scan your inbox first. Are there messages from colleagues or administrators you need to answer first? Is there a reply from a student you\u2019ve been waiting to hear from on an urgent issue? Deal with those messages first. Then you can look for patterns \u2013 are there any students who have sent you several emails since you last checked? Try reading email in reverse date order. You may find the student has answered their own question. In this case you can send one email back to the student with a single-line response.<\/p>\n

4. Don\u2019t multi-task.<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s actually more efficient to deal with each student query in full, completely, and then move onto the next. What seems like saved time through multi-tasking can actually lead to a lot of backtracking and cross-checking, as you try to make sure you\u2019re matching the right answer to the right student.<\/p>\n

5. Answer student email in blocks.<\/h3>\n

Check your email messages two or three times a day, in blocks. Avoid checking at other times. Mute your speakers so you won\u2019t hear that demanding bleep every time email arrives in your inbox.<\/p>\n

These practical approaches will help you take control of your inbox, and get on with your teaching day. If you would like more information, read Dr. Hardy\u2019s article \"5 Ways To Survive A Student Email Avalanche<\/a>.\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Janice Florent Unlike face-to-face instructors, online instructors are generally inundated with questions from students by way of email messages. It doesn\u2019t take long for an online instructor to feel like they are drowning in student emails. In a recent eLearning Industry article, Dr. Liz Hardy provided five tips to help you manage student email ...continue reading \"Tips to Help You Manage Student Emails\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[120,122,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-9955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-online","7":"tag-elearning","8":"tag-email","9":"tag-online-teaching","10":"h-entry","11":"hentry","12":"h-as-article"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p82MQk-2Az","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9752,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/engaging-students-in-elearning\/","url_meta":{"origin":9955,"position":0},"title":"Engaging Students in eLearning","author":"Janice Florent","date":"May 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Engaging students in eLearning can be more challenging than in a face-to-face class. Follow the 5 do's presented in the Engaging Students in eLearning Infographic to create an engaging online course for your students. 5 Tips To Engage Your Students in eLearning Stay Relevant - All content,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"engaging students in eLearning infographic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/elearninginfographics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-Do%E2%80%99s-for-Engaging-Students-in-eLearning-Infographic.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9808,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/ensuring-student-success-in-online-courses\/","url_meta":{"origin":9955,"position":1},"title":"Ensuring Student Success in Online Courses","author":"Janice Florent","date":"June 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Many students enroll in online classes because of the convenience and flexibility. Some students mistakenly believe taking an online course is going to be easier than a face-to-face class. It is important that students understand online courses require greater responsibility\/ownership for their own learning. 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Educators do not like to see students withdraw from courses for the wrong reasons. There are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"empty highway with a success ahead sign","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/career-479578_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/career-479578_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/career-479578_640.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8250,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/7-deadly-sins-of-online-course-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":9955,"position":3},"title":"7 Deadly Sins of Online Course Design","author":"Janice Florent","date":"September 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent \"Seven Deadly Sins\" by ILOVEDUST is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 In an Edvocate article, Daniel Stanford listed his seven deadly sins of online course design from a faculty developer\u2019s perspective. These resonated with me; and I thought I would share Daniel's seven deadly online course design\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "CAT & Mouse: E-Learning"","block_context":{"text":"CAT & Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Seven Deadly Sins","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net\/project_modules\/disp\/c69c0512153991.5625824f1d2e4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12269,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/icymi-7-deadly-sins-of-online-course-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":9955,"position":4},"title":"ICYMI: 7 Deadly Sins of Online Course Design","author":"Janice Florent","date":"June 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In an Edvocate article, Daniel Stanford listed his seven deadly sins of online course design from a faculty developer\u2019s perspective. These resonated with me; and I thought I would share Daniel's seven deadly online course design sins with you. #1. 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