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for Physical Educators |
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July 11, 1997
Copyright © 1997, PE Central
The recent trend in the use of the Internet, especially that of electronic mail (e-mail), may prove to be a valuable tool for physical educators. One of the applications of e-mail is that of becoming a member of an electronic discussion group, often referred to as a listserv. A listserv format allows teachers to communicate, from home or school, with hundreds of other physical educators. It allows for an easy way to discuss professional issues, concerns, and it is a great forum in which to share ideas (Elliott & Manross, 1996). With its growing popularity, it is important to know how to make purposeful use of such an electronic format. The following are tips and guidelines that should allow you to get the most out of your listserv participation.
1. As a member of a listserv expect a dramatic increase in the number of e-mail messages you are going to receive. Therefore, it is important to check your e-mail box frequently (i.e., three times a week).
2. Manage your listserv messages by: deleting messages that have a subject line that is not of interest to you; putting messages you want to save into mailboxes; print out messages you want and then delete those messages; and/or sign up for the digest option of receiving listserv messages. Digesting allows you to get all of the individual messages for the day in one daily e-mail message.
3. When posting a message, pay particular attention to the subject description you put in the subject line of your message. An accurate description allows others to choose what they want to read and what they may want to ignore.
4. Use the REPLY button wisely! Remember, anything you post to the list by hitting reply button will go to ALL of the people who belong to the list. Therefore, make sure the message you are sending is intended for the entire list.
5. It is best to respond privately to a posted message on the list if it does not add significantly to the conversation. Sometimes the entire list does not need to see messages that are better intended for a private conversation.
6. Avoid sarcasm in your messages. Since this is a listserv all parties subscribed may not understand the intended sarcastic tone and therefore bad feelings may emerge. Remember e-mail is textual communication, therefore, facial expressions and body language are unable to help in communicating your intent.
7. To help you convey an emotion in your messages use the following emoticon symbols:
(All symbols need to be looked at from the side).
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Compliments of MacHome Journal, September 1995 Issue. For Subscriptions call: 800-800-6542.
8. Make sure to change the subject line in your message if you are replying to a comment and you are drastically changing the flow or content of the message. For instance if you are replying to a message about "Discipline in the Gym" but you change the content of the message to "Fitness Games" then erase "Discipline in the Gym" and replace it with the latter. 13. When replying to a question or comment on the listserv avoid posting a "me too" or "I agree" message as a response. This just contributes to the already large amounts of mail listserv participants are already receiving. If you feel compelled to respond using a very short response, do so privately to the individual who posted the message.
14. Avoid reading between the lines of some messages. Often times this leads to the incorrect understanding of a message. Contact the individual who posted the message if you feel you need further clarification.
15. Take your time in composing and replying to messages. Remember your messages are going to a large group of people and if poorly worded, spelled, and/or punctuated it may reflect poorly on you.
16. Strive to be concise, clear, and polite in your own writing and flexible in your interpretation of the mail you receive from other people. "Be precise in what you send, and forgiving of what you receive."
17. It is OK to be a Lurker (one that belongs to the list but rarely or never posts). A member of a listserv should not need feel obligated to post ideas to the list, rather one may learn through reading and reflecting on the comments and conversation that takes place on a listserv.
18. An educational listserv is typically not for commercial use (announcing things that you or your company have for sale). It is intended to be a educational resource for teachers to share ideas and to support one another. However, it is appropriate to share resources that you have found to be valuable in your teaching (i.e., books, articles, Web sites, etc.).
19. If you would like to sign off of a listserv please send your sign off message to the e-mail address of the LISTSERVer (Listserv@address) and not to the listserv address that you use to post messages to the group. To use an analogy, when you decide to cancel your newspaper subscription you send your subscription cancellation notice to the subscription department, not to the people who read the newspaper.
20. Be understanding of your fellow listserv colleagues when they make a posting and/or replying mistake. At one time or another frequent posters are probably going to mistakenly hit the reply button and send a message that was meant to be sent to a private party. The sender probably feels badly about it and they don't deserve to be reprimanded by others on the list.
The above tips were shared in hopes of making the listservs you belong to a more rich and friendly place to be. In addition we thought it might be of interest to those participating in listservs to know some of the following general Listserv commands. These commands allow you to individually set your subscription mail commands so the listservs you belong to better meet your needs. It is important to note that these commands need to be sent directly to the LISTSERVer (Listserv@address) and not the discussion list address. Type the following in the body of the message and leave the subject line blank.
9. Avoid flaming messages at all costs. Flaming is a message that is intended to be angry or sarcastic in tone. If you are angered by a message that was posted to the list please contact the individual privately.
10. Do not use CAPS to write full messages. ALL CAPS IS A SIGN THAT YOU ARE SHOUTING! Use caps only when you want to emphasize a word or phrase.
11. Do not send attachments to the participants of a listserv. It is too time consuming to download and the attachment probably will not be of interest to all of the listserv participants.
12. If responding to a question or comment it is helpful to include the original question or comment in the body of your reply.
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Suspends mailing of materials from the
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Resumes mailing of materials from the list |
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Changes subscription mailings to digest
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Receive a brief list of LISTSERV commands |
We hope these tips and guidelines help in making your listserv participation more rewarding and enjoyable. For more information about listservs check out the following Web site resources.
Listserv Resources on the Web:
Liszt, The Mailing List Directory. Online. http://www.liszt.com/
References:
Elliott, E. & Manross, M. (1996). Physical educators and the internet: Part I: Using e-mail. Teaching Elementary Physical Education, 7, (4), 6-9.
To reference:
Manross. M, Pennington, T., & Westfall, S. "Listserv Tips For Physical Educators". PE Central. 11 July 1997. Online. http://www.pecentral.org/uspeemailtips.html.
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