Article 5

E-Mail in Academia; Expectations, Use, and Instructional Impact

Weiss, M. & Hanson-Baldauf, D.  (2008)  E-mail in academia;Expectations, use, and instructional impact.  Educause Quarterly, January/March 2008.

Summary:

Weiss and Hanson-Baldauf write of an exploratory study they conducted with students and faculty at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.  The study examines the use of e-mail as an instructional tool.  Weiss and Hanson-Baldauf surveyed full time undergraduate students and assistant, associate, and full professors to discover how they used e-mail to communicate with each other, their thoughts on appropriate e-mail use, and their perceptions of the impact of using e-mail on the learning experience.  Weiss and Hanson-Baldauf comment on the generational divide between professors and undergraduate students as it pertains to the use of technology.  They quote Marc Prensky  who writes, “The single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language” (Prensky 2001 as cited in Weiss & Hanson-Baldauf 2008).  Weiss and Hanson-Baldauf write of other studies which reflect positive outcomes from e-mail communication between professors and students.  These include increased academic achievement, personal growth, increased effort spent on studies and improved feelings of connectedness to the university community.  Weiss and Hanson-Baldauf discuss their findings and the reasoning behind the participants answers.   They conclude that professors who take the time to communicate with students through e-mail will be able to extend their influence as well as academic discourse.

Reflection:

 The authors chose a very current topic.  With the technological advances happening so quickly there are always new ways to communicate and stay connected.  The typical undergraduate student has been raised in a highly technological environment.  They utilize e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, social networking sights, and spend many hours out of the day “connected”.  Professors must begin to utilize these ways of communicating in order to stay current.  The benefits are immense.  By communicating with students through e-mail professors will be able to enhance the learning experience of their students.  One of the common responses received on the study from faculty members was concerning time.  Professors stated that they received a very large amount of e-mails each day and that it was difficult for them to respond to each one.  Weiss and Hanson-Baldauf offered an interesting solution.  They suggested that professors respond with advice of how to find the answer or posting that question on an online discussion board where other students could offer their advice which would support increased academic discourse.   I understand that answering many e-mails can be quite time consuming.  Professors and students need to find a balance between online communications and in person ones.  The important thing to remember is to communicate and have meaningful interactions that support increased connections with the academic subject.