What students’ e-mails tell us about their needs

Abstract

Technology has made it easy for students to communicate with instructors, scholars and experts anywhere in the world. For over a decade, electronic mail (e-mail) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) have been the focus of numerous research studies. Early studies highlighted the advantages of e-mail in the teaching-learning environment. E-mail is viewed as a way to correspond easily with the instructor, and with other students sharing projects in and out of the classroom (Manrique, 1994). E-mail fosters more meaningful scholarly communication between teachers and students and positively impacts instructional outcomes and student success (Weiss and Hanson-Baldauf, 2008). Through e-mail, instructors can send notes and materials to students and students can submit and critique assignments (Juliano, 1997; Wilkinson and Buboltz, 1998)). It is used for announcements, students' questions, counseling, distribution of class assignments, quizzes, grade posting, homework hints, and attendance issues (Poling, 1994). CMC in the classroom helps develop academic discourse, collaborative and project work, build knowledge, maximize students’ experience, increase participation opportunities, allow cross-cultural participation, develop reflective writing skills, and overcome social isolation