Mailing lists, forums, and newsletters can be excellent sources of information for teachers. So many teachers that I talk to seem to be unaware of their existence. Mailing lists and forums offer you the opportunity to exchange ideas with other teachers from all parts of our country and beyond. As teaching can be an isolating experience at times, it can be a stress reliever just to be able to share experiences, problems, and a few laughs with other adults who understand. Newsletters can keep you informed about changes to websites, education news, new websites that will fit your curriculum, and many other things.

What is a mailing list?

You receive messages from a mailing list by email. A mailing list has its own address and anything a person sends to that address is sent to all the people on the list, anyone of whom may reply to that message. It allows you to join a discussion with a large number of people who have a similar interest.

Some points to remember if you subscribe to a mailing list:

Most mailing lists are handled automatically by a computer, so save the first communication you get back that gives all the directions for unsubscribing from the mailing list, getting a digest, going nomail, etc.
The address for posting to the list is usually different from the one you use when subscribing and unsubscribing.
If you are going to be unable to check your email for a long period of time (like a vacation), it is wise to unsubscribe or go to nomail on the list to prevent your mailbox from being overloaded and causing problems for your email provider.
Some mailing lists can produce large numbers of emails each day. I suggest that you have an email address(es) just for mailing lists so that your personal email does not get lost in the jumble. For more suggestions for managing mailing lists, see Now I have hundreds of emails. What do I do with them?

What is a forum?

A forum is very similar to a mailing list, but you must be online on the website to read or post messages. Most sites allow anyone to read messages, but you must join the site to post.

What is a newsletter?

A newsletter may come to your mailbox daily, weekly, monthly, or whenever the owner decides to send it. Unlike lists and forums, you do not reply to these emails. However, some newsletters pose questions; you send your answer to the owner who chooses answers to include in the next issue.

Most newsletters accept advertisements to help pay for the cost of publication. Often this advertisement is at the top of a newsletter, so scroll on down before you decide a particular newsletter is not worthwhile.

To sign up for the newsletter, fill out the form on the website. Directions for unsubscribing are usually found at the bottom of the newsletter.

WARNING: Many newsletters now give you a choice between plain text or HTML versions. Be sure your email software can handle HTML mail before you sign up for it. Also there have been some recent reports of people putting viruses and tracking bugs into HTML mail. Plain text mail is probably safer.

Where do I find mailing lists, forums, and newsletters?

Lots of websites have a sign-up form for a related discussion list, forum, and/or newsletter. But there are also websites just for finding mailing lists or for starting one of your own. Here are some sites to get you started. If the site calls its forum or mailing list by another name, I have included it in parentheses.

TeachersNet (http://www.teachers.net/)

This site offers forums (called chatboards) and a variety of mailing lists (called mailrings) for PreK through college. Some ot the specialized lists available are those for Reading Recovery teachers, student teachers, beginning teachers, and teachers of 4Blocks. They also offer live chats. Look in the Resources section on the home page of the site.

Classroom Connect's Connected Teacher UPDATE Feb. 25, 2005

Unfortunately, Classroom Connect is closing down their mailing lists. The moderators are currently deciding if they wish to take their lists to another host. As I hear about the new location of the lists, I will post them here.

Language Arts is moving to Yahoo Groups. You can subscribe by sending an email to
LA_forum-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Copy and paste that address into the TO line of an email from the address where you want to receive the mailing list and send. There is no need to add anything to the subject or message areas.
Social Studies is moving to Tapped In. You can subscribe by filling out the form at this web page:
http://ti2.sri.com/mailman/listinfo/social-studies

NOTE: A password is not required to send/receive messages, but you will need it in order to change your subscription preferences or unsubscribe from the list.

The Classroom Flyer (http://pages.info.riverdeep.net/riverdeep/ed/ClassroomFlyerSignup.atl)

I started getting this newsletter when I purchased software from The Learning Company, the sponsor. (The Learning Company is now part of Riverdeep.) But this is one of the best newsletters I receive. It is available daily, but you can now subscribe for just the grades you wish to receive. There are reviews of websites for K-12, as well as other useful information. If you teach Preschool, the new Early Learning Weekly is a good resource for lesson plans and other preschool information.

The following websites are resource lists and/or sign up sites for all kinds of mailing lists.

Topica (http://www.topica.com)

Yahoo!Groups (http://www.groups.yahoo.com)

Netiquette for Forums and Mailing Lists

Most mailing lists are moderated, usually by the owner(s) of the list. This person is responsible for stopping inappropriate posts such as advertisements. They will also unsubscribe anyone who cannot follow the rules of the mailing list, or who becomes a disruptive influence on the list. Read the first message you get after subscribing to see if the list has any special rules.

Every mailing list is like a little community. Some lists are chatty and off-topic posts are common. Others are very business-like and off-topic posts are discouraged. If you are new to a mailing list, I suggest you spend at least a few days just lurking before posting to the list. This will give you a chance to see what is acceptable to the members of the list. Then, when you do make your first post, you will not inadvertently make a bad impression.

Mailing lists can be pleasant experiences if everyone remembers their manners. Unfortunately, in the heat of a disagreement, I have seen feelings get hurt and the whole climate of a mailing list change.

Below are some reminders about email etiquette.

Always include a descriptive subject line in your message.
If you are responding to another message, your subject line should be the same with RE: at the beginning.
If you are changing the topic, don't forget to change the subject line.
TYPING ALL IN CAPS is considered shouting in email and is sure to make someone mad.
Read others' email carefully to make sure that you are not misunderstanding the message.
Read email you send carefully to make sure that your message will not be misunderstood. If you are using humor or sarcasm, make sure it is clearly labeled as such.
Remember that it is okay to disagree with someone's idea, but attack the idea, not the person. It is usually best to wait until you calm down before you write a reply to a post that made you angry.
If someone on the list does become rude, do not respond in kind. Respond politely or ignore the person. To be rude in your reply only provokes more anger.

Now I have hundreds of emails. What do I do with them?

I currently subscribe to a dozen mailing lists and get more newsletters than I can count. It is not unusual for me to receive 150 to 200 emails a day. Do I have time to read all of them? No, not even being retired do I have time to read all the email every day. But I have developed a management system that allows me to read or delete mail when I have the time. I will share with you what I do.

First, I have more than one email account. One email address is only for personal friends, family, and business mail. That account is checked several times during the day and gets read daily. The other account gets downloaded to my computer daily, but I usually do not read these emails every day. I do scan subject lines to see if there is anything I want to read or reply to right away.
I use the email software Eudora where I have set up the message rules to automatically sort or filter the messages from the different mailing lists into separate folders as they are downloaded. Most email software allows you to set up an automatic sorting system. If yours doesn't, I suggest you change email software before you start receiving large volumes of mail.
When I have time to read email from the lists, I open the folder, sort the emails by subject line, and then read and/or post to the threads that interest me. Some threads get deleted without being read. I don't like to get mailing lists in the digest format because you cannot sort the individual email by subject, but must read them in the order they are posted.
Newsletters stay in my Inbox. Some I read within a day or two because the news gets stale. Others, like the computer tips or the website announcement letters, get saved for when I have time for a marathon reading session.
Within Eudora, I have created several folders for email that I want to keep, including one for those first emails from the lists that tell you how to unsubscribe, etc. I also have a special folder for emails that contain links to websites that I want to check when I have the time. I move the email to a folder after I read it.
Other emails get deleted after I read them. I empty my deleted mail folder in Eudora about once a week.