Day 7 - A Teacher's Perspective - Communicating via Email

Day 7 - A Teacher's Perspective - Communicating via Email

In Day 6 of the Aspen 21 Day Challenge we learned how to export the data we discovered in a query based on the field set view. The previous 6 days have been about organizing the data, and digging deeper into the analysis. In today's blog we'll explore how to use some of the communication tools built into Aspen to share information with our students and anyone connected to them (parents or other teachers). Day 7 will focus on the email tool from a teacher's perspective. Aspen has a very easy, but powerful email tool to contact students, parental/guardian contacts, and any other teacher connected to the student.

Accessing the Email Tools in Aspen

You can access the email tool in Aspen in multiple ways. You can use the Email tool directly from the Teacher Classes widget, or from the Student top tab using the Options tool. 

The Teacher Classes' widget can be accessed from the Pages top tab in Aspen. In fact, it should be the landing page that is displayed once you log on to Aspen. Illustration 1 displays the Teacher Classes widget on the landing page.

Illustration 1: Teacher Landing Page

From the teacher landing page simply click on the email icon connected to the students in a specific course. Once you click on the email icon you will be presented with the Mass Email dialog box. Once the Mass Email dialog box is displayed you will have several options before you send your email. You can choose to send the email to students, their contacts, and their teachers. Simply use the selection tick boxes to add or remove groups from your email. You can also click the X icon to the right of each recipient to delete them from the list. Illustration 2 depicts the email dialog box.

Illustration 2: Mass Email Dialog Box

Once you click the send button you are presented with a dialog box asking you if you are sure you want to send your email. Click the yes button to send your email. You can also access the same process from your student list using the Student top tab in Aspen. From the Student top tab click the Options menu item and drag to Send Email. The Mass Email Dialog box will appear, and you can use the directions from above to send your email. Illustration 3 shows the send email process using the Options menu item.

Illustration 3: Using the Options Send Email Process

The send email tool in Aspen is very easy to use, but one of those hidden gems that most teachers and administrators don't realize is at their disposal. In future blog posts we'll dig deeper into the Pages tool in Aspen as a communication tool, and an integral component of the Aspen.