E-teaching simply with e-mail

This paper describes e-mail as a simple, relatively low-tech, and effective way to enhance teaching. Focusing on the boon rather than the bane of e-mail, it presents practical methods for using e-mail as a teaching tool and for communicating with students more effectively. It reports results of a two-semester survey of engineering students in a technical communication course, updating the previous report of a one-semester survey. Items receiving the most responses from 59 participants indicate recommendations to faculty about communicating with e-mail in the following categories: format and organization, reminders and assignment information, usage, frequency, e-mail and the Web, and miscellaneous tips.