Email at ESI

As the second week "off" comes to a close, it occurs to me that I'd really like to send my 16 3rd year students an email about the presentations they'll do the week that classes resume. Unfortunately, I can't. Students don't have email accounts at ESI, making mass communication more than a little difficult.

The last week of January was our winter vacation and we did not meet for classes. The first week of February was our exam prep period; also, no classes. Exams begin next week (on Feb. 9) but I was convinced not to give either of the exams to the classes that I teach alone. Therefore, I am off next week, too. As such, my 3rd years will present their wikis the week of the 16th (although the day that class meets is still unsure), and the masters students will meet with me one last time in February, and then sit their exam toward the end of the month.

With the masters students, there are only 4 in the cohort. They took the initaiative to create an email account to which they all have the password. I can send them information (and ppt slides from class) very easily. But communication with the 3rd years isn't as easy. As a student, I had an email account issued to me when I began UMKC in 1991 (I was an honors student and I had to go though some hoops to request it based on my honors status). That makes ESI about 20 years behind in terms of email communication. Luckily the students are clever enough to open their own accounts and to devise short-term solutions.