Journal 10: Hello? Are Your Students Communicating Appropriately?

Clark, Thomas. (2009). Hello? are your students communicating appropriately? .37(3), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm

In Thomas Clark’s article “Hello? Are Your Students Communicating Appropriately?” he how students connect with their peers through cell phones and email but many express their ideas and feelings spontaneously. Clark believes that students need to understand the difference between professional communication and spontaneous communication. There are some guidelines that he has developed to assure that students are communicating in a professional demeanor:

Identify yourself. In e-mail, include your name and class title in the subject line and in the e-mail’s first sentence. In voicemail, speak slowly, distinctly, and politely so your teacher can easily understand your name, the class title and class time, and, when appropriate, your phone number.

Plan your messages. Jot down what you want the teacher to do in response to your message, why your request is appropriate, details that relate to your request, and reasonable timing for the response. Take this step for both e-mail and voicemail messages.

Be concise. Keep e-mails and voicemails short and to the point.

Show respect. Use phrases such as "Please," "Thank you for taking the time to help me," and "I value your insight." Also, avoid language that indicates disrespect of the teacher or school or that demands an im-mediate response.

Clark also gives guidelines about using emails and even gives an example of a professional respectful email. I think this is a very important lesson for students. As we become more technological savvy we need to understand the difference of addressing someone professionally or as a friend. I definitely think there is a way that people can come across through emails or other devices and as long as students become aware of this they can prevent it when using technology in a professional setting.

How can students benefit from this lesson and when will they need to use these skills?

Students can benefit from lessons on how to professionally leave messages and write emails when communicating with their teachers and other educational advisors. I think many students will really benefit from these skills when reaching higher levels of education such as high school or even college.

Why is proper etiquette for these devises important?

I think this is extremely important because when students are writing an email they need to make sure they write it in a professional respectful tone. I think that through emails your true intention can become blurred when your wording is not what your true voice is saying. This is why I think it is so important for teachers to go over this etiquette in their classroom.