You've Got Mail!

Photo description: The words: Inbox (1), Important, and Sent Mail appear as in an email account's inbox. 

Working on the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) with students can be so much fun when they discover independence as well as meet new friends in the process!

It is so important for our students who are blind or visually impaired to learn how to use email and communicate with others via this necessary medium. When middle and high school students all have Chromebooks and interact with their teachers and classmates through Google Classroom or similar platform, our students need to learn it too! In other situations, email can also be used for social interaction when working on Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) goals.

I currently have 2 students who have ECC goals for technology and social skills. As we all know how much teenagers love their social lives, they are learning use technology to interact with peers via email and of course, face-to-face interaction. For one student who is homebound, this is a connection to peers who are the same age and also allows her to use communication software to help access the email system. For the other student, she expands her use of technology and computer skills. For both students, they have become friends through the process of emailing back and forth.

An opening greeting is chosen or created such as Hi (insert student’s name), Hello (insert student’s name), or they much rather prefer “Hey there girl!”. Content or the body of the email includes topics such as what happened over the weekend, favorite movies, upcoming school breaks for holidays, and of course, a link to their current favorite song. There has even been talk amongst them about “getting in trouble” at home or at school! A closing remark is created or chosen and then the email is sent.

These students have also had the opportunity to meet with one another face-to-face which has been a great time for both. It has also helped each of them to realize the person who is receiving the emails. Both of their faces light up when they open their inboxes and realize “you’ve got mail”!

This is the modern day pen pal! Did you have a pen pal back when you were a student? Are there students on your caseload who have a need to learn email technology for classroom use or social skills?