In this Issue

President's Message

NSELA Award Winners

National Plan for Addressing STEM Needs

Tech Support

PDI 2008 and beyond

Safe Science

Meet Your New Board Members

Regional News

Board Meeting Summary

2009: Celebrating with NSELA

1 Hour to Prepare a Lesson

Nominate a Colleague for an Award

Have you been getting NSELA emails? If not update your email address

Download a Membership Brochure: Page 1, Page 2

July 7 - 10, 2008
NSELA Summer Leadership Institute, Asheville, NC

March 18, 2009
NSELA Professional Development Institute, New Orleans

March 19-March 22, 2009, New Orleans
NSTA Convention

NSELA Leadership Team

Reaching out through Listservs

One of the biggest challenges to educators is simply communication. How can teachers find out about professional development opportunities? How can you learn about the latest resource for environmental science? How can you quickly get an answer to that student's question that is beyond your expertise?

The answer is a tool that has been around since the beginning of the Internet. Listservs provide an easy means to reach a lot of people, whether you want to spread the word to everyone or simply find one person with the knowledge you need. By putting people in contact with each other, listservs are also a way to build community.

What is a Listserv?
A listserv is a mailing list or collection of email addresses that can all be reached by simply sending to a single email address. Members of the list may add (subscribe) or remove (unsubscribe) themselves from the list. Members can also choose how to receive email messages from a listserv. You can receive each message as it comes or elect to receive a digest in which you receive one email with all the messages from the day (or week or month, depending on the setting).

A listserv has many advantages over a simple list of emails on your laptop. It is ideal for managing large numbers of emails since members can manage how they would like to receive the emails themselves. All of the individual email addresses are hidden which reduces the risk for spam and abuse. Listservs can also be moderated, that is the owner must approve messages before they are sent to everyone on the list.

For educators, listservs are the simplest way to meet educators from around the world, discuss issues of interest and share ideas with colleagues. And best of all they are free! There are hundreds of lists so odds are there is one that fits you.

Uses for Listservs

Information
Most lists are used to provide information to large groups of people. For example, the NSELA membership listserv is used to provide members with information on upcoming events, elections or other issues. The NSELA list is restricted so that only a few people are allowed to send emails to the list (or "post" to the list). Other information lists may allow all of its members to post announcements.

Discussion
The most active (and interesting) lists are those that encourage discussion, collaboration and the sharing of ideas.

Project
A list may also be used as a tool for communication and collaboration for specific projects with several members. Use of a listserv ensures that no member is left out of the loop.

Newsletter
The simplest use of a listserv is as a newsletter distribution list. For example, The Science House (www.science-house.org) uses a listserv to send its monthly newsletter.

How do you join?
Joining or subscribing to a listerv is simple. Most of the time it is as easy as filling in an email address and typing "subscribe" in the body of the email. After subscribing, you'll receive confirmation that you've been added to the mailing list. And soon you'll begin receiving messages.

Once you've joined feel free to jump into the discussion or, if you’re not sure the list is for you, just listen in for a while. In either case, be sure to save the subscription confirmation email as it contains information on how to unsubscribe from the list. This may come in handy in case you decide the list is not for you.

If a list receives more messages then your inbox can handle, check to see if the list offers a digest option. Instead of receiving messages as they are posted, a digest allows you to have messages mailed to you periodically. Some listserv digests are mailed daily, others less often or more frequently.

Listserv Etiquette
In any situation, whether in person or virtually, it is important to behave professionally. This is doubly the case when participating in a listserv because you often do not know whom you are emailing and they do not know you. The following are simple tips for keeping listserv discussions efficient and productive.

• Introduce Yourself
  When first joining a list, it is appropriate to send a brief message to the list letting the members know who you are, why you joined and what you hope to gain from and contribute to the list.
• Listen
  When new to a list, it is always wise (and polite) to read the messages for a while first before jumping into the conversation. Even better, locate the list "archives" if they exist, and read the past weeks' messages.
• Write Carefully
  Remember that you are addressing a group of people. Think about the best and most succinct way to present your message. Be considerate of other people's time and feelings.
  • Be sure to make the subject heading for your message clear and focused.
  • Don't use capital letters for more then one word - this can be interpreted as yelling.
  • Insert a blank line between paragraphs.
  • Surround URLs with angle brackets to avoid problems at line breaks.
• To quote or not to quote
  When responding to a thread, don't include the entire discussion from below. It may take a long time to load for some users. Only include text from previous messages if it is relevant to your listserv post.
• Keep out the Junk
  Junk isn't exactly spam, but rather misdirected messages. Not all replies need to be sent to the entire listserv. For example,
  • Me-too posts meant only to convey that they agree with a message or had a similar experience.
  • Welcome messages when someone new joins the list. Everyone on a mailing list doesn't need to read "Glad to have you on the list!" from everyone; send such messages to the new member in private mail.
  • Congratulation messages that appear after a member of the list has mentioned some milestone or personal triumph. Again, send these in private email.

• Yahoo Groups
• GoogleGroups
• Mailman

Lists you should join
There are at least three listservs that every science educator should belong to:

• NSELA - To join this list you must become a member of NSELA. Join today!
• Building a Presence for Science - This NSTA sponsored "email tree" seeks to connect every science teacher in every school.
• Your state department of education most likely has several listservs for educators, administrators and more. This is the easiest way to stay on top of state events, resources and policies.

http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/arunmay.php
http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/listservs/subjectsearch.html#Science
http://www.ericse.org/~ericseorg/CD-1/CD/othersciencelistserv.htm
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/scilists.html
http://scssi.scetv.org/cgi-bin/listservs
http://www.sru.edu/PAGES/3810.asp
http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html
http://www.edwebproject.org/lists.html

Resources

Introduction to E-mail Listservs and Internet Mailing Lists

About Email "Lists" from the Science Hobbyist

Add Your Name to a Listserv -- TODAY!

Mailing List Manners 101