Don't Snap Me.

Why is it so difficult to get teenagers to use email and calendar tools?

Students do not have much interest in email. They text and Snapchat. That is their preferred method of communication. That is my preferred method of casual communication with my peers, friends, and family.

What we need to realize is that we need to teach this skill to them. They need email and calendar lessons on a regular basis. These tools are not casual communication, they are school and work-related, or better said, college and career readiness skills with opportunity for Digital Citizenship.

Some methods you can implement include email groups set up by year of graduation and include a "Check your email" reminder on all important announcements, and show teachers how to email a class in Google Classroom, super easy. We encourage teachers to have students check their email and grades every time they use Chromebooks in the classroom, which should be daily.

Calendar skills are a little trickier since most teachers are not big calendar users themselves. Google Classroom lends itself to calendar building skills, teachers just need to bring it to students attention as a reminder of when assignments are due.

Teachers and students alike are inundated with relevant information. Building emailing etiquette, and the importance of professional communication are a priority over casual social communication. Knowing the difference is an excellent starting point and allowing students to do both responsibly is preferred.

What methods do you utilize to get students in the habit of checking, responding and communicating professionally with their email daily?.