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There are several options for sending email to students,
either directly through webCafé or via outside
systems. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, discussed
below along with a brief procedure for use. The webCafé-based
options (1 and 2) will reach your students who have been enrolled for
at least one day and who have obtained the Wharton account necessary
to access webCafé.
The other options (3 and 4) should reach any enrolled student who has
a working email address on file with the University.
1) Alert
button (paper airplane)
Advantages: You can email several
course sections with one message. This method is the quickest
to access of the four shown here and is easily used by your teaching
assistants. A webCafé folder
URL may be optionally included in your message.
Disadvantages: This option only reaches
enrolled students who currently have Wharton accounts, rather than
all of your students. A long list of student email addresses will be
included on the To: line of your message; a link related to eRoom
notification options will be in the message footer. The teaching team
is not automatically copied on the message, although you may select TAs
or co-instructors as recipients.
- You can use webCafé's alert button to
send email. The alert button is shown as a "paper airplane" icon
 near
top right of any webCafé page. Clicking it brings
up a list allowing you to check off any combination of individual recipients
or course sections.
- To
reach all students who currently have access to your course's webCafé room,
a Students group is provided in the selection
list, as well as groups for individual course sections. If you
do not initially see these groups or Students shown with checkboxes,
click Groups (shown
at the end of
the row of A through Z buttons).
2) Invite button (in
room member list) Advantages: You can email several
course sections with one message. A separate message
is sent individually to each selected recipient, so no long list of
addresses is included. Easily accessible to teaching assistants.
Disadvantages: This option only reaches
enrolled students who currently have Wharton accounts, rather than
all of your students. Compared to "alert", more mouse clicks
required and no URL automatically included. The
teaching team is not automatically copied on the message, although
you may select TAs or co-instructors as recipients.
On the top-level folder of your eRoom, click the members button
to bring up the member list. On the member list, click the invite button
shown above the list of Groups.
As with alert, the next screen
allows you to check off individual users, sections, or the Students group.
- The Invite screen is the email form you will use to type your
message. Unlike with the alert button's form, the subject line and
message body will be initially be blank, without a folder URL included
automatically. However, it does show the full recipient list (shown
on the "To:" line)
just to you -- and not to the recipients themselves.
On the Invite screen you may type in additional email addresses
that should be "Cc:"ed
on the message. When you are ready to send your message, press OK.
- OPTION for smaller courses: You
can also use the "To:" recipient
list created by the Invite feature
in conjunction with your own email software. To copy the recipient
list, just select the text by dragging with your mouse and then right-click
and choose copy (or type Ctrl-C). Next, paste the copied recipient
list into the "To:", "Cc:" or "Bcc:" (blind
carbon copy) address field of an email form in your email software
(Outlook, etc.). After doing that, click cancel on
the Invite form to avoid sending an additional blank message to the
same users. NOTE: Unfortunately, due to spam control measures
in effect as of August 18, 2008, this method will not work if your email
will have more than 100 recipients.
3) Email
through Wharton Online Roster
Advantages: Reaches all students in a course
section with working email on file with the University, regardless
of whether they
have
obtained Wharton accounts. A separate message is sent individually
to each selected recipient, so no long list of addresses is included.
Disadvantages: No way to email several
course sections with just one message. Requires its own logon. Teaching
assistants may not use this feature without special intervention on
the part of the instructor.
If you have non-Wharton students who have not yet obtained Wharton
accounts, they are unreachable through webCafé's
alert or invite features.
As a workaround for this issue, faculty may use the Online
Roster to
send email to students currently enrolled in courses they teach, regardless
of whether they have Wharton accounts. If a student has an email address on
file with the University, Online Roster can be used to send email to that
student.
The Online Roster also provides student photos, seating charts, and convenient
links to each of your webCafé rooms for courses within
a specific semester.
The Online Roster is linked within your webCafé room's
Instructor Folder. Initially your TAs will not be able to use this resource
unless you arrange access.
For assistance with Online Roster or help with providing TAs with access, send
email to:
onlineroster@wharton.upenn.edu
4) Penn class mailing lists
Advantages: Can be used directly in your email
software without having to log on to webCafé or
Online Roster. Reaches all students in a course section with working
email on file with the University, regardless of whether they have obtained
Wharton accounts. The instructor will automatically receive
a copy of all messages sent to the list.
Disadvantages: Email message appears
to come from the mailing list, rather than from the instructor. Special
intervention required by faculty to allow teaching assistants or staff
to use this feature.
In multi-section classes, there is a separate list for each course
section, rather than just one list for the course as a whole.
A class mailing list is set up by the University for each course section.
These are managed separately from webCafé, and the webCafé team
has no administrative access to them. You may find more information about
the class mailing list service
at:
http://www.upenn.edu/computing/classlist/
That site has instructions on how to add non-enrolled students to the class
mailing list. There is also an email address for class mailing list support
that instructors
may use:
cladmin-wh@isc.upenn.edu
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