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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. The sender is automatically
cc:ed on the 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.
- 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 yourself, your TAs or others who have room membership
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 Instruction Center
Advantages: Reaches all students in your course
section(s) who have a 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.
File attachments are possible; selecting several sections for a single
message is also possible.
Disadvantages: Attached
files will not also be placed in webCafé automatically
(though you can upload them separately). Some students may
not have email addresses on file with the University at
the time you send your message.
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 Instruction
Center to
send email to students currently enrolled in courses they teach, regardless
of whether they have Wharton accounts. If a student in your course has an email
address on file with the University, Instruction Center can be used to send
email to that student
Instruction Center also provides student photos, seating charts, attendance
and participation tracking, as well as convenient
links to each of your webCafé rooms for courses within
a specific semester.
Instruction Center 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 Instruction Center or help with providing TAs with access,
send email to:
instructioncenter@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
Instruction Center. 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 each
messages sent to the list; the message appears
to have been sent by the instructor.
Disadvantages: 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.
This service is operated outside of Wharton Computing, and the webCafé Classic
Team has no administrative access to it. 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, and how to add additional list "owners" such as a teaching
assistant or support staff member. There is also an email address for class
mailing list support that instructors may use:
cladmin-wh@isc.upenn.edu
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