Do you have an interest in educational technology? The Fayette County Instr-Tech email discussion list is new this year (it replaces the old FCPS-TRT-L list, now defunct), and has started out the school year with a bang! By default, the following groups were added as members to the list:

• School Technology Coordinators
• School-based Technology Resource Teachers
• Floating and District Technology Resource Teachers
• School-based Microcomputer Resource Technicians

However, the list is available to anyone who wishes to join! What's more, the archives of the discussions are available freely through the Fayette County's new ListManager system.

What's an email discussion list?  It's a free exchange of ideas using email.

How does it work?  Once you've joined, all emails to the list are delivered to your inbox. Replies go back to the list, and are distributed to the entire membership. All remarks are also stored in the archives.

May I join? How?  The list is open to anyone! The best way to join is to go to ListManager at http://list.fcps.net/read/. There, click on the "All Forums" tab, and click the list you want to join (instr-tech). You'll be asked to enter your email address and name. Once you've done so and clicked "Subscribe," you'll have to go to your email and answer the message sent there by the list. That's it! Be sure to save the message, since it has instructions on how you can leave the list. You can also do that from ListManager.

Do I have to join to read the remarks?  No! The archives of this list are available to anyone. Go to http://list.fcps.net/read/. and click on the "All Forums" tab. Click on instr-tech, and you will see the archives. Click on any message thread to see all messages sent with that topic.

I get too much email as it is. Why should I bother?  Good question! Email is so easy that it's abused terribly - by spammers, by well-meaning friends who forward everything, by worms and viruses...by anyone who wants to promote themselves and their interests. Just as you have to sift through all the flyers to find and read your important snail-mail letters, some management is required of email. Outlook provides sort rules which can help. Of course, the beauty of archived discussion lists is that if you get overwhelmed, no one will fault you for deleting the list's messages - you can read them later online!

Can I start my own discussion list?  Yes...with limitations. The Lyris ListManager discussion list system is available for district-wide interests (there are, so far, 8 lists). Individual school interests must use other means. For questions about whether the list you'd like to start qualifies, send a note to Pete Koutoulas, district web manager.