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General Educational Technology Email Distribution Lists

Go to the "How-To" section . . . 

The Global Distribution List	The Personal Distribution List
Managed by the STC	Managed by the user
Can include only teachers and other educators in the KDE Exchange system	Can include anyone
Usable by anyone	Only available to the user who constructed it

        This page will help you set up an email distribution list within the Exchange or Outlook email clients so that you can communicate with a large number of people at once.  Although email distribution lists exist in the Exchange system (for instance, Bryan Station's certified staff can already be reached by mailing to the global distribution list "BSTHS Faculty"), such lists are fixed in membership, can only include email addresses within the Kentucky Dept. of Education Exchange system, and are managed by one person in the school (usually the School Technology Coordinator).  To gain the flexibility of constructing and managing distribution lists, you must construct them in your Personal Address Book.

        Why do email distribution lists?  The main purpose is to save typing time.  If you're going to send an email to a large number of addresses only once, typing in all the addresses may be the only choice you have.  Twice - a simple "Forward" of the first email (changing the email itself) is probably easiest.  Three or more times, and you're better off constructing a list.  Of course, once constructed, email distribution lists get used, and you have gained an important communication tool that you'll use over and over.  Be forewarned:  the use of a distribution list carries the implication that all of your intended audience is on-line - in the case of parent groups, be sure you have alternative methods to communicate with those who don't have email, and do so in a way that does not ostracize them.

Some applications of distribution lists:

• Parents with email (construct a group per class)
• PTSA
• Personal friends
• Cadres of educators (committees, like-minded teachers from a variety of schools, etc.)

The following are best left to the STC and the global lists:

• Departments
• School Committees
• Other all-school organizational groups

        The construction of individual email distribution lists are fairly labor-intensive, and involves three steps: collecting, the data, creating the individual email addresses into your Personal Address Book, and then constructing the list.

Collecting the data.

        Since most of your list members will not be in the Exchange system, you'll have to get the email addresses.  The easiest, of course, is by receiving an email from the person you want to include - simply open the email, then right-click their name at the top and select "Add to Address Book."

        You can also make the collection of email addresses a part of a teacher website - this works well as long as your intended audience has a reason to visit!

        Otherwise, you'll have to gather the addresses by hand - by a survey of parents at Open House, a letter home, or other method.

Creating Email addresses in you Personal Address Book.

Task	Exchange	Outlook
Open your address book.
Select your Personal Address Book (in the "Look at addresses in..." pull-down window, it's at the bottom).
Click the "Enter new address" icon.
Select "Internet address" or "New Contac"
Type the display name and email address in the windows, and "OK."

Creating The List.

1. Open the address book as above.
2. Click the "Enter new address" icon.
3. Select "New [or personal] Distribution List"
4. Type the display name, and then populate the list from your address book by choosing the one that has the address in it.  You can use email addresses from either the teacher Exchanges system or your own personal address book.