An Explaination Of Your In Box:
Above is a picture of a typical
In Box. You may click on the subject of any message to view the
contents of the message. Use the other buttons to take the actions
described on the buttons. The buttons on the inbox allow you
to write a new message, check for new messages, Log Out or "quit"
and review messages that you have sent.
Sending a Message:
In order to send a message, you will need to know only the username
of the recipient of your message and of course the message you
would like to send. There are several optional fields along with
these listed below.
The To: Field - Select the user name to send the message to by
clicking on this field. The click will show you a pull down menu
of possible recipients as such:
 Notice that the Instructor is
the only one that has a capitol letter before his name. Typically,
only the instructor will have a capitol, however; there may be
others assigned to this type of username. When you are sending
a message to any user, simply click on thier name in the list.
This will automatically enter the name in your field and will
avoid any inconsistancies with appropriate recipients. The CC
and BCC fields operate exactly the same in that they send carbon
copy and blind carbon copies to the recipients chosen in their
respective fields. You may have the option to choose ALL which
will simply send a copy to everyone on the list as it appears
when you click on it. Your username is also on this list and
you may elect to send copies to yourself as reminder notices.
Sending a message to ALL will result in the message being sent
to you as well as any instructors. Note, the administrator of
any site using this system has the ability to review all messages
at any time. This is not a secured emailing system and your privacy
is not protected so please do not expect confidential messages
to go unseen. In other words don't slam the teacher on the message
boards as they will probably see it!
Typing Your Message - It is
highly recommended that you type your message in a word
processor and use the cut and paste features of your computer
to paste the message into the message box. Since you are typically
sending essays, this is a good practice. It is the nature of
the web to disconnect users without warning which can result
in a loss of your essay. Typing the essay in a word processor
such as Word or Simple Text will allow you to save the document
until it is completed. Then you should find the "Select
All" button (try ctrl+a) in your word processor then select
the copy button (try ctrl+c) then click into the message box
and Select Paste (try ctrl+v.) If you just have a brief message
this is not neccesary but a word processor will offer you much
more features than the text box in your browser. Pressing the
tab key once will take you to the "Send Message Now"
button. When you are done press this button to send the message.
NOTE: Most of the control characters that make fancy layouts
on your document will be removed when you send the message. We
also reccomend keeping your format to a simple left justification.
Sent Messages - Click this button to
review a list of messages that you have sent. The "Sent
Messages Window" is very much the same as your In Box in
that you click on the topic to display the message. Don't be
dismayed if your document seems to have lost it's original luster.
Your instructor is familiar with the limitations of your web
browser and also knows that this is not an HTML course, so don't
worry.
Reading a message - The read messages window
has all the information and controls you need to properly review
and reply to messages:
Displayed here are who the message was sent to (you), Who sent
the message (From:) the date and time the message was sent. An
Identifier for who is reading the message (better be you!), the
subject of the message and the status of the message.
The status of the message is automatically updated as you interact
with the message. You have no control over how the status is
displayed.
The message is in the white box at the center of the control
panel. The reply button is repeated at the bottom, this will
come in handy if you are reading a long message.
Controls: The controls on this page include:
Reply to This Message with an "Include Original" Check
Box, Should you reply to a message click in the small white box
next to the reply button to make a check mark in the box, and
the original message will appear in your reply. You can practice
that here:
Replying to a message simply sets the
recipient for you and switches to the "Send Messages"
form. You can change the recipient in the reply window but keep
in mind that the sender will not recieve it unless he is included
in the recipients menu.
To forward a message read the message
first, choose "Reply to This Message" and change the
recipient to the user you want to forward the message to.
Help Logging In - The log in screen should
be the first screen you see when you arrive at the message section.
 You should only be required to log in once
during any browser session. Your user name should appear in the
dialog without your having to type it if you use the same computer.
If you change computers alot then you may need to enter it at
each computer. If it seems as if you cannot log in and you know
you have your name and password correct, make certain your browser
accepts cookies. You will find this under internet options or
the preferences panel of your browser. This site is programmed
to "remember" your cookie for up to one year.
If you forget your password, contact
your instructor, he can easily determine your password and email
it to you or tell you over the phone. |
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About Site Mail:
SiteMail has been exclusively designed for distance education
courses, that utilize the internet to disseminate information
and gather coursework from the students. Up until Site Mail was
created, the usual method was to use internet message boards
and email. The former methods were problematic, message boards
allowed students to read other student's material and left the
question open as to where the material originated. Email is also
problematic, as some students would claim they never recived
an email from the instructor, or that they sent an email the
instructor never recieved.
SiteMail addresses all of these issues. First, SiteMail is
exclusive. Exclusiveness means that users recieve and send private
messages with instructors and other students. Students are not
able to review other student's work before making work of thier
own. Secondly, SiteMail addresses the issues of email by recording
everything the student does with regards to the site. My appologies
to the potential cheaters out there, but there is a record of
every message you have viewed, replied to, deleted or sent on
a website using SiteMail. (No Offence to the 99% of you honest
students) Furthermore, Sitemail retains all the data until the
end of the course. Finally, SiteMail Makes it easier to ensure
that your messages get to the right person by listing the users
and administrators names instead of making you type them in.
Thanks for reading, Hoss (The Creator of Sitemail)
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