Chapter 5

Your Own Listserv

A mailing list (listserv) may sound like a useful tool to you, but it may not be obvious how you would be able to operate a list as a classroom teacher. Powerful Internet products such as BlackBoard and WebCT include a mailing list tool. However, individual K-12 districts may not own such high-end products.

Yahoo makes a free service called "Yahoo Groups" available to the general public. I suppose it is one of those services the company offers to attract traffic to the general Yahoo site and to the ads that are always visible. A "group" can be configured to meet many different needs and can be operated in a way that is pretty much invisible to anyone not a member of the group. For example, the site proposes that it might be useful to have a group consisting of family members. To make such a proposal attractive to participants, it would be necessary to restrict access.

Here is a brief description of steps involved in establishing a group. You might want to establish an operate a group as a class project.

1. You must be registered to sponsor a group. Visit the Yahoo Groups page (http://groups.yahoo.com/), click the "Register" link appearing near the top of the page, and complete the form you encounter.

2. Once registered, you are eligible to "Start a Group." You will find a link with this label (Start a Group) on the Yahoo Groups page.
You will be asked a series of questions to categorize your group. These are not particularly important if you intend to operate a private list.
You will be asked to Group email address - this address will consist of the term you provide and yahoogroups.com (groupname@yahoogroups.com). Messages sent to this email address will be forwarded to all members of the group.
List type - listed or unlisted. Select listed if you want to operate a public list and unlisted if you want a private list.
Membership type - Open (anyone can subscribe by sending message to the subscription address for the list. Restricted - individuals can apply to the list, but you must approve for membership. Closed - individuals must be invited and accept to become members.
Moderation type - Unmoderated - all submissions from members are automatically forwarded. Moderated - all submissions first come to you and you REPLY in order to forward email to the rest of the list.

3. Members of Yahoo Groups have access to other services - a group web page, chat, and system for sharing files. The address for this is - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/establishedname/

Return to Chapter 5




	Your Own Listserv A mailing list (listserv) may sound like a useful tool to you, but it may not be obvious how you would be able to operate a list as a classroom teacher. Powerful Internet products such as BlackBoard and WebCT include a mailing list tool. However, individual K-12 districts may not own such high-end products. Yahoo makes a free service called "Yahoo Groups" available to the general public. I suppose it is one of those services the company offers to attract traffic to the general Yahoo site and to the ads that are always visible. A "group" can be configured to meet many different needs and can be operated in a way that is pretty much invisible to anyone not a member of the group. For example, the site proposes that it might be useful to have a group consisting of family members. To make such a proposal attractive to participants, it would be necessary to restrict access. Here is a brief description of steps involved in establishing a group. You might want to establish an operate a group as a class project. 1. You must be registered to sponsor a group. Visit the Yahoo Groups page (http://groups.yahoo.com/), click the "Register" link appearing near the top of the page, and complete the form you encounter. 2. Once registered, you are eligible to "Start a Group." You will find a link with this label (Start a Group) on the Yahoo Groups page. You will be asked a series of questions to categorize your group. These are not particularly important if you intend to operate a private list. You will be asked to Group email address - this address will consist of the term you provide and yahoogroups.com (groupname@yahoogroups.com). Messages sent to this email address will be forwarded to all members of the group. List type - listed or unlisted. Select listed if you want to operate a public list and unlisted if you want a private list. Membership type - Open (anyone can subscribe by sending message to the subscription address for the list. Restricted - individuals can apply to the list, but you must approve for membership. Closed - individuals must be invited and accept to become members. Moderation type - Unmoderated - all submissions from members are automatically forwarded. Moderated - all submissions first come to you and you REPLY in order to forward email to the rest of the list. 3. Members of Yahoo Groups have access to other services - a group web page, chat, and system for sharing files. The address for this is - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/establishedname/ Return to Chapter 5