What Research Reveals about Email in Education

How educators, especially those in the field of literacy, view and make use of email and its text-based features has been the subject of research. Journal articles addressing what educators and researchers know about email and how they work with email communication were reviewed. Email has moved from a limited group of users to the masses. According to researchers, email communication has the following prominent features: text-based features; multiple connections and easy transmission; asynchrony and synchrony; easy storage and manipulation; rapidity and cost-efficiency; and relative anonymity. Existing research literature can be divided into 3 parts: using email as a research tool and other research concerns stated; focusing on user perception and adoption of email in instructional settings; and assessing the effects of email communication on users. Existing literature on teaching usually consists of action research studies which help to inform the ongoing instruction within the classroom. Some also tend to be more summative in their concerns about the students' performance in classes. Suggestions for future research on email in instructional settings are: (1) take advantage of text-based nature of email communication; (2) determine the extent to which beneficial gains of students concerning instructional goals would be optimal; (3) investigate non-traditional learners such as part-time students and English-as-a-Second Language students; (4) study more in-depth the language features of email communication; and (5) investigate the textual context and interactive demands of email communication for students below the fifth-grade level. (Contains 41 references.) (RS)