West Texas A&M University

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Email/Messages

WTClass has an Email and a Messages tool built in. Each function differently, and each may be disabled by your instructor for an individual course.

 

Email

The Send Email tool in a course is a send-only tool. You can send messages from your course to course members' WT Buff email accounts without having to launch your external email program, such as Outlook, Gmail or Yahoo. You can send emails to individual users or to groups of users.

Email you send from a course is received in the recipient's WT Buff email account, such as bcsmith1@buffs.wtamu.edu. Replies to these email messages go to the sender's WT Buff email account and are not sent to the course.

When you log in to your WT Buff email account, you receive both personal and course-related messages. Consider setting up a filter or message rule to easily group your course email into a single folder in your inbox.

WTClass keeps no record of sent or received emails. When you receive or send an email, the email will appear in the Inbox of your WT Buff email. Keep a copy of important messages in case you need them at a later date.

Your instructor can control which tools are available. If this tool is not available, your instructor may have disabled it.

You can send email to the following people in a course:

  • All Users: Sends email to all users in the course.
  • All Groups: Sends email to all of the groups in a specified course.
  • All Teaching Assistant Users: Sends email to all of the Teaching Assistants in a specified course.
  • All Student Users: Sends an email to all students in the course.
  • All Instructor Users: Sends email to all of the instructors for a specified course.
  • Select Users: Sends email to select users.
  • Select Groups: Sends email to select groups.

Note: Recipients of each email will not see the email addresses of other recipients.

 

How to Send Email

You can access the email tool for all of your courses through the Tools panel on the My Institution tab. Your instructor can also add a link to the email tool directly to the course menu.

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, click Send Email.
  3. On the Select Users or Select Groups page, select the recipients in the Available to Select box and click the right-pointing arrow to move them into the Selected box. A back arrow is available to move a user out of the recipient list. Click Invert Selection and the selected users are no longer highlighted and those users that were not selected will be highlighted.
  4. Type your Subject.
  5. Type your Message.
  6. Click Attach a File to browse for files from your computer. You can attach multiple files. After you add one file, the option to attach another file appears.
  7. Click Submit.
  8. A receipt page appears after the message is sent listing all recipients. The receipt page does not confirm that users received the message. It only confirms that the message was sent. A copy of the message is sent to the sender.

    9. Image illustrating associated text

 

Messages

The WTClass course messages tool provides you with a familiar, email-like environment that you can use for course communication. Accounts are created automatically for each member of the course, and messages are sent and received using that account. This provides additional privacy because external email addresses are not used, so external factors will not affect course communication.

When you receive a Course Message, you will receive a notification in your external email account (@buffs.wtamu.edu). You must return to WTClass to view your received message.

You can usually access course messages through the tools area of a course. However, your instructor can restrict access or create a link on the course menu so that course messages are directly accessible.

Image illustrating text below

  1. Create Message: Create new messages.
  2. Create Folder: Add a new folder. You can use folders to organize course messages.
  3. Inbox: Opens with a list of course messages received.
  4. Sent: Opens with a list of course messages that you sent.
  5. Delete Folder/Delete: The Delete Folder or Delete function in the folder's contextual menu removes the folder. To delete personal folders, select the check box next to each folder to delete. Then, click Delete Folder on the action bar. The folders, and all course messages in the folders, are deleted.
  6. Edit: Change the name of a personal folder. You cannot modify the name of the Inbox folder or Sent folder.

 

How to Create Course Messages

You can send course messages to course members. Using the course messages tool instead of the email tool can also be more reliable. Incorrect or out-of-date student email addresses will not affect course communication.

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Course Messages page, click Create Message on the action bar.
  4. On the Compose Message page, click To, and a list of course members appears.
  5. In the Select Recipients: To line box, select the recipients and click the right-pointing arrow to move them to the Recipients box. You can use the Cc, and Bcc functions to send the course message to those users that may be interested in the message, but are not the primary recipients. When using Bcc, other recipients do not know that the users listed in the Bcc field are receiving the message.
  6. Type a Subject.
  7. Type a message. Optionally, you can use the content editor to format the Body text.
  8. Click Browse to select a file to attach to the message. If the message is a reply or a forward, you have the option of including the original attachment.
  9. Click Submit.

 

How to Create Course Message Folders

You can create personal folders to help organize your course messages. Personal folders are only for storing messages. Messages received always appear in the Inbox folder first and messages sent always appear in the Sent folder. After a message appears, it can be moved into a personal folder.

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Course Messages page, click Create Folder on the action bar.
  4. On the Add Folder page, type the name of the new personal folder in the Name box.
  5. Click Submit.

 

How to View Course Messages

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Course Messages page, select a folder.
  4. On the folder page, click the link in the message's Subject column.

 

How to Reply to Course Messages

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Course Messages page, select a folder.
  4. On the folder page, click the link in the message's Subject column.
  5. On the View Message page, click Reply on the action bar to compose a message to the sender or Reply All to reply to the sender and all other recipients of the message already populated in the To: field.

    You can add other users to the message. The text of the message is already populated with the text of the original message. You can add additional text.

  6. On the Reply to Message page, compose your message.
  7. Click Submit.

 

How to Forward Course Messages

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Course Messages page, select a folder.
  4. On the folder page, click the link in the message's Subject column.
  5. On the View Message page, click Forward on the action bar.
  6. On the Forward Message page, select the recipients in the Select Recipients: To line box and click the right-pointing arrow to move them to the Recipients box.
  7. Click Submit.

 

How to Move Course Messages

You can move messages from any folder to a personal folder. Using personal folders is a good way to organize messages so they are easy to find later. Use the Move Message function to move messages from one folder to another. Messages cannot be moved to the Sent folder or the Inbox folder.

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Messages page, click a folder to access the messages in that folder.
  4. On the folder page, select the check box for each message and click Move on the action bar.
  5. On the Move Message page, select a folder from the Select a Personal Folder drop-down list. This is the folder where you will store your messages. The messages are removed from the old folder after they are moved to the new folder.
  6. Click Submit.

 

How to Delete Course Messages

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Course Messages page, click a folder to access the messages in that folder.
  4. On the folder page, select the check box for each message and click Delete on the action bar.

    This action is final and cannot be undone.

 

How to Print Course Messages

  1. On the course menu, click Tools.
  2. On the Tools page, select Course Messages.
  3. On the Course Messages page, select a folder.
  4. On the folder page, click the link in the message's Subject column.
  5. On the View Message page, click Print on the action bar. The message is printed using the web browser's print settings.
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