Student EMail - a Strategic Open Source solution ...
Written by Ken Task
to give students of all ages experience in using EMail!
Summer is just around the corner (YEA!) and many of you are looking at your summer projects for next years use. This is the perfect time to look at some"strategic" use of open source applications/servers. Towards that end, the following:
The more restriction, the more "efforts" there may be to circumvent the restriction. I've seen or read about this not only in ISD's but in the Corporate world as well.
Take, for example,the use of student EMail. Before I go further, let me say I'm NOT suggesting a "one-size-fits-all" *proposed* solution to address students learning how to use EMail - but a limited and controlled one that gives students (of all ages) limited experience with EMail. This proposal would more than likely not be a good solution for Seniors as they might need to communicate with JC's and Colleges directly or their future employer (which ever the case may be). This proposal, however, might be more suited to HS classes below the Seniors and ISD JHS (Middle) as well as Elementary students.
This "proposal" is also just ONE way ... there are other methods that could involve a standalone student mail server - full blown with IMAP web-based access (external or internal only).
This proposal: A content management system such as Joomla OR Mambo has an installable module/component for something called "Personal Messanging" (PMS).It is EMail (web-based forms - which is quite common) but EMail ONLY toother users who have accounts on the Joomla/Mambo CMS. The EMail addresses are "hidden" (really they don't exist) and users of PMS can only EMail other usersthat have registered accounts on the CMS system. No outside mail of any kind.
To see this in action, please use the following:
User: techdir
Pass: techdir
At: http://dev.tcea.org/joomla/
Login with the above user info, then look in the User Menu for a link to
Personal Messages
Note on usage:
you can login, even submit News or a Weblink or even upload a document - but before your submission goes "public" an "Admin" user has to approve it. Also, there are only a few active accounts of the Joomla of the DEV server. Those are the only persons to whom you can send PM's. The "techdir" account has been sufficiently "protected"/restricted such that approval must be given by a "backended" admin for nearly all things related to the "techdir" account. You can, however, send PM to one of the accounts ... which are probably NOT checked very often. So don't expect a response, please! It is working as it should in that the user you write has to logon to the Joomla and access PM to see your message! You can, however, send a PM to yourself (the "techdir" account)! 
Yours, in the "spirit of sharing" ... and moving forward,
Ken Task
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