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Unit 06 - eMail & Social Media

Topic outline

  • Welcome

    • By the end of this unit, you should be able to demonstrate the capability of using internet including e-mail, search, and social media functions in classwork.

                    Learning Objectives:

          1. Know and understand different e-mail and social media applications
          2. Identify different areas where internet functions are applicable in the classroom, particularly e-Mail and social media.



      4 hours

      This is the final unit is to be completed at the ICT Essentials workshop and will be facilitated face to face by an e-Tutor. Tutorial materials and  assignments are available here on the LMS.

  • Introduction


    • Click on the video below to watch a quick introduction to ICT Essentials Unit 06 eMail &Social Media


    • Social media has revolutionized communication, business and even the way we interact day to day. Social media can be used for many things: staying in touch with friends and family, promoting a cause or keeping up with trending topics and news.

      Knowing how to use social media is an essential 21st century skill. To help you master this skills, this course will show you how social networks can be used to innovate the classroom and broaden your own professional skill-set and personal learning network.

    • Click on the links below to learn more about social media.

  • e-Mail


    • 90 minutes


    • In this day and age everyone needs an e-mail address! 'Snail mail' is becoming very unreliable and has always been slow. As we all have access to mobiles it make sense that your mail should come directly to your device. Is there a way to incorporate e-mail into teaching and learning? Let us consider this.


    • You are required to complete the GFC Learn Free tutorials below. These tutorials will cover various aspects of eMailing such as reading, composing, sending, forwarding, replying and deleting messages as well as attaching documents or files to a message.

    • Click on the links below to begin your tutorials:

    • Now let us use e-mail communication to support the curriculum. Using eMail see if you can do the following: 

      1. Read, compose, send, forward, reply and delete messages
      2. Attach documents, such as class notes, past papers and assignment details to a message to be sent to students;
      3. Create a group mail for your class.

  • Using WhatsApp as a Social Media


    • 40 minutes


    • Now that you have learned the basics of using eMail, it's time to learn more about another popular tool called WhatsApp. How can we use this to communicate with our class, colleagues and even with the teachers on this course?


    •  Work through the GFC Learn Free WhatsApp tutorial below and then set up a your own WhatsApp account in order to join the ICT Essentials WhatsApp group.

    • Click on the links below to begin your tutorial:


    • Now it's time to set up a your own WhatsApp account and join the ICT Essentials WhatsApp group.

  • Using Twitter as a Social Media


    • 60 minutes


    • The Ministry of Education is a big fan of Twitter and has their own handle, @Rwanda_Edu, so how might you contact them and give them your perspective on educational issues? Lets find out how to set up an account and then communicate direct with the ministry!


    • To learn more about Twitter and how to make effective use of this tool,  work through the GFC LearnFree Twitter tutorials below. Once you have completed the tutorials see if you can find information on the Ministry of Education Twitter Guidelines. There is no link provided to the guidelines here so you will need to research this on your own using the skills you learned in the unit on Educational Internet.

    • Click on the links below to begin your tutorials:


    • It's time to put the new information you have learned into practice. You are encouraged to set up a Twitter account of your own and/or Whats App account and create a connected group. Demonstrate ways in which you can use Twitter to enhance your own professional networking.

  • Blogs


    • 20 minutes


    • A blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

      The main reasons why educators use blogs include:

        1. Share information and class news with parents, family and caregivers.
        2. Provide students with a way to access assignments, homework, resources and information about their class online.
        3. For global collaboration and authentic audience.
        4. To inspire and motivate students.

    • Create your first post using your Moodle blog where you reflect on your own use of social media platform in the classroom. Make sure you mention how the use of social media and email can enhance your collaboration with peers, students and parents. 

      1. Look for the blog faciliity in the panel on the right hand side of this screen.
      2. Click on 'Add an entry about this course'
      3. Write your post and make sure you save it before exiting the screen.


      Alternatively you can open a free blog account on an external blog platform, such as Word Press. This can be used after this course. Access the tutorial below and follow the instructions.

  • Portfolio Assignment


    • 20 minutes

    • You now need to report on the three mini tutorials we covered in this unit. 

      1. Provide evidence that you can read, compose, send, forward, reply and delete e-mail messages, attach documents, such as class notes, lesson Ppans for your class.
      2. Set up a Twitter account;
      3. In your blog reflect on your own use of social media platform in the classroom. How might social media and e-mail enhance your collaboration with peers, students, parents and community?


  • Attribution

  • Open License

    • All material in this ICT Essentials for Teachers Course unit is licensed by the Ministry of Education, Rwanda under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License with the exception of the resources listed below:

      GCF LearnFree's Tutorials WhatsApp, Twitter 101, eMail 101, Beyond eMail, Gmail.

      All content not licensed under a Creative Commons license is all rights reserved, and you must request permission from the copyright owner to use this material.