[Year 12 IPM] Mail merge with a difference -- via email !

[Kevork Krozian]

Hi folks,

         If mail merging to email addresses and delivering via email is something you have done then this message will not be of much interest to you . But if you are interested , read on ...

       I recently had the need to send 3 unique pieces of information to all staff at my school  ( account, password etc.).

 1. Solution 1 -- ask each staff member to come and see me , synchronize the time we are both free, log on , retrieve and write or print their details and hand it to them. 75 staff times 3 minutes each = 150 minutes.

 2. Convert the data ( in a text file ) to an Excel or Access "database" and mail merge the data , print and pigeon hole for everybody to collect when they next visit their pigeon hole. 5 minutes of my time to mail merge, 75 sheets of A4 paper, printer and toner use, 10 minutes to pigeon hole and time for each staff member to collect etc.

3. Convert the data ( in a text file ) to an Excel or Access "database" and mail merge not letters but email messages to each recipient's email address ( in the data base also ) and click send. 5 minutes of my time and viola !. Any future search in their mailbox for the key words will allow retrieval of the message for further use now, in 1 month and in 1 year without losing bits of paper.
  
   I know for some this is perhaps ho hum, but I really believe it is the future when individualized information has to be sent to a large group and both time and resources are in precious short supply.

  Another application of communication that comes to mind is in the creation of a web solution to a problem -- not just static pages, but the facility to capture user input via a form , and either save to a database behind the web server, or email contents to an email address.

   As we move to Information and Communications Technology ( from Information Technology ), I think we need to keep pushing the envelope with this mind set to truly utilize the tools we have access to and teach the students the power of both information and communication.  

( He steps off his soap box !) 

Best Wishes

     

Kevork Krozian
IT Manager , Forest Hill College
k.krozian at fhc.vic.edu.au
http://www.fhc.vic.edu.au
Mobile: 0419 356 034