Gmail Alias

Create an alias email using Gmail or Google Apps Mail. Give yourself unlimited email addresses that appear in the same inbox using this formula: username+alias@yourschool.org. By placing a plus sign (+) after the username it signals to Gmail to read only the username before the +, anything after it the user gets to choose. 

This comes in helpful for many reasons but my favorite is turning in student assignments. In the past students just emailed or shared in Google Drive an assignment that was due, but this cluttered my inbox and drowned out other important mail in the sea of assignments. With using an alias I can instruct 1st period students to turn in homework assignment 4 to mjgraham+1stHW4@hbgsd.org. This appears in the regular inbox of mjgraham@hbgsd.org. To differentiate it I can simply create a filter and label for messages that were sent to mjgraham+1stHW4@hbgsd.org. That way I can have all students submit homework into a specified folder that skips my regular inbox to be graded when I have time. Everything is organized and can be accessed with any Internet connection on any device. 

Other ways to use this:

1. Give email to colleagues
2. Organize contacts from conferences you have been to by selecting an email to give to people that is specific to the conference: mjgraham+iste@hbgsd.org
3. Print specific business cards with an alias specific to the group

To create a filter and label system follow these steps.

For more tips and tricks explicitly linked to the Common Core State Standards look for Michael J. Graham's upcoming book Google Apps Meets Common Core 

www.21learning.net

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