I thought I’d share this NY Times article about how and why college students do not use e-mail: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/fashion/technology-and-the-college-generation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Interesting — they feel it’s antiquated! Aaagh! I AM old! 😉 I take to heart the additional comment in the article that some students who might consider using e-mail shy away from it because they worry about the etiquette (eg., what do I put in the subject line? how do I address my instructor? etc.) . This made me think I’ll add a little lesson about that at the beginning of each semester. The authors go on to say how many of us veteran e-mail users do not composing effective messages, so how can we expect our students to use this tool effectively?
–Tanya
deanhcc 
Thanks for sharing this NY Times article, Tanya. No kidding about making us feel old! Interesting that the article is listed under “Fashion & Style”, and then the caption under the comic strip says: “School is a boring thing. Email is a boring thing. It goes together.” It’s a good thing that as teachers, we learn to have a sense of humor in order to survive students’ complaints & criticism. On the other hand, it’s a valid reminder that we need to stay “current” in order to connect with our students. Andrey