Year 7 Digital Technologies

Email: Sending with Outlook

Email is the communication tool you will use for the rest of your school life, and well beyond it. Today you will learn your way around Outlook, and send a proper email with all the right parts in all the right places.

Watch First

Class Demo: The House Party Email

Teacher-led — eyes on the board

Before you touch a keyboard, we will build an email together on the board. Imagine someone in the class is planning a house party. Watch closely as we create the draft:

  • Several students from the class are invited, so their addresses go into the To field.
  • Those students get to pick who their "parents" in the class are. These "parents" are entered into the CC field.
  • Into the BCC field goes tasmania.police@police.tas.gov.au, as well as the party planner's parent's email. Just in case.
As you watch, think about:
  • Who can see who else has received the email?
  • What would be a suitable subject?
  • How do you include an attached document?
Think It Through

Who Goes Where?

For each scenario below, think about who the most likely person, group or organisation would be to include in the To, CC and BCC fields. Decide on your answer first, then click each box to reveal a suggested answer.

🍽 Making a reservation at a restaurant

🌿 Going for a bush walk

Your Turn

Task: Send Your First Email

Now you build one yourself. Work through the steps in order, and tick each one off as you go.

  1. Open your inbox

    Use the mail app on your device, or navigate to https://outlook.office.com and sign in with your school account.

  2. Start a new email to a classmate

    Select New mail, then address it to another student in the class: username@stvirgils.tas.edu.au

  3. CC in your teacher

    Add your teacher's address to the CC field so they receive a copy too.

  4. Give it the right subject

    The subject line must be exactly: Computer Skill Email

  5. Attach a small file

    Sign into your OneDrive first, then attach any small file to the email.

  6. Write the body

    In the body of the email, explain what each of the following fields is used for (what their purpose is). If you are not sure, employ your research skills to find out.

    1. To:
    2. CC:
    3. BCC:
    4. Subject:
  7. Proofread, then send

    Check your spelling, check the addresses, and hit Send. Once an email leaves your outbox, there is no getting it back.

Before you press Send: right recipient? Teacher in CC? Correct subject? File attached? All four fields explained? Then you are good to go.
Why This Matters

Email Is Your Paper Trail

Here is a situation every student meets sooner or later: a task is overdue, and you need to sort it out with your teacher. You could mention it in the corridor, but a hallway conversation is easily forgotten, and there is no proof it ever happened. An email is different. Sending your teacher an email about an overdue task is one of the smartest moves you can make, because it creates a paper trail: a permanent, time-stamped record of the communication.

  • ✓It is evidence. Your Sent folder proves that you attempted to resolve the overdue task, exactly when you said you did.
  • ✓It is time-stamped. Nobody has to rely on memory about who said what and when. The date and time are recorded automatically.
  • ✓Both sides can refer back to it. If your teacher agrees to an extension in writing, that agreement is saved for both of you.
  • ✓It shows responsibility. A polite, clear email tells your teacher you are taking the problem seriously, which makes them far more likely to help.

This is a genuine life skill. In the workplace, "put it in an email" is how adults protect themselves and keep agreements clear. Start the habit now.

New message
To:teacher@stvirgils.tas.edu.au
Subject:Overdue Digital Technologies task
Dear Sir,

I am writing about my Digital Technologies task that was due on Friday. I have not finished it yet because I was away sick on Wednesday and Thursday.

I have completed most of it and can submit it by Monday. Would that be okay, or could we find a time to discuss it?

Thank you,
Your Name, 7C

A good overdue-task email: polite, honest, specific, and it proposes a solution.

Dig Deeper

Extra Challenges

Finished early? Investigate these:
  • How do you reply to an email, and what happens to a reply-all if you received the email as a BCC?
  • What are the digital footprint implications of forwarding an email?
  • How can you prove that you have sent an email?
In small groups: come up with other examples of emails that would require use of the To, CC and BCC fields. Be ready to share your best example with the class.