New member Welcome and FAQ page
Welcome!
By signing up for this College Board-sponsored Electronic Discussion Group (also known as the APE listserv), you have joined a thriving community of over 6000 teachers of English and related subjects, mostly in the United States but also from all over the world, who teach AP English courses and other English courses in high schools, virtual schools, colleges and universities. The listserv is a fabulous resource for instructional techniques, advice, materials, discussion of issues related to teaching, and other things. It is also a "virtual staff lounge", where teachers gather daily to share their stories about teaching and their lives, to celebrate and commiserate, to debate with one another and mentor each other.
This document was compiled in an effort to help those new to the list. It has been my experience that newcomers can find this list, with its thousands of participants and hundreds of emails a day, intimidating and confusing. Often it takes a couple of weeks of "listening in" to get into the rhythm of things. Over time, we tend to see many of the same questions crop up, and on occasion people find themselves frustrated by not knowing things that others take for granted. I have tried to compile a list of many of these Frequently Asked Questions and, with help from other listserv members, have created this page to try to make these things a bit easier to understand.
Welcome again, and we hope that you come to value this listserv as much as we do!
You may want to bookmark this page and refer to it as you become more familiar with the listserv.
Note: Although I teach AP and have been on this list for a few years, I am not directly affiliated with the College Board. Many of the opinions expressed in this document are my own, supplemented with input from other list members.
APE Listserv FAQ Contents:
Use the menu on the right-hand side of this blog to navigate between the different sections of the FAQ as outlined below in the contents.
A. Getting started
- When can I start posting?
- How do I reply to someone's post?
- How do I introduce myself?
- Who is "in charge" of the list?
- Is there a cost associated with the list?
- Who are some of the people on the list?
B. Handling communication on the list
- Help! There are so many messages every day. How do I read them all? (incl. IMPORTANT NOTE on labeling messages accurately)
- How do I change the format in which I receive my mail?
- What do I do if I go on vacation and don't want my inbox to get clogged with messages?
- There are two AP English courses, Language and Literature. Why don't they just create separate lists for them?
- Why does the message I opened not contain what was indicated in the subject header? (Incl: Frequently-used labels)
- Why did no-one respond to my request for materials?
- I'm sure my request has been made before. Is it OK to make it again?
- The answer to my question is out there on the internet somewhere! Should I ask people on the list first?
- There seems to be a lot of non-English-related discussion on the list. Why don't people just stick to what the list is for and take their debates and political commentaries elsewhere? (Incl: Principles to remember when debating)
- Wow, that person just said something really offensive! What do I do?
- What is not considered appropriate communication on the list?
C. Getting more information
- Why can't I send or receive attachments through the listserv?
- How do I get materials that someone has offered to send via email? (Incl: Acknowledging receipt of offlist materials)
- How do I reach the archives?
- What is this "bootcamp" (or other APE technique shorthand) I keep hearing about and how do I get my hands on the instructions?
- I'm a new/new AP teacher and don't have many materials to share. Is it OK to ask for others' materials without reciprocating?
- Are there other sites where I can find more AP-related materials?
- Are there other sites where I can find materials contributed by listserv members?
