Gmail In The Classroom

As a substitute teacher, I do not use email in the classroom.  I do, however, see how it is valuable for teaching.  In one a couple of the districts I work in, the first 20 minutes in the morning are spent in a "homeroom" type setting.  The first thing the students are to do is to check their email.  It will give them any work they have missed, they can email teachers to go into their resource at the end of the day.  The students will also find out if they have been called into a resource to get extra help.  Gmail in the classroom is wonderful, the students can communicate with the teacher at any point of the day.