Listservs Electronic Conferences for Education Electronic conferences, often known as listserv conferences , are an important resource for educators. New educators in particular get an opportunity to discover what topics are being discussed in the profession at large, to learn who is involved in these discussions, and to make themselves known within the profession by their own contributions. Seasoned professionals exchange tips and techniques. Listserv conferences are accessed by subscription. The term listserv itself refers to software used on a server computer to maintain the subscription list and distribute messages to all subscribers.
Subscribers receive messages, known as postings , in their e-mail.
To subscribe to a listserv conference, one generally sends an e-mail message to the computer that maintains the subscription list. The conference is run from a computer at Teacher University. Notice that the subscription message is not sent to the conference itself, but to the computer software address that maintains the list. Commands to change your options or to delete your subscription will be carried out only if the listserv computer can match the address. After subscribing to a listserv conference, it is customary to listen in for a period of time before sending messages.