1. Mail Merge for Educators Susan Silverman www.susansilverman.com www.susansilverman.com

2. Jan 20052 Do you ever send …  Permission Slips  Progress Reports  Class Supply Letters  Certificates  Letters to Parents  Class Events Information  Requests for Parent Volunteers

3. Jan 20053 How is it done without mail merge? Dear _________, _______’s class will be having an end of the year picnic on June 15. We would appreciate it if you would contribute ______. Please have _____ bring this to school the morning of our picnic. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Teacher Compose letter Run off many copies Check records for names of parents Fill in the details Time Consuming!

4. Jan 20054 There’s An Easier Way! Dear [Parent], [Student First]’s class will be having an end of the year picnic on June 15. We would appreciate if you would contribute [Picnic Item]. Please have [Student First] bring it to school the morning of our picnic. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Teacher ParentStudent FirstPicnic Item Mr. and Mrs. JonesAlicepaper cups Ms. WhiteJamesketchup Mr. ReynoldsKathy1 watermelon Mr. and Mrs. ScottEvanhamburger rolls Microsoft Word Document (master)Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (database) Customized Letters MASTER + DATABASE (with Mail Merge) = Placeholder

5. Jan 20055 What is a Database?  A structured collection of information.  Fields in Columns  Records in Rows  Can be in many file formats, e.g.  Text File (comma separated values) Text File  Word Table Word Table  Access Database Access Database  Excel Spreadsheet Excel Spreadsheet

6. Jan 20056 The Process - Step 1  Compose a letter in Microsoft Word  Create a placeholder for “Merged Fields”  Watch This! Watch This!

7. Jan 20057 The Process - Step 2  Create a spreadsheet with information you need for the letter.  Each “placeholder” in your form letter needs to be a column in the spreadsheet. These are called “merge fields.”  Each “row” has the data for a custom letter.  Let’s see an example.example

8. Jan 20058 The Process - Step 3  Go back to your document  Follow the steps in the mail merge wizard  Open the database  Select recipients  Replace placeholders with fields  Print Letters

9. Jan 20059 What You’ve Just Seen  Power Point was used for a non-linear presentation  Active Engagement  More Interesting  Use of a customized master  Students will know this was created specially for them!

10. Jan 200510 WalkThrough Time  Create a certificate and use the mail merge tool  A certificate is nothing more than a word document with clip art, word art and borders.