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Overcoming the email obstacle for student Google Docs accounts
by Jim McDermott


We love Google Docs, yes we do, we love Google Docs, how about you?  With the ability for real-time online collaboration from any web-enabled machine, Google Docs creates so many new opportunities for collaboration, peer review, project based learning, and file sharing / storage.  I’m recommending that every educator put this tool in their toolbelt and imagine how it can transform what they do.

The problem is that to have a Google Docs account, you need an email address.  You need it to verify your Google Docs account.  Most elementary and some middle school students don’t have email addresses and their parents may not want them to have one.  If a teacher helps a student create an email account and the student uses that account for troublemaking or connects to the wrong people, there could be some liability issues.  At least that’s what scares teachers.

Mailcatch.com is a disposable email address service.  You create an email address by just using it.  Then you go to mailcatch.com and retrieve any emails sent to it.  In a few hours, the email disappears.  You can't send email from it and you can return to it to get recovery password emails.

So for example, let’s say you want to make an Google Doc account for Jenny Love, your 4th grade student in class 406.  Go to Google Docs and click create a new account.  Then when it asks for the email address (which is what they use as the username), enter jennylove_406@mailcatch.com.  Finish filling the form out and then click Create my account (or OK).  Now, go to Mailcatch.com and enter “jennylove_406″ in the check your inbox box.  You should see the confirm your account email in there (sometimes it takes a few minutes).  Open the email, click the confirmation link and voila!  You've overcome the email obstacle and created a Google Docs account for your student.

Jim McDermott has served the New York City Department of Education as a teacher and an instructional technology specialist. He has presented at state, regional, and national education technology conferences on topics such as project based learning, immersive gaming, online learning communities, and technology based curriculum development. As an avid blogger, Mr. McDermott's "Tales of a Technology Omnivore" can be found at http://techomnivore.wordpress.com. His current interests revolve around online learning, web 2.0 tools in the classroom, and his long time passion: feature rich mobile devices.
  • Anonymous on Fri, 04/23/2010 - 15:00

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  • Anonymous on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 06:23

    Can you also use the variations on a gmail address trick so all the confirmation emails go to one email account that only you access? It was mentioned in the gmail blog at one point. I'm going to see if I can find a link.
    Yay! found it http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/2-hidden-ways-to-get-more-from-you... (thanks @librarianedge)
    If understand it correctly you could just add +studentname to any gmail address and it will go to the address before the +
    Has anyone used it for this purpose?

  • Anonymous on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 18:37

    Hi Jim,

    This is great and disposable email serves many purposes. Thanks for sharing.

    What, then, to do about Google's new requirement that users use a mobile phone to sign up? This was a big problem for me and my students, and continues to be as colleagues and students without mobile phones try to set up accounts.

    How does one get a Google account without access to a mobile phone/without the ability to receive a text message?

    Allison

  • Anonymous on Tue, 05/26/2009 - 15:13

    Jim,

    Please contact me at Jorech@csd99.org

    I would like to discuss something with you.

    Jon Orech
    Instructional Technology Coordinator
    Downers Grove South High School
    Downers Grove, Illinois

  • Anonymous on Tue, 12/16/2008 - 20:21

    http://mailinator.com/ -- also works well.

  • Anonymous on Sat, 12/13/2008 - 21:16

    WOW Thanks...why didn't I think of that!!!

  • Anonymous on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 15:48

    This is exactly what I have been looking for! There are lots of different applications that require an e-mail address just to sign up. So, thank you for sharing this useful tip!
    Marty Wilmer
    Technology Coordinator
    James River Day School
    Lynchburg VA

  • Anonymous on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 15:01

    Jim,
    You are now in the category of "genius"! I am a Google Certified Teacher, having been selected for the New York City cohort in 2007. This is the FIRST TIME anyone has ever figured out a way to activate student accounts without encountering problems with privacy. I teach in Westfield, NJ and will be using this with my students.
    THANK YOU!!!
    Pam Friedman
    www.westfieldnjk12.org/computerlab
    http://sites.google.com/site/gtaresources/pam-friedman

  • Anonymous on Wed, 11/05/2008 - 15:28

    Hello Jim,

    I am a doctoral student and teacher of Technology in the Classroom at the University of Iowa. I also do a lot of work with distance education technologies, instructional design initiatives, etc. I have created a video tutorial-based website that provides instruction on using the free google applications for academic, research, and social purposes.

    The site can be accessed at:

    http://scootervineburgh.info/googleit/

    If you find this useful, please pass it on to others.

    Thanks,
    Scooter

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