Telecommunications in the classroom helps transform familiar types of assignments into new forms, increasing students' motivation while extending opportunities for critical thinking. This goals of this study were to increase apprentice teachers' technology use and evaluation skills while determining the value of e-mail communication in facilitating those processes. Participants were secondary English Education majors at Buffalo State College (New York), enrolled in the Methods for Teaching English course. All students were required to complete regular self- and course-assessments to accompany their reading logs and were offered the choice of forms: the traditional notebook-style handwritten journal or e-mail. During the fall 1994 semester, 13 of the 27 students chose to use e-mail; students received ongoing feedback, explored teaching concerns through writing, and developed their self-assessment skills by means of a continued written "dialogue" with the instructor. The relative immediacy of e-mail communication, unlike the handwritten documents submitted weekly by non-participants, allowed the students and instructor to participate in daily discussions and offered a means to communicate as concerns arose. Data accrued from the study suggest that an e-mail journal helps students synthesize their learning and develop increased self-assessment skills beyond that of traditional journaling. The project also allowed the instructor to receive a more comprehensive understanding of the students' concerns and perceptions and to assess her work through such feedback. (AEF)