You can make use of a feature of BB8 in the discussion board area that enhances communication between students and the instructor.  It also keeps a good deal of email out of the personal email account of the instructor.  If a student posts a question or course related matter to the instructor in a forum such as Ask the Professor then when the instructor answers it all students can see the response.  This spares the instructor form answering the same question sent by email by several different students.  Students monitor this discussion forum to learn of clarifications and updates from the instructor in response to student queries and requests.

It should be made clear to students that this discussion forum is for questions related to the course but NOTHING PERSONAL.  For personal communications the use of email serves better to offer some degree of privacy.

How to do it?

Create a DB forum

Make forum available

Title forum: e.g., "Ask the Professor" or "Ask the Instructor" 

Allow members to subscribe

 Include body of post in email

Submit

 Then anyone entering the forum can subscribe by clicking on that option in the upper right.  They get a confirmation and all is set.

The instructor subscribes to the forum and receives the message from the student in an email.  Thus the instructor need not be in the class site to learn that a student ahs posed a question or asked for assistance from the instructor.

You can place this forum in a permanent position near the top of the DB

Here is a message for the discussion forum message window.