Skype is listed at number 11 on the top 100 tools for Learning in 2009. This is actually a small drop from where it was listed in 2008 and 2007. While it is frequently used in the general community, it still has to “take off” in educational settings.
The 2009 Horizon Report: K-12 edition lists Skype in the One Year or Less Online Communication Tools. It says “Desktop video conferencing knocks down classroom walls and brings subject experts and co-learners from all over the world into the classroom.”
Already there are lots of teacher-generated ideas about how we might use Skype so that teachers and students can interact with their peers beyond the classroom walls.
Here are some links to check:
My introduction to Skype occurred earlier this year when a class in a Perth school rang me to have a “conversation.”
So last week I asked teacher colleagues what experience they had had of Skype and was pleasantly surprised by what they reported. I will spread their responses over a couple of posts.
Anne Mirtschin, ICTEV Leader of the year for 2009, and recently the recipient of an excellence in Teaching Award, is a teacher at Hawkesdale P12 College, in country western Victoria, Australia.
She writes
I have done a lot of videoconferencing with skype over the last two years, with amazing learning outcomes.
Talked to students in West Java hours after an earthquake went through whilst tsunami warnings were paramount.
Shared traditional games, modern dancing, objects from our areas with schools in Connecticut and Malaysia.
I am passionate about the use of Skype. People across the world find it user friendly but my biggest connection difficulties have been with Australian schools and experts!
If you would like to investigate further information about Anne’s use of Skype check her blog posts.
Damien Morgan from Dalby Queensland told me this story:
First of all, I had better tell you that I have never used Skype (but I know people who do!).
We have a little girl at our school currently recovering from a bone-marrow transplant in the Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. As she ( and her mother) are in isolation for some 8 weeks to avoid infection, we were able to set her up with a laptop with internet access and webcam, with similar for her father and siblings. We also put a webcam in her classroom at school, and her classmates have just in the last week begun chatting with her using Skype. A couple of things: obviously she can be very tired/sick, so contact is sort of arranged through her mum, who also is able to use the technology to keep in touch with her husband and three other kids. We thought it important that as far as possible Ainsleigh (the little girl) be kept as part of her class group. She won’t physically return to school before Easter, and probably not until second semester next year.
I am also happy to point out that our local Harvey Norman store has been very actively involved in providing the laptops (through HP), the webcams (courtesy of LogiTech) and arranging the internet and phone access (free (!) from Telstra). We have been bowled over by the generosity of these major corporations and retailers in their willingness to assist a family in their time of great need.
BTW, the latest prognosis for Ainsleigh is cautiously positive, but she has a long road ahead of her.
Have you tried using Skype in your classroom? Please tell us about your experiences in a comment.
3 Comments
Our regional Scratch Day 09 event made very successful use of Skype. It allowed Google Engineer, Tim Ansell, to participate in the activity by sharing his learning journey and what it is like working in the IT Industry. The flood of questions form this was very impressive.
We asked participants, prior to the event, for questions and there were virtually none. They were very keen to meet Tim but did not have questions. His simple sharing of his journey via Skype is what created the flood.
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Our students were learning about Asia and we set up a Skype interview with someone in India so they could ask questions directly to a primary source. It was absolutely amazing!! See an extract here http://bit.ly/1IKKVl
Skype has been a user friendly free online software tool that most people globally can use without any training. One of the newer applications is the fact that you can screen share. eg ifyou have photos on your desktop or a presentation you can share that with the other class, speaker, audience etc. It allows chat to qualify and interpret what you are saying. However, I have still found it harder to connect with Australian experts and classes than I have with global audiences. Many organizations in Australia have blocked skype and the connections have often dropped out for us.
Communication skills are an important element in 21st century education, with the voice and use of the web cam taking on ever increasing significance. Videoconferencing enables the practise of these skills.
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