Today I learned some interesting new online
technologies. We were split into groups
of four and each one of us was given the opportunity to teach our group members
about a specific technology we could use ourselves or in the classrooms. I was tasked with teaching Skype. I was amazed with the countless ways I can
use Skype in the classroom. I had a lot
of fun putting together my presentation and thought I would share it here…
Step 1: Click “Save File”
to save the Skype Setup Application.
Step 2: Click the
Skype file in the Downloads window.
Step 3: Drag the
Skype icon into the image of your Applications folder.
Step 4: Open Skype
and sign in with your Skype Name and password.
Skype-What it is…
Skype is an over the Internet voice protocol service and
software application created in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. Microsoft purchased, and engulfed, Skype in
2011. Using the Internet, Skype allows
for communication of users via voice, video and instant messaging. Additionally, Skype allows users to make
phone call over the Internet as well.
Calls between Skype users are free, but call made to land lines and mobile
phones but are charged using a debit-based user account platform.
Skype and
Education
The educational uses of Skype appear to be without
limit. Spending just a little time in
Skypedominion you quickly find it is a digital wonderland. The potential of this Internet technology in
the classroom is only hampered by the imagination of those using it. Skype is an exciting communication tool that
when properly capitalized upon will be fruitful to not only teachers but
students as well. The Internet has become
a dominant force in the world for finding, using and sharing information. The walls of the traditional classroom have
been torn down and the world, and its wonders, has replaced the barricades of
imagination. Young students at Allen
Elementary “met” several times via Skype to share information with Japanese
elementary students about what their school, and life, is like.
http://news.a2schools.org/allen-3rd-graders-share-with-japanese-classmates-via-skype/
This wonderful experience allowed the children to talk
with one another from half way around the world, all from the confines of their
classroom.
And yes, Dad moment, that is my daughter!
But
wait, there is more, so much more…what is it you ask? Well, let’s see where the search for
information takes us…hopping on the magical mouse we see...
The classroom is a place
of learning, and what better way to learn than by using what the entire world
has to offer as your guide!!! Expanding
the horizons of your students imaginations can help motivate them into learning…one small click by the teacher, one huge step for the students…
This FREE
service, oh yes, I said it, FREE!! Turns the traditional learning room into
infinite epicenter of learning. As we
saw earlier, learning about Japan, who better to learn about it from than
Japanese students who are learning about the United States…Want to know what it is like to survive
in some of the coldest parts of the world… http://education.skype.com/projects/2507-my-life-in-a-freezer-from-the-extremes-of-the-planet-connecting-straight-into-classrooms-around-the-globe
OR visit any other country if
the world? Make new friends or learn about what it is like in places your
students have never gone…as
Skype proclaims, CONNECT YOUR CLASSROOM TO THE WORLD
http://education.skype.com/…OR perhaps you want to know what it is like
to be a Forrest Ranger http://education.skype.com/projects/2237-yellowstone-national-park-rangers-can-skype-with-classrooms OR, you want your students to converse with Native
Spanish speaking students… http://education.skype.com/projects/2478-conversation-partners-spanish
OR you are looking for
some clubs, other experiences, ideas about food, how to become and
entrepreneur, it’s ALL THERE, http://education.skype.com/collections
And many, many more you have yet
to discover!!! How about at least
50 more mays to use Skype in the classroom.… http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/ But, just in case that is not
enough, here are some more ways to use Skype in the classroom... http://www.teachhub.com/using-skype-classroom/ SO OPEN YOUR CLASSROOM UP
TO THE WORLD, WHERE LEARNING IS ONLY LIMITED BY IMAGINATION!
But as class showed
us today, even technology is not infallible, and many times the answer is
difficult to find. Technology is a
wonderful tool and should never be discounted, but even the best technology can
still not be perfect.
I love love love all the uses for Skype that you came up with! This week I had a hard time thinking about the benefits that Skype offers--but these are great ideas. I would love to have some sort of pen-pal experience for my students...and learning about different parts of the world through talking with people who live there is exactly my cup of tea. In my blog posting this week I kind of went on a rant about the uselessness of Skype, Dropbox, and Evernote...I'm already starting to change my mind.
ReplyDeleteAwesome ideas! ...very colorful, too.
I have always been hesitant when it comes to all the applications on the Internet. Heck, even after our class, I was still overwhelmed, but I think my issue is more about not understanding how to use the application rather than thinking they will not be useful. As I am sure most of the class knows, I am the guy always looking for help just setting these things up...I will spend some more time with them, once we have some time, and hopefully, my mentor teacher in the fall/winter will be using them so I can learn more, so we shall see...
DeleteBut let me tell you, I had a BLAST with Skype.... it is a good thing Kristin and Jeff only allowed two pages, otherwise my list would have been a whole lot longer. I went into this assignment worried I would be hard pressed to come up with information, and boy was I wrong! What an amazing tool! I spent hours looking through everything Skype has to offer and still there is more. The best, and most fun part, for me, was the connection I had with it already...I am still chuckling that my daughter's class had Skyped with elementary students in Japan a bit over a year ago...hmm...kismet I would say...I will tell you, I will be using Skype in my classroom!
I concur with Alyssa that you have some great Skype usages here!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how into something you get when you are having a good time with it...I kept messing with the margins and font size so I could add more...I could have made the handout many, many more pages longer, lol...
DeleteJohn, what a fantastic experience for your daughter!
ReplyDeleteI talked to my 12-year-old son about the fact that we are exploring how to use Skype in the classroom, and I asked him what he thought. His first idea of how Skype could be used in schools would be in a "pen-pal" (his words) context. The way he explained it, you could do this to get a chance to meet kids you'd been writing to already. I'm really glad he was still thinking about the writing!
I also asked if he's ever used Skype (in the class or out). He said no. His teacher this past year did use it once — but he was absent that day. A classmate, while on a trip to Europe, used Skype to check in with the class and share what the student had been seeing/eating/learning. Because my son wasn't there, he doesn't know if the teacher did any kind of writing with the students following that, but I imagine a teacher could. For example, each student could write a short reflection on what he/she found most interesting.
It really was fun and the kids were really into it! They “met” with the students from Japan three times and it was in the evening, around 6ish, so after school. Every student in her class showed up to participate and each had readings to do. It was interesting watching how our kids interacted with their kids and an amazing opportunity for all of the kids.
DeleteI believe this would be a great learning experience for any students who would like to take advantage of the opportunity!
Skype fanatic! I found it amusing when, after all the bright lights and flashy colors of your Skype frenzy, you admitted to finding the other information overwhelming! In all honesty, Skype was the one I initially prescribed as least useful but now I must reconsider. After perusing "Skype in the classroom," I'm beginning to envision uses within a physics classroom. Also, my group members pointed out a lot of useful features for the other applications, such as the photo sharing options in Dropbox, which stores pictures on an easily accessible, immediately updated web page that could be used for sharing student work within the classroom or with parents. Thanks for sharing your ideas, John!
ReplyDeleteReally appreciated the Skype lesson. I have used it before, but just to video-chat with people. I did not realize all the applications it had.
ReplyDeleteI think the best thing about all these applications is that it legitimizes your lessons. My instructor for 402 and 511 is Charles and he is continually telling us to "Warrant your claims."
Getting experts on Skype is an unprecedented way to "Warrant your lesson" in class.
One of the highlights of classroom instruction used to be the day when the firemen came in or the scientists came in....now that day can be any day!
A plug for Evernote. I use it as a "Brain dumping grounds".....meaning anything I want to remember, but don't want to remember to remember....goes in Evernote. If you have a smart-phone, you can get the Evernote App and throw things in their real easy.
What a colorful presentation! There was a good amount of content as well. I "taught" Skype too, but my group was already familiar with how it worked, so we focused on the educational uses too. I think it is cool to be able to search for so much information about Skype and education. Thanks for the links.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you've stirred up a lot of interest, John, both with your enthusiasm and with the resources/ideas that you've enumerated above. I must tell you that this tool offers the potential to do things that teachers, even a few years ago, could only have dreamed about. Amazing!
ReplyDelete