Skype and Video Conferencing

I recently read the article, Web Conferencing Finds Elementary School Niche by Ian Quillen and wondered why more teachers didn’t include Skype in their lesson planning. So I began to look for Skype resources for teachers by beginning with a link from this article.

Web Chat Challenge - http://www.breweredu.org/node/295
The teacher used Skype to stay in touch with a student who moved to another state.  Skype has grown into a great learning experience for her students. Since this initial experience the teacher has set up meetings with other third grade students in all fifty states. The students keep a journal of what they learn and place stickers by each state visited on a map. Besides learning about the similarities and differences between their state and the visited state, students are also learning about time zones, how to communicate through technology, networking and teamwork skills according to Cherrie MacInnes, the teacher.

Skype an Author Network. http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/
This site provides directions for teachers and librarians and for the authors. Teachers can look through the list of authors, select an author and preview a session from the author. The site offers a discussion forum, photos and videos. This is a great site for teachers and librarians to check out.

Skype - The Big Blog - http://blogs.skype.com/en/  and https://support.skype.com/
Good site to learn about Skype, how to download and setup Skype for your classroom.

The Fire Roars, Our Skype Concert-
http://mustech.net/2008/08/27/the-fire-roars-our-skype-concert
During a Travis Wells’s Spring Instrumental Concert three composers from the pieces being performed talked with the performers, conductor and audience. What a great way to connect students to the composers.

Also take a look at the resources we have listed from our wiki site:
http://wsfcs.pbworks.com/Skype-in-Schools

And the parent asks, “What did you learn on Skype today?”
http://blogs.skype.com/play/education/
This site provides several great reasons for using Skype in the classroom including a boy recovering from leukemia who attends class everyday from home using Skype.

Over the summer is a great time to find other schools interested in using Skype. Check out this Skype directory of interested schools in the United States.
http://skypeinschools.pbworks.com/Directory

Students can now connect with others around the world, explain and show what they’ve learned and/or Skype a musical performance to other students. Bringing the world to every child in every class through Skype is an exciting way to learn.