I have used it for at least a couple of years for personal use, but I am interested in how it might be used in schools. Last year, Debra Hanks and I made history in her school district when we set up a Skype video chat between her students and me. They asked me questions about coastal South Carolina where I live. While I had difficulty hearing the students, it was a great experience for this ol’ teacher-without-students. I hope to get the pleasure of Skyping with her third-graders as well as another class of third-graders at the same school. There seemed to have been a bit of rivalry over who got to talk to the lady about the alligators.
I have been working on a volunteer program at a local high school to set up Skype between a Spanish class and some native Spanish speakers. Several of my Spanish speaking former students have shown interest in communicating with the students who are learning Spanish. Last night I introduced one of these now-college students to Skype. She was quite impressed that this old dog knew a trick that she didn’t. Another one found me in Skype the day before, and all she could do was worry about her hair. So, for some, seeing the person to whom you speak (or yourself as they see you might be a detriment.
Some of the problems—in addition to seeing yourself on your computer—have to do with poor quality video and sound that goes in and out. These are likely the problems with the individual computers. Another issue in collaboration is differences in time zones; users have to set up time when they can get together comfortably.
Another potential problem is that while you can call anyone even on a non-Skype phone, it is not free. To Skype for free, both parties have to download Skype.
Some of the advantages may come from actually seeing who you are talking to. I get to see a grandson on the West Coast every now and then. I also like that I can see who is online before I contact them.
If you would like to see more about Skype, go to http://about.skype.com/
Below is a graphic of Skype showing what it might look like once it is set up. I wrote a Skype tutorial for a previous class that will help you get going if you would like to try it:http://8847shelton.wikispaces.com/Skype+Tutorial
Cynthia, I also enjoy using Skype. I had never heard of it until I started taking classes at Walden. My sister lives in Texas and we can see other and talk anytime we would like. My family found a new way that we could all see other and talk at the same time. It is call ooVoo and my midlle school son told me about. Apparently, Skype is old and ooVoo is the new technology that they all use. Unlike Skype, on ooVoo more than two people can video conference. Skype does not currently have that capability. With ooVoo, students can collaborate on projects. Skype is still a great technology if you only want to conference through instant messaging or with one other person.
ReplyDeleteHi Cynthia, I really enjoy hearing about your experiences with Skype. Being the recipient of your using Skype with my class has certainly opened my eyes to its potential. Deb :)
ReplyDeleteSkype is a great free resource that allows a variety of people to get together to talk or video conference. I personally have used it within my Walden courses and to keep in touch with family members. My own experiences with the program is that if the video quality is low or if there are any other technology glitches then there is great frustration. It seems to function like any other piece of technology; when it works its great and when it doesn’t all you want to do is pull your hair out!
ReplyDeleteI have had no personal experience trying to incorporate Skype into my classroom but think that there are numerous possibilities. Once I were to get past the possible technology hang ups, the logistics, and timing I can see it as a great resource and learning tool for myself and my students. I foresee lots and lots of preparation to make this type of thing go smoothly!
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteI hadn’t heard of Skype until I started taking classes with Walden. I love using Skype. I can even use it to talk to my family members rather than using minutes on my cell phone. I really enjoy using the Skype IM to talk about things as well. I could see myself using Skype in the classroom to connect with other math classes at different schools. I’m thinking of trying to connect with another 4th grade classroom and have students maybe complete projects with students in the other class. In order to get this done, they would definitely have to use Skype to discuss their information.
Cynthia--I definitely agree that Skype is a cool application--this is the SciFi "picture phone" that never actually got implemented by the traditional phone company, but with the right synthesis of existing web-based technologies (VoIP, webcams, audio/video compression, etc.) it has come to pass in this form!
ReplyDeleteI use Skype to talk with my sister, who is now living in Belgium, as international traditional phone rates are absurd!!! As we both have computers and are quite computer-literate, this was a natural. My niece is currently living and traveling in Greece, and uses Skype from ber laptop at the local Internet Cafe to check in and let her parents know that she is OK--it is an awesome technology!