Connecting Students to the world with Skype

Skype is a free and easy way for teachers to open up their classroom and their students to a world way beyond their campus. With Skype, students can learn from other students, connect with other cultures, and expand their knowl­edge in amazing ways. Teachers and parents can also benefit from Skype in the classroom.

Skype is a FREE VoIP (Voice over Inter­net Protocol) technology that allows you to make audio and video phone calls from your computer!  You can “skype” to connect with experts, educators and other classrooms all over the world!

30 ways to use Skype:

1. See Me, Hear Me: Skype in the Classroom. Read how these students had the opportunity to chat with an au­thor of the book they studied via Skype.
2. Videoconferencing in the Classroom with Skype. This teacher used the movie “Hoop Dreams” to help teach about social inequality, then was able to get the execu­tive producer of the movie, Gordon Quinn, to participate in a Skype session with her class.
3. The Many Roles of Skype in the Classroom. These amazing 7th graders used Skype as a part of their his­tory project that resulted in their collaboration with the curator of the National Museum in Canada.
4. Field trips. If students aren’t able to participate in a field trip due to factors such as budgetary or distance con­straints, use Skype to bring the field trip into the class­room.
5. Using Skype in the languages classroom. Find out how this teacher uses Skype to help her students study for­eign languages from native speakers.
6. Skyping in Mike Artell- Illustrator & Author. This inspira­tional lesson has an illustrator working directly with 6th graders to work on the art of illustrating and story crea­tion.
7. After school help. Use Skype as a tool to provide after school help to students needing extra attention. Tutors, teachers, or librarians can be available at set times in the afternoons for student access.
8. “Not education as usual,” with Skype and author Cory Doctorow. This class was practicing how to convince the school board to allow a controversial book to be taught in their school and had the opportunity to Skype with the author of the book to help promote their case.
9. Interviews. Whether you have students conducting in­terviews or your class is interviewed, Skype facilitates the interview process. Individual students can interview other teachers or school staff, sending the Skype feed to the classroom for all to watch.
10. Guest lecturers. Have guest lecturers come to your classroom via Skype.
11. Inclusion — helping a classmate join the classroom from home. This blog post explains how a 4th grade class used Skype to help a classmate with leukemia become a part of the classroom from her home.
12. Connect special needs students. Students who may have to be out of the classroom due to special needs or IEP requirements don’t have to miss any special events in the classroom with Skype.
13. Blue tongue lizard, vegemite and cricket. What the…????. This Australian teacher describes her class’ experience connecting with a Korean class via Skype.
14. Foreign culture lessons. Skype allows students to see first hand what people’s homes, schools, clothing, weather, and more looks like. If a festival takes place, Skype can bring it to your classroom too.
15. Connect with families from around the world. Form friendships that can easily bridge distance gaps with Skype.
16. Skype Calls for e-Twinning in L2. Find out how this teacher brought two classes together that had been Twittering all semester when they finally got to meet “face-to-face” with Skype.
17. Best Day Ever!. This teacher describes three Skype calls her class had in one day–the most exciting being with a class in a different time zone with whom her stu­dents had been collaborating on a project through Google docs. With Skype, the students got to work at the same time and actually see each other, too.
18. Present a performance. Whether your class puts on a play, demonstrates a science experiment, or presents the results of a class project, share the fruits of their works with other classes, parents, or other interested people.
19. Share field trips with others. If your class goes out for a field trip, see about connecting with parents or other classes to share your classes’ experience.
20. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ inspiration uses Skype to help kids in India learn. Find out how Skype is connecting gran­nies in the UK with children in India for both a cultural connection and an educational benefit.
21. Professional development. Teachers can use Skype to access professional development opportunities, such as watching conference presentations.
22. Share students’ work with parents. Let parents get a first-hand look at what their children are doing with Skype.
23. Conference with parents. Whether a parent has to miss a regular conference or a concern comes up that re­quires speaking with a parent, Skype can provide an opportunity to connect with a parent that may not other­wise be available for a conference.
24. Innovative teacher uses Skype and Wikis to involve parents. See how this teacher helped share information with parents using Skype and the PBS program, Grow­ing Up Online.
25. Collaborate with other teachers. Who says Skype has to be fun just for the kids? With Skype, teachers can collaborate on ideas, projects, and more.
26. Share travel experiences. If you will be traveling during the school year, arrange for your substitute to connect with you via Skype and you can share the experience with your class.
27. Receive teaching feedback. Have an experienced or mentor teacher watch you teach via Skype and receive valuable feedback.
28. Be available to students. If your school is suddenly closed for a while or if you want to set up conference hours for students, use Skype to allow students to con­tact you.
29. Tutor former students. If a student has moved away or you want to offer accredited online degrees or just moved up from your class, you can be available for tu­toring (for free or for a fee) via Skype.
30. Bring busy parents into the classroom. A busy parent who has knowledge to share with the classroom may be more likely to be able to make the time for a presenta­tion if she or he can do so with Skype rather than hav­ing to leave work and come to the school.

Questions or comments?  Do you have something to contribute?  Email Warren Griffiths, Technology Integration Coordinator at wgriffiths@isp.edu.pa