Monday, July 18, 2011

Skype in the classroom

Post #3   

Skype in the classroom was developed due to the mass amount of teachers already
using Skype in their classrooms.  http://education.skype.com/
     ~ 14232 teachers are members
     ~ 510 resources are available
     ~ 672 projects are listed
     It is a place for teachers to connect with each other and find partner classes.  Skype in the classroom helps students and teachers meet new people, discover new cultures, and inspire one another.
    ~ most recent projects are posted on the home page
    ~ you can find guest speakers to speak to your class from far away or remote locations

    * You need to have a membership to browse the teacher list and resource sections.


Teacher Section
          ~ list of teachers, worldwide, who want to connect with other teachers using Skype
          ~ search by key word, language, country, ages taught, subject, exchange,
inspiration, etc...


Projects
          ~ to find a project to work with you can modify your search much the same way as in the teacher section
          ~ post your own project.  I was interested to see if it would take me long to find anyone doing a social studies project on learning about different cultures in grade two.  Within, literally, a couple of minutes I found a project I could link to. http://education.skype.com/projects/817

Resources
          ~ contains videos, links and tips
          ~ library filled with tips on how to use Skype, make projects better or sharing of what works and does not work as well
          ~ contains other interesting topics and examples of what people have done

     This site has been so easy to navigate and is filled with so much information for educators.  I was thrilled to find this branch of Skype and quickly tagged it to my favourites.  Not only does it make it easy for you to connect with a number of people, already interested and using Skype, it also helps newcomers navigate through the use of Skype.  I also found myself browsing the posted projects just to see what is going on out there, across the globe, in other classrooms.  Inspiration at its best! 

2 comments:

Richard Schwier said...

I really appreciate seeing your post on this, Maureen. I've known acout this wing of Skype for awhile, but I've neglected to sign up -- until today!

Your reminder was just the nudge I needed to act on this. You're right; what a wonderful resource and collaboration environment!

micdanis said...

Last year I used Skype to bring an environement expert in my classroom. It was great! I recorded the video and then we posted it on Youtube and then posted it on my blog. It became a teaching touls for other teachers and students in the word.
http://cahm.elg.ca/prof/DanisMichaud/2010/10/entrevue_avec_dr_alyre_chiasso_1.html