Skype

=[|Skype]=

Resources
[|Cool Cat Teacher Blog (Vicki Davis) Using Skype in the Classroom] Video Conferencing Wiki [|Skype an Author] [|Classroom Collaboration With Skype] Using Skype at School [|Flat Stanley Project]

Watch Vicki Davis set up Skype for her Class media type="google" key="-8492817690922123697&hl=en" width="400" height="326"

=__SWOT ANALYSIS__=

Strengths:

 * 1) It is free, easy to set up, and requires little training to use.
 * 2) Users have quite a bit of anonymity therefore not exposing the user too much on the internet.
 * 3) Skype offers a tutorial for students which teachers can use as well.
 * 4) Great way to communicate with family, friends and make new acquaintances for free.
 * 5) Works with PCs and Macs.
 * 6) You can see, hear, and type to the individual you wish to speak too all at the same time.
 * 7) Several students can get on each side of the connection at a time to communicate with each other.
 * 8) The conversation is in real-time as opposed to waiting for responses from email.
 * 9) The voice and picture are very clear.

Weaknesses:

 * 1) You must locate your own contacts for calling and conferencing.
 * 2) Make sure students use privacy for contacts so personal information is not displayed for all to see.
 * 3) Rather particular requirements of bandwidth/hardware.
 * 4) A camera must be available to speak/be seen
 * 5) Calls/video feeds are frequently dropped, which interrupts conversations.
 * 6) Requires students to have a computer with internet.
 * 7) If users choose not to put personal information in, you can't tell if the person you're selecting for a contact is the person you want. This is especially a problem if the person has a common name.
 * 8) You have to coordinate being on the computer at the same time as the person you want to see/talk with.
 * 9) School systems may block Skype (ours does!).

Opportunities:

 * 1) Conference with subject matter experts, guest speakers, or other classes around the world.
 * 2) Foreign language students can utilize this great site.
 * 3) Help students practice foreign language (or second language) with other students who are natural speakers
 * 4) Can be used to connect with students who may be absent or may have moved
 * 5) Students who may be on vacation/ somewhere none of the students have been before can talk about it from there
 * 6) Connect with parents or family members who may live in different areas of be unable to attend conferences
 * 7) Students in the same school working on a physical project can communicate from class to class.
 * 8) The computer can be hooked-up to a classroom projector so everyone can see the video while students are talking.

Threats:

 * 1) You never know what students in another classroom might say online.
 * 2) Make sure students do not abuse it by making unnecessary calls that would be charged.LL
 * 3) You would have to closely monitor any contact going on with your students at all times for obscene behavior or gestures, and be prepared to explain to parents what happened and why.

=IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM= =Examples of Uses in the Classroom=
 * Darfur project - Students in third grade class wrote press releases about Darfur. They Skyped with 7th and 8th grade classes, read their press releases, and held a question/answer session to talk more about Darfur.
 * Live talks with authors and book discussions with students around the world.
 * Talk to meteorologists about weather concepts
 * Live talks with students in California about earthquake experiences.
 * Can be used as a global/multicultural project (addition to many ways in Geography class) where students can interact with peers their own age in another country and then can use literacy skills to communicate and build a cumulative project upon
 * Talk to or video conference with experts in any content area such as university professors to relate "real life" experiences with students to further their understanding of a content related concept.
 * Can be use to include students with disabilities that may be absent due to medical treatment.
 * [|FLAT STANLEY] -to communicate with friends, relatives, students, military from Around the World, wherever you send Stanley to visit
 * Students can do live book talks/book recommendations for other students.
 * Can be combined with a pen-pal project. Students can write to other students with questions and a time to get on Skype to listen to the answers.
 * [|Blog entry] about using Skype to talk to other classes
 * [|Skype in the Classroom by Wesley Fryer]
 * 50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom
 * The Many Roles of Skype in the Classroom
 * [|Using Skype in the Classroom]

media type="youtube" key="mM2qstKHQR4" height="344" width="425"
 * Watch this video to see how a fourth grade class uses Skype to include a student with Leukemia into the classroom