Skype - VOIP at its BEST!

Skype is not just for Macs...any PC or any mobile device can download the free software and make Internet phone calls. And that's not all - Skype includes Instant messaging, text messaging, conference calls, and screen sharing. 

How can Skype let the educator professional make connections?

Connecting with peers from home, while building a lesson or looking for resources, is easy as a few clicks of the mouse. The app opens on start-up so if someone is trying to reach you, a bubble opens to let you know who's online.   Teachers rarely have time during the school day to talk, and sure, we could connect with cell phones or home phones.  But multitasking is a fact of life, and Skype is a great way to connect while working on your computer. 

• Conversation on-the-fly...Skype calls have come in during evening hours from work colleagues who see that I'm logged in. Talk moves back and forth from personal (how are the kids?) to professional (how do you weight grades  in Edline). Some conversations are short and to the point - so easy while working on the computer! Your hands are free, and you don't have to turn on the camera (do I see a green facial mask?!). 
• Unexpected assistance...I can recall a pre-arranged chat that a group member missed. The following evening, Skype rang in, it was Navita wanting to know what she missed. I caught her up-to-date with the project. She was grateful that I kept Skype open all the time; I was thrilled to be a part of a Web 2.0 experience that benefited an online colleague. 
• Conversation pre-arranged...Group projects assigned through online courses make Skype an invaluable tool. Classmates arrange Skype times through PLS's learning management messaging system, Sakai. During Skype meet times, everyone is also logged in to the course, looking at assignments, divvying up duties, and making arrangements for future Skype meetings. 

A great feature while Skyping is chat. Group manners, netiquette, allow a member to complete their verbal thoughts while others are posing chat questions as they listen to the speaker. This dynamic two-way communication enriches the conversation tremendously and sometimes poses insightful questions or comments that might have been lost to thought if the chat feature weren't available. 

How can Skype be used in the classroom?

• Three high schools in my district could use chat to connect students by grade level or discipline, by course or by unit study.
• High school dissections could be Skyped to elementary students.  Chemistry experiments, brainstorming, hypothesis statements, or theorizing could be Skyped within groups for a science fair project.
• Cross-curricular Alaska projects could be enhanced with Skype calls between rooms for role playing, for sharing resources, displaying costumes, or presenting artifacts. 
• Shop teachers who wish to enrich their first-year student's projects could Skype with another second-year shop classroom to learn tips or go over safety with tools. 
• Digital responsibility issues like netiquette, safety, and copyright crop up at all hours. Bonus points, or even required homework, could assign students a Skype call to a classmate to share when one of these issues happen on their personal time.
• Pen Pals in English or Foreign Language classes could connect via Skype and put a voice and face to their connection.

Connectivism, a new learning theory for the digital age, maintains that learning occurs through connections.  Learning occurs through nodes in a network and through the process of connecting nodes, discarding old nodes, and creating new nodes.  Skype, as a Web 2.0 tool for connecting learners online, allows these creations and connections to occur in a dynamic, live, and awesome-ly convenient manner!

Years ago, one needed software, 

an online account, 

a web cam device with a power cable 

and connection to your PC to make a phone call. 

Today, it's as easy as a quick download!

Get Skype now!
Use support if you're a Skype newbie

And look for me - Hazelnutcoffee1 - let's connect!