Hi everyone,
Skype is a free online service that allows you to make voice and video calls over the internet. There are also features within Skype that allow you to send instant messages and file attachments to your fellow Skype contacts. I currently use Skype on a regular basis to communicate with my family and friends in South Africa and Europe.
I would never have considered using Skype in the classroom context. After an E-learning tutorial at Noosa Hub, I realized many
teachers do use Skype to communicate with sister schools and the wider community both locally and on an international level. The example presented in the tutorial was an early years class communicating with an international sister school in Africa about their different cultures. I found this an amazing and engaging task developed by the teacher. I believe offering these global connections and developing this multicultural approach to education is vital for our students, as they need to become informed citizens on a global scale. Skype is a very useful tool to aid this process.
After conducting a Google search on Skype in the classroom I located a great site called TeachingDegree. This site offers 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom and can be accessed here. I particularly like the idea about using Skype to allow students to chat with authors and illustrators to encourage narrative creation. This example makes me acknowledge that Skype not only connects students to the local and global community but also gives them access to experts and guest speakers. I have conducted a brief SWOT analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of Skype.
Strength
-Inexpensive means of communication with wider community.
-Exposes students to broad range of perspectives on topics.
-Engages students in authentic tasks.
-Encourages oral communication skills.
-Provides access to experts and guest speakers.
Weaknesses
-Heavily reliant on equipment such as headsets and microphones
-Difficult to monitor entire class during Skype conferences.
-Could offer another forum for cyber bullying
-Students might be shy and not want to communicate with an unfamiliar audience.
Opportunities
-Broaden students’ horizons.
-Develop deep and educational conversations
-Invite experts and other professional to be part of the learning journey
Threats
-Cyber bullying could ruin the experience.
-Parents could contest children talking to “strangers” offer the internet.
-Could attract inappropriate attention and have strangers add them as a contact.
Does anyone know if there is a more secure way to use Skype so that unknown contacts can not access our students?
These are some of my thoughts on Skype, please let me know what you think.
Skype is a free online service that allows you to make voice and video calls over the internet. There are also features within Skype that allow you to send instant messages and file attachments to your fellow Skype contacts. I currently use Skype on a regular basis to communicate with my family and friends in South Africa and Europe.
I would never have considered using Skype in the classroom context. After an E-learning tutorial at Noosa Hub, I realized many
teachers do use Skype to communicate with sister schools and the wider community both locally and on an international level. The example presented in the tutorial was an early years class communicating with an international sister school in Africa about their different cultures. I found this an amazing and engaging task developed by the teacher. I believe offering these global connections and developing this multicultural approach to education is vital for our students, as they need to become informed citizens on a global scale. Skype is a very useful tool to aid this process.After conducting a Google search on Skype in the classroom I located a great site called TeachingDegree. This site offers 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom and can be accessed here. I particularly like the idea about using Skype to allow students to chat with authors and illustrators to encourage narrative creation. This example makes me acknowledge that Skype not only connects students to the local and global community but also gives them access to experts and guest speakers. I have conducted a brief SWOT analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of Skype.
Strength
-Inexpensive means of communication with wider community.
-Exposes students to broad range of perspectives on topics.
-Engages students in authentic tasks.
-Encourages oral communication skills.
-Provides access to experts and guest speakers.
Weaknesses
-Heavily reliant on equipment such as headsets and microphones
-Difficult to monitor entire class during Skype conferences.
-Could offer another forum for cyber bullying
-Students might be shy and not want to communicate with an unfamiliar audience.
Opportunities
-Broaden students’ horizons.
-Develop deep and educational conversations
-Invite experts and other professional to be part of the learning journey
Threats
-Cyber bullying could ruin the experience.
-Parents could contest children talking to “strangers” offer the internet.
-Could attract inappropriate attention and have strangers add them as a contact.
Does anyone know if there is a more secure way to use Skype so that unknown contacts can not access our students?
These are some of my thoughts on Skype, please let me know what you think.
Hi Pauline,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you about the many benefits of skype in the classroom. It allows classrooms to connect to the world on a teachers budget! Just as you mentioned, I always viewed skype as a cheap/free way to call friends and family interstate or overseas and hadn't thought of the many ways it could be integrated into the classroom. Have you thought about using it as a way to teach a second language? It doesn't get more authentic than having your students learn Japanese or French from the real deal! It could also be used as a viable way of conducting professional
development sessions for teachers. The possibilities are endless.
In terms of your quandry about Skypes safety, there is a Skype Security Resource Centre which provides information about safety and security. Similar to facebook and other social networking sites there are safety measures that can be put in place to deter cyber bullying and the likes and but these are never a guarantee. In my opinion though it boils down to educating our students about the threats and dangers of online communication. I think teaching our students critical thinking skills and developing their digital literacy is a better option than opting out of using such a resourceful tool.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Kristen
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting me know about the Skype Security Resource Centre, this knowledge places my security concerns at ease. I totally agree with you, we do need to educate our students about the threats and dangers of the digital age. By establishing an awareness of these issues we will develop informed citizen of the 21st century. This awareness and focused education will prepare our students with the appropriate skills to cope with the problems and issues that may arise when using technology and digital communication.
Cheers Pauline