The Use of Skype in the Classroom

When most people think of Skype, they think of video chatting a loved one who is far away or chatting with business partners about a new idea, but most people do not consider how useful this tool could be inside the classroom. Skype is a downloadable piece of software that can be used for video calling. The software is compatible with most computers that have a camera piece built into them.  With this software any person can video chat, message, screen share and much more. Video chatting and messaging is free, but the other uses of this software such as calling land lines, mobile phones, screen sharing, and voicemail all cost money. You can chat with one person at a time for free but it you would like to chat with two people at the same time they also charge you for that.

Some affordances about this software are that it can make the classroom a very dynamic place of learning, especially when focusing upon similarities and differences across the world. This technology could allow teachers to attempt to connect with other classrooms all around the world and have real conversations with them. This would be a fantastic learning experience for all students. Imagine, if you as the teacher were teaching a lesson on the Hispanic culture, well maybe you and your class would try and get a hold of a classroom in Spain to talk to about how they live, how they celebrate their holidays and so on. This is real life learning. Instead of the students learning through pictures, they could learn in this situation through one on one conversation with Hispanic students themselves. Another affordance of this piece of technology in the classroom is that it could allow students to have virtual pen pals. This could also be a very unique and diverse learning experience for students to have in the classroom. These two affordances alone allow for so much growth in a classroom. And although this technology has great affordances it also has two major constraints.  One constraint would be that not ever operation that Skype has to offer is free. This is a constraint because students, teachers, or the class as a whole may want to do more a use operations that cost money but their schools may not allow them to. Another constraint could be that you as a classroom are Skyping with a classroom from a different culture or location, they may not speak English and it could be hard to understand what they are saying, which then would obviously eliminate any learning that could have come from the video chatting session.  Another constraint is that the teacher is giving up a lot of control if they would let their students individually have their own virtual pen pal through Skype. I feel this way because one, the teachers would be unable to control what was being said between the students and what was being typed between the students. If the students were just doing the traditional way or writing a pen pal, the teacher could look at what the students were sending in their letter before it was mailed, but with Skype teachers cannot control this aspect. Another control is that teachers would have to completely trust their students to be respectful of their virtual pen pals and as an up and coming teacher, I am not sure if all students could handle this. Bullying is increasing popular in today’s society, and Skype could just be another way to bully another student who is different or unliked. The teacher would have to keep a good eye out for this while using this tool or have complete trust in their students.

                In order for Skype to be used properly inside the classroom, the teacher would have to teach the students how to properly use a video camera that is based inside of the computer. Therefore meaning, students would have to learn how to turn the video camera on and off, and the students would also have to learn how to type, if they did not already know, in order to send messages.  The teacher would also have to adjust their teaching styles in order to successfully use this piece of technology inside the classroom! The teacher will have to allow the classroom to be lead by the students instead of by their instruction. I feel this way because if you are going to have your students interacting with other classes through Skype, they are the ones who are going through the learning experience and they are the ones that could be carrying the conversation with the other classes or pen pals, not you the teacher. Therefore, the teacher is going to have to give up some of the control that they would normally have in a classroom.

                Like I said before, I feel like this piece of technology can help students and teachers become more creative because it allows you to reach out all over the world to different resources to help students learn. The more realistic you make the learning experience for the students the better I think they will learn, and since you cannot take a field trip to China to learn about the Chinese New Year, you can video chat with a classroom from china to learn more about their celebrations from them. I think this technology allows for endless possibilities, it just all depends how the teachers choose to use and embrace it inside their classrooms. I feel the best ways to use this technology is demonstrated on the Skype webpage. They give you great ideas on how to use Skype inside the classroom. For example, teachers have used Skype in the classroom to learn about unique homes and habitats, local heroes, different weather in different locations, and lastly teachers have used Skype to help students learn how to build enterprises.  Below I have attached two other websites to help you learn more about how Skype can be used in a classroom and how Skype works in general.

Links:

http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/

http://theedublogger.com/2011/04/03/the-complete-educators-guide-to-using-skype-effectively-in-the-classroom/