Thing #3 (11.5 Things)

Well, I have avoided Skype for a long time, mostly because I wasn't completely sure what it really was. I have a couple of co-workers who have introduced me to how skype works, and so when I got to this thing - I was actually excited to download it, and get it on my computer.

I am fortunate to have 8 computers in my classroom for student use, and skype could easily to added to them and used by my students. Students could use them to communicate with other students in our district, or with students throughout the US. I remember in elementary school we would have pen pals, this would be a fun way to end the year with your pen pal to communicate through skype! As for science, there would be some great research opportunities for student projects - this would just require time from my end to find other students or experts that the students could talk with.

One suggestion in the articles was regarding parents using skype for a conference with their child's teacher. If a parent suggested that, I would have to decline (unless an extreme circumstance restricted the parent from coming to the school)! This would make me uncomfortable, and I would rather use the phone or meet in person!

A different article mentioned the teacher using skype for a student who was homebound. Having your classroom set up to do this for a student who can not attend, is a great use!!! Having had a couple of homebound students over the years, there always was a disconnect between them and the rest of the class, and this would be an incredible way to keep the student in line with the rest of the class! This was the best idea I read in using skype for educational purposes!

For personal use, skype can be useful to me, as I live several hours from my family - so we could communicate through skype instead of talking on the phone.