Using Skype for global teleconferencing in schools

Chris is a teacher in South Carolina. He sent me a link to his blog where he documents a project of his to use Skype to videoconference with another class who is thousands of miles away in Peru in South America. Apparently it went fine and the kids loved it.

Schools used to be isolated entities. You went to your school and you heard from your teachers. I don't remember too much about other schools, except if there was some competition and we had to compete against them. Now with tools like Skype that make affordable global videoconferencing available to classrooms on a tight budget, the world is smaller than ever.

> Ten years ago, the differences between the two cultures would have been significantly more profound. Widespread adoption of the Internet, popular music, television and other flatteners have created a global culture. My kids knew the same shows, listened to some of the same bands (artists) and spoke some of the same vernacular. The true flattening moment for my kids was when they realized that all of the Peruvian students were at _least_ bilingual. Some are trilingual. My students are figuring out that if they intend to compete for work in ten years, it is high time they step it up. The competition is getting fierce, and the cultural differences are shrinking.

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I have been using Skype with a webcam to bring in experts in the field of assistive technolgy to my graduate class that I teach at the College of St. Elizabeth which is located in Morristown, NJ. Coupling Skype with screen sharing software really brings the world a lot closer. You can read about my Skype experiences at assistivetek/blogspot.com

I am a Spanish teacher at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI- USA. I began using Skype last semester for language exchange with native Spanish speakers all over the globe. The response from both native English and Spanish speakers was exciting. Next semester We will be piloting an exchange with a University in Cali, Colombia. These virtual exchanges are taking language learning to a new three dimensional realm. International experiences at the click of a mouse.

SKYPE A POET INTO YOUR CLASSROOM

JOSIE'S POETRY - www.whiteheadm.co.uk - There are hundreds of poems available, with voice recordings, to help both overseas students and English children with their language, as well as being lots of fun. Josie whitehead is a poet who visits classrooms across the world by Skype to read to students, speak with them, listen to what they have written and encourage them.

Josie -- How can I get you to visit one of our classrooms in the US? We are writing poetry with 10 year olds...

Kathy C.

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Using Skype for global teleconferencing in schools

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