Transcript for Around the World with Skype

If you're sitting in front of your computer

right now trying to figure out if you

should watch Skype Around the World.

Let me give you a little heads up and help in deciding.

In this presentation, we will see and hear how to get started with Skype.

What kind of hardware and software you will need.

And step-by-step instructions to get you setup for your first call.

If you are already passed this point and have already made your first connections,

then you might be interested in strategies or projects to join

and links on how to find and contact more partners .

You will hear very helpful advice on how to prepare your class for a successful Skype connection,

help them document, reflect, and many more ideas on how to use Skype in the classroom.

The world we live in requires schools to address new kinds of literacies in addition to basic literacy.

These new literacies include media, information, intercultural, digital citizenship, ethical, and network literacies.

In addition to specific skills such as communication, collaboration,

and being able to create connections.

Modeling and creating a learning network for and with your students

that include peers from across the globe, experts in subject matters,

authors of books, etc... breaks down barriers between (?) an stage and the learner.

Skype is a tool that can easily be used to successfully integrate these literacies

and skills in different subject areas as well as at all grade levels.

Oh, and did I mention? Skype is free!

Technically the software and the contact's username is all that you need

to be able to start a Skype call.

Without a microphone and a webcam you can still have a text chat with your contact.

When due to technical reasons your video and audio does not work,

the chat is a great option to rely on.

Having a good microphone and a webcam will heighten everyone's experience though,

especially the younger students will be able to feel a better sense of the connectedness

to the Skype partners with a visual and audio connection.

Once you have created a Skype username, signed in, and added contacts, you are ready to go.

Once you're ready to initiate a call, select the username, then send a chat message

to let them know you are ready and wait for a response.

When your Skype partner calls "Accept" or you can initiate the call.

Click on the video button to initiate the video transmission.

The possibilities are endless to support authentic learning and invite other teachers,

students, schools, experts, and people that support your curriculum.

What about Skyping with Authors & Illustrators?

Like Mike Artel, who shared with our students the art of creating cartoons through Skype

or Jan & Phil Huling...

"From a teacher's perspective, we're talking about how you had to re-write, I mean

initially you got your ideas down, the big picture it was all good, but you have to keep going

back over again and again (yes!) so which is huge because sometimes in Fifth grade

they don't really want to do that".

(student) Is there any, were you like afraid of Copyright issues or anything like that?

That's a really, really good question. Yes, I was afraid.

And what I did, I went to Washington D.C. which is a beautiful place to go

and I went to the Library of Congress. I asked them, "Am I going to get in trouble here

because you know, this is somebody's story", and he said Puss & Boots was written in

the sixteenth or seventeenth century. He said, "Believe me don't worry about it just go for it."

Two first grade classes, one from the US and one from Spain collaborated

on a Voicethread named "I Have A Dream".

Students Skype'd with their assigned collaboration buddies

to get to know each other better.

We invited a bilingual Kindergarden class from Peru to share story time with our Kindergarden class.

We read to them "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

and they shared a Spanish language book with us.