Thing # 15 Things Like Skype

Personal use:
I had used Skype when it was introduced online but have not used it recently. I was amazed at all the new features that Skype has developed. My favorite feature is conferencing. Not for business but for chatting with my family and friends. We are literally spread all over;  my college kids in Lubbock and Longview, family and friends all the way down south in Chile, South America, Central America, and Europe. The call clarity and connectivity has improved. My second favorite feature is the ability to multi-task. I just put my headset on, open my documents, and talk and type away with my family. Skype used to work with just Windows operating systems but now works on both Apple products too.

Professional use:

I read the link Dr. Wilson posted about 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom  the following list shows the ones that interest me.

Professional development: I would rather take online professional developments than having to drive to the physical place.

Share students’ work with parents: I agree that this is an easy way to share students’ work with busy parents.

Conference with parents: this is an excellent option to confer with parents that are too busy.

Collaborate with other teachers: I would like to share lessons with other teachers, and exchange ideas to teach something that a teacher is good at.

Be available to students: I would love to use this one with students that are absent, so they can still get the lessons we are covering that day.

Bring busy parents into the classroom: parents need to know what’s going on their kids’ classrooms, I personally think this is a great option to stay current.

Videoconferencing in the classroom with Skype: I would do this with colleagues.

Field trips: this is getting better and better, we don’t have field trips for lower grades, I am going to get more information on this one, and I will make it happen.

After school help: this is a great tutorial option, but I’m not sure if I would do it, maybe for just one hour after school as needed.

Interviews: this sounds terrific, getting to interview writers, doctors, business people, dentists, mailmen, principals, other teachers, geologists…the list is endless.