Skype

Permalink Reply by Dan Itkis on September 16, 2009 at 5:21pm

Michael,
what kind of usage model do you envision for this? Would kids collaborate on projects? How would they find other kids to collaborate with? What would you want to them to get out of that experience?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Litchman on September 17, 2009 at 5:53am

I teach in an urban district that has two elementary technology teachers between 4 elementary schools. Last year was the first year that children had the opportunity to have a technology teacher, and this year the district was able to hire another. I am also a new teacher who has just begun their second year of teaching. I am trying to become as tech savy as I can, and by new means am I an expert. Since using Skype is new to me and my students, I was hoping to find teachers that would be interested in having our students introduce themselves and talk about what life is like where they live. I am not sure where this could lead, but if it goes well I would be more then happy to expand on this and start creating projects and working on activities with students from other schools. I am open to any ideas. I want my students to understand how important a computer is and what power lies behind them. Having them Skype would allow them to see a world outside of the town they live in. I am trying to write on forums in hopes that I can find teachers who share this interest with me.

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Permalink Reply by Jonah Salsich on September 16, 2009 at 5:47pm

Michael,
I teach 3rd grade in Connecticut. I did some Skyping last year and my students loved it. I would be up for working together around specific topics/projects. did you have something specific in mind? Literature circles/book discussions are a possibility or something around common science/social studies units.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Litchman on September 17, 2009 at 5:53am

I teach in an urban district that has two elementary technology teachers between 4 elementary schools. Last year was the first year that children had the opportunity to have a technology teacher, and this year the district was able to hire another. I am also a new teacher who has just begun their second year of teaching. I am trying to become as tech savy as I can, and by new means am I an expert. Since using Skype is new to me and my students, I was hoping to find teachers that would be interested in having our students introduce themselves and talk about what life is like where they live. I am not sure where this could lead, but if it goes well I would be more then happy to expand on this and start creating projects and working on activities with students from other schools. I am open to any ideas. I want my students to understand how important a computer is and what power lies behind them. Having them Skype would allow them to see a world outside of the town they live in. I am trying to write on forums in hopes that I can find teachers who share this interest with me.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Litchman on September 16, 2009 at 7:17pm

I teach in an urban district that has two elementary technology teachers between 4 elementary schools. Last year was the first year that children had the opportunity to have a technology teacher, and this year the district was able to hire another. I am also a new teacher who has just begun their second year of teaching. I am trying to become as tech savy as I can, and by new means am I an expert. Since using Skype is new to me and my students, I was hoping to find teachers that would be interested in having our students introduce themselves and talk about what life is like where they live. I am not sure where this could lead, but if it goes well I would be more then happy to expand on this and start creating projects and working on activities with students from other schools. I am open to any ideas. I want my students to understand how important a computer is and what power lies behind them. Having them Skype would allow them to see a world outside of the town they live in. I am trying to write on forums in hopes that I can find teachers who share this interest with me.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on September 16, 2009 at 8:05pm

We're in Kansas City getting ready to do our second annual Pringle Project with a class in New Jersey. Students design the smallest safest packaging to send a single Pringle by US mail across the country. We use Skype to video conference the opening of the packages, the kids love it. The funniest bit was the opening of Ben's package. He used a hollowed out grapefruit as his 'packaging'. When the kiddo on the other end opened the package he had on rubber gloves and the package was dripping with slime and mold. The videos were priceless!

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Permalink Reply by Michael Litchman on September 17, 2009 at 5:52am

This sounds like such a fun project. I am going to check this out and see if I can do something like this with my students.

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Permalink Reply by Grace Gorman on September 16, 2009 at 8:16pm

Michael,
I am new to this also and very interested in trying SKYPE. Can you do it with just a regular little webcam or do you need a larger camcorder? Since my students are using English as a second language, I think I would need to do some preparation rather than try to adlib with it. I will work with them on preparing something about life here in Peru and get back to you when I think I know what I am doing. Our school year runs from March to December so it would probably work best with your 4th graders and our 3rd graders who will be in 4th from March to June. Time will take coordination since we are an hour behind you while you are on daylight saving time. This is really exciting, isn't it!

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Permalink Reply by Michael Litchman on September 17, 2009 at 5:51am

To use Skype you would need to download the program from www.skype.com and purchase one webcam. I would love to work with you on this anytime between March and June with your 4th graders if you are interested. Please feel free to email me. Mlitchman@rahway.net if you have any questions or if you would like to talk about this..