Skype Video Project Ideas

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on October 23, 2009 at 12:13pm

Hey, Aaron! Good for you. If you go to the top right of the page, you'll see a search box. Type "Skype" there and I think you're going to find a ton of discussions on this topic that may be a good place to start. For example: http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/skype-in-education.

This is a topic I'm personally very interested, so good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Jan Smith on October 23, 2009 at 12:21pm

Hi Aaron, you may be interested in this blog post by Sue Wyatt with whom my grade 6 students last year. She does a good job of laying the ground work for successful Skype calls. The initial conversation is really important to creating meaningful connections.

Good luck to you and students!

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Permalink Reply by Andrea Rollison on October 23, 2009 at 12:27pm

I am working on doing author studies. Many authors charge a fee to come to the school but if they are willing to try Skyping, they may not charge at all. Find an author that supports your 5th grade curriculum and contact the Publisher or author's website to see if they would be interested. Even if they do not have a webcam, you can have them speak to the class.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer G on November 30, 2010 at 9:29pm

Great Idea!!!! This is definitely worth trying. What a neat way to get guests into your classroom. This type of technology would be very beneficial! Students get the opportunity to "meet" an author without having to leave the classroom and get permission to go on an actual field trip. Good post.

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Permalink Reply by Lesley Edwards on October 23, 2009 at 11:01pm

This site: 50 awesome ways to use skype in the classroom, may give you some ideas. http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-sky... This site also has some good ideas http://etceteraward.blogspot.com/2009/07/bringing-world-into-your-c... Have fun!

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Permalink Reply by Ms. Ward on November 10, 2009 at 11:27am

Wow! Thanks Lesley for mentioning my site - Teacher Et cetera. I originally put the post together for some teachers in my high school who were asking about how Skype might be used in school. I'm so glad that others are finding it useful!

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Permalink Reply by Laurie Pitcher on November 30, 2010 at 6:43pm

We have used Skype to bring classrooms in district and out of district together. How can students write to communicate if they can't even communicate verbally? We have found it to greatly impact in our writing. Let me know if you would like for me to share what we have done at our schools.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer G on November 30, 2010 at 9:35pm

Great use of technology! I would love to hear more about what you all did at your schools. I will be a new teacher soon and I could use any ideas you have, especially those that incorporate technology in the classroom. How did the use of Skype impact students' writing? How were you able to Skype with other schools? Was it difficult to get this approved by the administrators? What about parents? How did they feel about this? Thank you for any information you can provide.

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Permalink Reply by Gillian Ryan on November 30, 2010 at 11:33pm

Hi Aaron! I'm venturing into using Skype as well with my 5th graders. The 50 states is part of the curriculum. So, we are going to be calling people around the country and getting first hand information about life in that state. I'm starting with my friends, but I'm hoping that my kids will know people that we can call.

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Permalink Reply by blank on December 1, 2010 at 3:58pm

For history you can try to get a historian to speak with the students on certain history topics to get the students more interested. For geography you can have students speak with people from other parts of the country or perhaps even on the other side of the world. For science the students can speak with a scientist and maybe even show the students experiments. For English and reading the students can speak with an author, writer, or journalist. Hope my suggestions help!

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