“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”

-Maya Angelou

There is a certain quality of the human voice that simply can’t be expressed in text. You can use sideways smiley faces, underline words and add abbreviations like LOL all day, and one can rarely express themselves as well than if your audience can hear you.

I have enjoyed sharing the voice chat utility Skype with teachers the last two days, and believe that the usage of this tool is going to be unlimited. I have helped the teachers to download and install the program, then they all built accounts and added one another as a contact. We modeled and practiced doing text and voice messages. In short, we used the tool. Once there was a basic comfort level with Skype we scanned the two articles (linked below) that outlined the different projects that had been done with Skype.

We also shared other ideas, among the top ones were the parents who were deployed overseas having the opportunity to join in parent conferences and children who were home bound staying connected by Skyping in to class meetings.

I want my teachers to have me as a Skype contact so that I can provide technical and instructional support through the screen sharing function as well Many times a two minute demo (click here/click here/click here) will save several rounds of clarifying questions and a chain of emails.

I can’t wait to provide this session to all my schools, and look forward to hearing about the authentic and engaging projects they come up with.

Skype Handout

Skype Download

50 Ways To Use Skype in the Classroom

Skype At School (Skype For Dummies)

(Note: this is a repeat post, I wanted it up at the top for a session I held today. No, you aren’t having deja-vu)

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Classroom Community, Parental Connection, Skype