Internet Phone / Video Chat

Most students by now have use Skype or some other internet phone or video chat tool to communicate with friends and family. This was not so, just a few years ago. However, I believe we are still in the infancy of using these products in education. This lesson will explore some of the possible education uses of these programs.

Skype Workshop (You will need a microphone and headset (optional Webcam) along with your computer for this activity.)

Do the following actions below. Where it says proof, put a screen shot showing that you have done it.

Start the Skype program(or Google Hangouts) and log into your Skype account or set up a free Skype account if you don’t already have one. Remember to record your Username and Password somewhere.

Add the teacher (Perryolo = Skype or pcawesome@gmail.com = Google Hangouts) and members of the class to your contacts list.

Call another member of the class (repeat as often as necessary). Take a picture of the screen for proof.Proof:

Make or participate in a conference call with at least 5 other members of our class. Talk about how this could be used in a classroom or teaching situation. Use the chat feature along with your call. Take a picture of your screen to show you did it.Proof:

Do a web search for Skype in education. In a 5-8 sentence paragraph with specific examples, tell what you learned?Answer: I have learned that you can use Skype to connect teachers from around the world. Teachers can have conferences via Skype where they can share their ideas with other teachers. I think this is important because as educators, we need to be constantly looking for ways to continue to develop professionally, and gaining insights from other teachers is one valuable way to do this. With Skype, it is possible to connect to teachers anywhere in the world. Not only can Skype be used as a tool to connect teachers, but it can also be used with students. Teachers have discovered many creative ways to incorporate Skype into their lessons. One of these ways is through a game called Mystery Skype. In this game, a teacher will arrange to call another teacher and the two classrooms will guess one another’s location. I thought this was a creative and fun way to incorporate Skype. I can see how this would really improve students’ speaking and conversational skills and would give them real information regarding geography and culture.

Do a web search for free internet phone or video chat. What did you learn? Is Skype the only provider? Which is your favorite? Answer in a 5-8 sentence paragraph with specific examples.Answer: I learned that Skype is not the only internet phone out there. One way I have used to video chat is through FaceTime. I actually use FaceTime more than Skype when I want to video chat with my family. I use it through my iPhone or iPad. This works well when I am calling my family, because we all have iPhones. However, the limitation with this is that you can only FaceTime with another iPhone user. A program I hear a lot about is Google Hangouts. This internet phone seems to be the best option, in my opinion. The reason I think so is because unlike Skype, you can talk with up to 10 people at once. Also, anyone can use the service, unlike FaceTime.

Research and discuss how communication tools such as Skype, Internet Phones, or Video Chats could be used by you as a teacher to help students learn. Answer in a 5-8 sentence paragraph with specific examples.Answer: I think that teachers can find endless ways to use these communication tools to help students learn. Students could have a virtual pen pal. Especially for ESL students, this could be really fun! It would give them the chance to interact with English speakers who live in different parts of the world. Not would this help them develop their listening and speaking skills, but they could also learn about culture through this experience as well.

Do you ever envision yourself teaching in a regular face to face classroom and one of your students is sick with a contagious disease but not so sick as to be bedridden and so he/she Skypes in from home and participates with the class? Answer in a 5-8 sentence paragraph with examples.Answer: I had never even had the idea to do this until I did this assignment. Originally, I would have thought that I wouldn’t use this in my own classroom. However, it seems like it could really be a good idea. We have amazing technology at our fingertips, so why not use it? Having the student call in via Skype would benefit them because they would not miss being in class. The only potential problem I could see it that this may be distracting to the students in class. Especially if the students are younger, they may get distracted from the lesson.

Skype is not only used between teachers and students but between professional peers. I’m a Hawaii TESOL board member. On several occasions, the board members in Honolulu have met together and Skyped members in Laie as well as on the Big Island. It’s been a real help to our professional organization.

Finishing Touches

Blog after every class about what you are learning.

Add a boarder and a background color to this document, but make sure it is still easy to read.

Name this document “Internet Phone” and save it as a PDF or Word Document in your portfolio folder.

Link the file to your Home Page.