Thursday, August 9, 2012

Skype - A Window To The World

One of my goals this past school year was to use Skype to connect with classes around the world.  I am very pleased to say that we connected with over 30 classes in over 10 countries.  My students thoroughly enjoyed connecting with students around the world and learning first hand about their traditions and cultures.  

Not sure where to begin?  Skype in the Classroom was an excellent starting place for me and really allowed me to develop a better understanding of how Skype can be used within the classroom.  

Just to give you an idea of some of the possibilities, I will share with you some of the projects we engaged in throughout the past year.

Where In The World?  
This project was designed to correspond with the Grade 7 Geography Curriculum.  We connected with classes around the world and asked yes/no geographical questions to determine their location.  Once their location was determined, we asked a variety of questions to deepen our understanding of their location.  


By simply posting this suggested project, we were able to connect with classes in Canada, United States, Sweden, and Alaska.

Christmas Around the World
Many teachers have studied traditions around the world at Christmas time.  This year we studied holiday traditions first hand from our new friends in Hungary, Australia, Croatia and the United States.  We shared our stories via Skype and then each class created a page on our Wikispace highlighting their traditions.  Visit our Christmas Around The World Wiki to see some of the highlights.  


The possibilities are endless with Skype in the Classroom.  Just hop on over to their site, create a free account and start searching the available projects.  If you don't see something you like, post your own and see who jumps on board.  Happy Skyping!