Connecting globally with Skype
It's 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon, and students are chattering about their days and the latest drama as they filter into the classroom for their after school "World Traveler's Club" meeting. Students pull out their laptops from the cart and log-in to their wikipages to take notes during our skype session with Australia. "Hello, everybody!" booms the voice from the board at the front, and we are live in Brisbane. We have set up a laptop at the front of the classroom with a webcam, attached to the SMART board at the front so the entire room can hear and watch as we skype with a contact in Brisbane, Australia. "So, it's 4pm Tuesday there, but right now, we've already slept through all of Tuesday night and it's Wednesday morning," says Joe, our Brisbane contact.
"No way..." sighs the class in amazement, as they try to wrap their minds around the fact that elsewhere in the world, Tuesday night has already happened.
"What happens tomorrow?" pipes in a 4th grader.
"Well, get out your pencil and paper, everybody, I've got the winning lottery numbers here." jokes Joe, and the students laugh and pretend to scramble for paper."
Joe's son Andrew is a 2nd grade Aussie student, and preparing to start a day at school. He proudly shows the Lansing World Traveler's his Brisbane school uniform and hat, explaining in a pronounced Aussie accent that "Everybody wears one here, because of the sun!"
The World Travelers prepared the week before for this skype session by researching Australia and coming up with questions, but Andrew has a few questions of his own as well. One by one, students step up to the webcam to ask their questions, eyes sparkling as they realize the implications of their communications- that they are indeed talking to somebody on the other side of the globe. The other students lean forward in their seats, eyes glued to the board as they watch the interactions unfold.
Afterward, students reflect on the things they learned during the skype session. "In Australia, everybody has to wear a helmet when they ride a motorcycle, no matter where you are!"
"My favorite thing about World Traveler's club is talking to people from other countries. I got to tell everybody I talked to a person in Ghana." gushes Hillary.
When I was first introduced to Skype, it was merely as a way to keep in touch with family while on a study abroad, and I never thought I would use it again. Today, I use Skype in my grad classes to communicate with online coursemates, and Skype in with the rest of the class when I'm sick and can't attend. In my personal life, I have found that many of my friends are moving away as they graduate and find jobs in other areas, but I am able to keep in touch with them using the free video chat on Skype. Finally now, I find that I am able to take the power of Skype one step further, as I connect my own students in my geography club with people around the globe. Learning about the 5 themes of geography and comparing their own culture to others has become much more meaningful as they realize their potential as global citizens.
*All names are psuedonyms
"No way..." sighs the class in amazement, as they try to wrap their minds around the fact that elsewhere in the world, Tuesday night has already happened.
"What happens tomorrow?" pipes in a 4th grader.
"Well, get out your pencil and paper, everybody, I've got the winning lottery numbers here." jokes Joe, and the students laugh and pretend to scramble for paper."
Joe's son Andrew is a 2nd grade Aussie student, and preparing to start a day at school. He proudly shows the Lansing World Traveler's his Brisbane school uniform and hat, explaining in a pronounced Aussie accent that "Everybody wears one here, because of the sun!"
The World Travelers prepared the week before for this skype session by researching Australia and coming up with questions, but Andrew has a few questions of his own as well. One by one, students step up to the webcam to ask their questions, eyes sparkling as they realize the implications of their communications- that they are indeed talking to somebody on the other side of the globe. The other students lean forward in their seats, eyes glued to the board as they watch the interactions unfold.
Afterward, students reflect on the things they learned during the skype session. "In Australia, everybody has to wear a helmet when they ride a motorcycle, no matter where you are!"
"My favorite thing about World Traveler's club is talking to people from other countries. I got to tell everybody I talked to a person in Ghana." gushes Hillary.
When I was first introduced to Skype, it was merely as a way to keep in touch with family while on a study abroad, and I never thought I would use it again. Today, I use Skype in my grad classes to communicate with online coursemates, and Skype in with the rest of the class when I'm sick and can't attend. In my personal life, I have found that many of my friends are moving away as they graduate and find jobs in other areas, but I am able to keep in touch with them using the free video chat on Skype. Finally now, I find that I am able to take the power of Skype one step further, as I connect my own students in my geography club with people around the globe. Learning about the 5 themes of geography and comparing their own culture to others has become much more meaningful as they realize their potential as global citizens.
*All names are psuedonyms
To read more about the power of skype in the classroom, check out these links:
http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/02/09/02skype.h04.html
http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/02/09/02skype.h04.html
