Sometimes the Technology Doesn't Work!

Yesterday was our first Mystery Skype of the year.
My class was hyped!
Earlier, I tested my webcam, and everything was in order.
It did cross my mind to contact the teacher and do a practice run, but that thought went out of my head as quickly as it went in. (Note to self:Always do a practice run!)

The Skype was scheduled for 2 p.m.
So much talking, movement, excitement!
The video call begins.(I laugh when I think about how excited they got!)
We say hello, and the teacher says, "We can't hear you."
Nooooooooooo!

All I can think of as we try this,that, and the other, is how disappointed my kids will be if we don't get this to work.
Press things, hang up,call back, nothing is working.
Arghhhhhhhhh!

We messaged each other back and forth and decided to do it anyway.
Both of our classes were first timers, the teacher was also a first timer, but we did it.
We could see and hear them.
They could see us.
I typed.
My kids used signals.
One finger for "Yes."
Two fingers for "No."

It worked.
We guessed each other's state, had fun, learned geography, and we will hook up again with a working microphone.

Sometimes the technology doesn't work. And that's ok.

"Skype in the Classroom" Presentation (Updated)

For those of you who didn't know; "SlideRocket is hard at work integrating key features into the ClearSlide platform, and due to both technical and practical reasons, we will no longer be integrating with Google Apps or offering Lite accounts of any type beyond the end of the year." Therefore, if you have any of your presentations on Sliderocket, you better download it before December 31st or all is lost!

Seeing as how SlideRocket is closing down, and I was presenting Skype in the Classroom at a tech conference, I decided to update my little presentation. Words of wisdom, take advantage of the Skype in the classroom site, it offers amazing opportunities for your students to engage in some "real world" learning!!

   

                           

Increase Student Engagement with Skype in the Classroom!

This was a Guest Post written July 2012 on Free Technology for Teachers.

It’s always amazing to me how educators, can grab hold of something that wasn’t developed with us in mind, and make it our own. We have a knack for doing that, and we’ve done it with Skype. With Skype, educators are knocking down classroom walls,allowing our students the chance to hear from experts, and creating global learners.

I heard wonderful stories of teachers using Skype in their classrooms, and I envied them. I vowed that 2011-2012, I would take advantage of Skype.  At the beginning of the school year, I got webcams from DonorsChoose. Then I bugged my IT person for three weeks, until he finally came  in and hooked up my webcam. (Not that I didn’t know how, but I didn’t have administrative access).  We were ready!

My first experience was Mystery State. I connected with a teacher in another state. Our students exchanged clues in order to guess each other’s states. We did this several times with various classes throughout the U.S., during the school year.  Each teacher had their own preference  for how it was done.

We participated in the Global Read Aloud Project . Students from all over the world read “Tuck Everlasting” and then discussed it. I connected with a teacher in Mississippi, and our classes had a book discussion via Skype! What an opportunity to engage our students and promote critical thinking! 

We Skyped with a marine biologist and a student marine biologist! The student biologist Skyped from a beach in Florida!  The questions were flying and our experts answered every one of them! On World Read Aloud Day, we had an author, a CNN analyst, and his wife read “A Wrinkle in Time”, a story we were enjoying for Read Aloud. 

All of my connections were made through Twitter, but you can find experts anywhere! A parent, someone in your community, anyone who would be willing to Skype with your students, and provide that “real world” application so often missing from our lessons.  

An excellent resource, that I did not take advantage of last year, is Skype in the Classroom. This site gives you access to an enormous amount of projects, with people all over the world, who are willing to Skype with our students. 

Helpful Tips for Implementing Skype in the Classroom

• Make sure Skype is not blocked in your district. If it is, find out who can unblock it.
• Create a Skype account.
• Classroom management is a must! Assign jobs.
• Make sure everyone can be seen and heard.

• Do a test run before the actual Skype.
• Make sure there’s someone there who can help if you need it, it could be a student.
• Be prepared! My kids always had their questions on index cards.
• Have a time limit.
• Don’t panic if the tech messes up, it happens! :) Reschedule.
• If Skyping with someone who has given of their time, send Thank you letters or notes. (optional)

There are so many ways to use Skype in your classroom, hopefully you will take advantage of at least one! Who you gonna call? :)

Mystery Skype!:Connecting Our Classrooms One Skype at a Time!

Update: Classroom Spotlight of my class doing a 2016 Mystery Skype.

My students and I had our first Mystery Skype with Ms.Young's, (@flourishingkids), class from the state of ____________________. I can't tell you, that's the mystery. :)

The Mystery Skype project is when each class tries to determine where the other class is located. The benefits of this activity are endless, global connections, geography, integrating tech, communicating effectively, the list is endless!

I participated in Mystery Skype last year, but this one was different.  I decided to take advantage of the links Ms.Young emailed, and let my students choose Skype jobs. What a difference in the quality of the Skype! My students worked so hard, and I was extremely proud of them.

I incorporated the following jobs. The Inquirers, who came up with the questions in advance. A photgrapher, a videographer, a Tweeter, and a couple of students on Today's Meet (backchanneling).  The researchers, who took their job very seriously, on Google Earth, and using actual atlases. They did an excellent job of passing on information to the Answerers. 

Did everything go smoothly? Of course not! :) My class decided to answer altogether, instead of letting the Answerers answer. They got some of the geographical information wrong, but quickly corrected themselves.My photgrapher took about a million pictures, some of them of the same thing. And two of my more "outspoken" students attempted to argue with each other in the middle of the Skype. (A 5 minute time out in a buddy teacher's room took care of that situation). At one point we asked questions when it wasn't our turn. But you know what, it was all good! We had a great time and learned a lot.

When we had guessed each others state, which by the way is an amazing feeling for our kids, Ms.Young suggested our kids ask questions about each other(i.e. What do you like to do for fun?) I readily agreed, and the kids enjoyed this part of our interaction as well.

After viewing a tutorial on Google Maps, I set up a Mystery Skype map that we will use whenever we Skype with another class.I then embedded the map on a page of our Class Weebly page.

There are many ways to participate in a Mystery Skype:

• Go on Twitter , search #mysteryskype and let others know you are interested in participating. 
• Skype in the Classroom
• Mystery Skype List 1
• What's the Hype With Mystery Skype?

We are preparing for our 2nd Mystery Skype on Thursday with Mr. Yetter's class (@coachyetter), and my students are hyped! Try it and you will see, there's no mystery as to why this is a wonderful learning experience for all!