Several months ago, a dear member of my PLN taught me how to use Skype.
Skype is an amazing tool which enables teachers to flatten their classroom walls; opening up windows into other people’s worlds. Yet, for me, it is the informal, sideline discussions about food, language, and everyday life which I treasure the most.
How can I forget my discussions about the English language with Deb Frazier in America? Or the hilarious conversations about family, food, and culture with Lin-lin in Taiwan? And I still pinch myself at the memory of skyping & saying hello to the Indian Finance minister & teachers in Kerala, India
Skype conversations, particularly with Hello Little World & Global Classroom Skypers, have helped me build, connect, share, learn and collaborate; yet, perhaps most importantly, they have transformed how I see and interact with the world.
I now know that Skype helps break down barriers, and helps us discover what we have in common with other people around the world. It leads us to rewarding global friendships … and It teaches us to care.
If Skype does this for me, a teacher, what can it do for our students?
A lesson and question to ponder as I continue on this journey of mine.
Great post Michael! I am so fortunate to have gotten to know you, the Global Classroom, the HLW group, and others through Skype. We help each other, we learn from each other, but most importantly, we DO care!
It would be great to have a student-connected group. Is that possible?
Theresa
Theresa, I sincerely appreciate the connections I’ve made with you via Skype and Global Classroom over the past few months. One day, I hope to meet you face-to-face, for you have become one of my closest online friends. Thankyou.
Michael,
The power of technology continues to amaze me~ I am feel so fortunate to have made such powerful connections through twitter, blogging & skype! Yes, it is possible for kids to feel the same as we do… in my central Ohio (US) classroom my kids mention their friends in Canada, Romania, Guatemala, and friends in various states in the US. It is amazing to see these little 6-7 year olds developing international relationships and pointing out the location of their friends on our classroom map and on Scribbler Maps!
Truly Amazed!
~deb
As it does for students worldwide … The work we are doing is making a real difference, and I hope we can continue to work together to make this difference happen over the years to come.
Thanks Deb.
Michael, I completely agree. I was unsure of how to get started but being a part of the Global Classroom and the Hello Little World Skype group helped connect me to some great classrooms. I feel that my 2nd grade students are becoming more aware of the world. In fact, I discovered today that one of my students has a pocket atlas in her desk and has been keeping track of all of our contacts. How cool is that?
Hi Louise! I think the benefits of Skype far outweigh the risks, and it is important we share our stories and reflections on this little journey of ours. Thanks for the comment!