For classroom use, I think Skype would be a great way to show students how to connect with other cultures and people without physically going outside the room! The teacher could contact another teacher in another state (or even country) and set up an activity/lesson that each of them could do with their students using Skype to communicate.
One idea might be to partner students up in the different classrooms and ask questions about each other's culture. Before the Skype session, each teacher could talk to the class about what kinds of questions they might want to ask, what appropriate questions would be, etc. This could be sort of a "mini" project with several lessons before and after the Skype session. After the students were done Skyping with the other classroom students, the teacher could compile a general list of the answers the students found as a whole-group lesson. This might lead into a book they'll read about this culture and they could compare the book to what they learned from their Skype partners.
One problem I can think of is downloading Skype at school. The school might not have enough computers for each student. If this was the case, the class could work as a whole group on one computer and Skype with just one person. Then, the teacher could talk about the Skype session immediately after Skyping.
There are definitely many, many possibilities for using Skype in the classroom. I think that students would think it was a fun activity, and also meaningful as they see how it connects to literature.
Thanks for sharing your ideas about using Skype in the classroom. I am actually doing that really for the first time in my classes this semester. I have done it for years with friends and colleagues, but never really used it in classes...why not?
ReplyDeleteThis semester in 201 I am connecting with a teacher who uses technology and bringing them "into our classroom." I did it once last week and am setting up other "Skypes" for the near future. I will use it in this class too! It is a magical application!
As ESL/EFL teachers, we are so focused on the teaching of; or facilitating the development of the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening), that we sometimes forget to include opportunities to develop pragmatical competence, when to say what in which tone and manner. I agree with you that Skype is an excellent tool to incorporate in the language classroom, and an easy and effective tool to allow the development of pragmatic competence, by as you suggested, allowing learners to interact with members of different cultures or mother tongue speakers of the language you are teaching (such as English if you are a ESL/EFL teacher).
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