Can you believe we are already at week 8? I have really enjoyed our journey together as we explore the possibilities of using web 2.0 tools in education. I hope you have learned some new tools or reinforced some skills you haven’t used in a while.
Week 8 focuses on making voice/video calls and chats. As you know, your reward for completing this course is that you will receive a Hue HD webcam! A webcam is such a powerful communication and collaboration tool for the classroom. You can connect with other teachers and classrooms all over the world. You can virtually bring in experts to your classroom that you would never have been able to access prior to this technology. The possibilities are endless! (Can you tell I get excited about this topic?)
Thing 18 - Set up a Skype account and add contacts to your account
The free software program we are going to use explore the use of online voice and video calls is Skype. Skype allows you to live chat, make voice calls, and make video calls on your computer – all for free! Now, be sure to notice I said that this is a software program. It is not an online tool like the other things we have been using. You do have to download the software and install it on your computer. But, it is free! :) To download the program on your home computer, go to http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/windows/, and click Download Skype free (do not get Skype Premium). At school, you just go to the Zenworks window and click on the Install Skype icon.
Once you install the software, just follow the prompts to get an account and set up a username. Once your account is set up, add me as an contact so you can practice using the software if you wish. My Skype account name is CynthiaMatzat. Add a comment to this post to share your username with the group so we can all add each other to our contacts list. This will give you yet another way to communicate with each other during the remainder of the workshop.
Here are several tutorials to help you navigate the software:
New to Skype – Tutorials
New to Skype – Tutorials
Video tutorials:
- How to add contacts to Skype
- How to change your Skype Profie
- How to send an instant message to a Skype contact
- How to make a Skype-to-Skype voice call
- How to make a Skype-to-Skype video call
Thing 19 – Explore Skype in the Classroom and share an idea you have for using Skype as an educator.
Skype recently launched a new feature called Skype in the Classroom. It is a way for educators to connect and share project ideas for using Skype in the classroom. It’s a great place to start when you are looking for another classroom or an expert to connect with for a project.
Check out Skype in the Classroom and these additional sites to look for ways you might use Skype in your classroom. Write a reflection post on your blog to share an idea of how you might personally use Skype in your job (or even in your personal life). Be sure to read some of your colleagues posts and comment on their thoughts.
Check out Skype in the Classroom and these additional sites to look for ways you might use Skype in your classroom. Write a reflection post on your blog to share an idea of how you might personally use Skype in your job (or even in your personal life). Be sure to read some of your colleagues posts and comment on their thoughts.
My username is jen.lawson5
ReplyDeleteMy username is shannon.culver3.
ReplyDeleteMy Skype name: kayla.blankenship
ReplyDeleteMy name is nancy.brashers1
ReplyDeleteMy Skype name is robin.williams977
ReplyDeleteMy Skype name is donnar417!
ReplyDelete