Collaborative Technology for Students:
Skype in the Classroom
Several times I have used Skype in the classroom to connect with students and teachers around the world. After looking into it a little more, I found there is much more you can do. You can actually join a community online and get connected to other classrooms. Microsoft Education states "Skype in the Classroom is an online community that enables thousands of teachers to inspire the next generation of global citizens through transformative learning over Skype. You can connect your students with other classrooms around the world and collaborate on projects or one-off calls, or invite an expert to talk to your students over Skype (2018)." This is a great tool to allow students to connect with other cultures and ask questions. In my class, students had a chance to connect with classrooms in Canada, USA, and India. Other teachers in my school have also used Skype to have their students present projects to live audiences. One thing that was difficult for me was keeping the students managed during the Skype session. If a student misbehaves, it is hard to talk with them since you are live with another classroom. I also found that when the students spoke with native English speakers, they had a hard time understanding some of their questions. For this reason, it is very important to make sure the students know their expectations beforehand, and have everything ready before the session.
By signing up for Skype in the classroom, you can get connected in so many ways. It can be used for lessons, virtual field trips, guest speakers, and mystery Skype. On this website there are 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom. I would like to continue using Skype for the students to practice speaking English with others around the world. One of my goals is to contact an author to have a live Q&A session with the author and students. We do author studies where we read a series of books by the same author, and this activity would be perfect to close out the study. I have heard of teachers doing this, and I hope to eventually find an author willing to have a session with my class. Another thing I would like to do is use the Skype in the Classroom feature of "Virtual Field Trips," in which you request a field trip tour to a certain location. The first graders learn a lot about animals, and I would love to take them on a virtual tour to an animal sanctuary with a live tour guide. One thing I will need to look into is getting a good camera in which we can place in the center of the classroom near the screen, which may be an added expense.
Collaborative Technology for Teachers:
Instagram can be very beneficial for teachers to gather ideas and collaborate with other educators. Much like Twitter, teachers can create hashtags and follow each other to share what they are doing in their classroom. There are many ways to connect, join education groups, learn more about your content area, and showcase student work (Persico, 2016). I follow many teachers in lower elementary to see what they are doing, especially to keep myself up to date while teaching in abroad. This helps me gather ideas and learn about new methods or technology. Recently, I found a lot about teachers using the growth mindset in which I found very beneficial using in my classroom. There are many inspiring teachers out there who post great ideas and motivators, which helps encourage me as an educator. I also follow hashtags like #iste18 to follow what people post at educators conferences. With this, I feel as though I can attend the conference and get all the ideas from far away.
"Innovative teachers want to build large and diverse personal learning networks and Instagram is a great place for you to find like-minded educators and groups to connect with (Persico, 2016). I would like to continue using Instagram to follow more educator groups and create a community. It would also be great to use this tool to show student work with parents instantly. Apart from using Instagram as a collaborative technology, I would like to use it to teach Digital Citizenship. By explaining how Instagram should and should not be used, you are teaching students the skills they need to be responsible digital citizens (Lynch, 2018). Students will be able to learn about Digital Citizenship on a daily basis and when it is applicable.
Sources:
Heick, Terry. “50 Ideas For Using Skype In Your Classroom.” TeachThought, 3 Aug. 2018, www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/50-ideas-for-using-skype-in-your-classroom/.
Lynch, Matthew. “How to Use Instagram in the Classroom.” The Tech Edvocate, 6 May 2018, www.thetechedvocate.org/use-instagram-classroom/.
Microsoft Education. “Skype in the Classroom - Getting Started.” Microsoft in Education, 2018, education.microsoft.com/skype-in-the-classroom/getting-started.
Perisco, Anthony. “Why Innovative Teachers Use Instagram: 7 Ways to Become a Socially Connected Educator.” LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-innovative-teachers-use-instagram-7-ways-become-socially-persico/.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteThe five ways to bring the world into the classroom using Skype is innovative and technologically wise. The benefits that Skype provide for students to be enriched and empowered is a reward and great opportunity. The students that you instruct has an advantage academically because of your willingness to expose them to the world within your classroom. This may present itself daunting and challenging; however, your effort to enlighten your students will educationally stimulate their mind and heart for more.
I am encouraged and challenged to hear how you use social media to expand your knowledge and experience. I have yet to explore this route, but I have a strong sense that I will be educationally challenged through TET program to take this risk! At any rate, your purposes and practices using social media is perfect. Your growth as an educator has increased and your ideas as an educator has sparked real growth in your students through this practice.