Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and/or video calls over the Internet. To create your Skype account just go to www.skype.com and click "Join Us" in the top right. You can sign in to an existing Skype account using your Facebook account or a Microsoft account you may already have (via Messenger, Hotmail, or Outlook.com - note, this does not include our Grand Erie Office 365 account). Or you can make a new account unrelated to any of the above.

Educational Implications:
Skype is a free and easy way for teachers to open up their classroom and their students to a world way beyond their building. With Skype, students can learn from other students, connect with other cultures, and expand their knowledge in amazing ways. To use Skype in the Classroom, you need to create an account at @http://education.skype.com - just click the "Join" button at the top right and login with your Skype account (or Microsoft, Facebook, or Twitter account).

__** Ideas for Using Skype in the Secondary Classroom **__ · Bring in guest speakers – real life applications for students · Create a different audience for your students to complete a presentation · Work with other teachers preparing lessons for shared classes · Help with SMART Board issues or technical issues from a distance · Go on a virtual field trip · Interview subject specific experts · Connect with University/College professors to help students connect the courses they’re taking with what they’ll need to know post secondary · Offer live tutoring from a distance · Create a larger group experience between your class and another class in the school/board/country/etc. · Collect data beyond your classroom · Host a competition between two of the same classes

**__Ideas for Using Skype in Elementary classrooms__**

 * Literature circles with the same grades either within your school or outside your school
 * Share creative writing projects
 * Debate current event issues - classes take opposing sides of an issue
 * Videoconference with experts
 * Participate in "Around the World With 80 Schools" @http://aroundtheworldwith80schools.net/
 * Connect with another class through the iEarn project @http://media.iearn.org/
 * Share Science experiment results with another class who conducts the same experiment
 * Maintain contact with teachers partnered through networked TLCPs

=Some great links for Skype use in Education:= Video Tutorial For Using Skype 50 Ways To Use Skype in the Classroom


 * SET-UP **AND** USE **
 * 1) Open Skype
 * 2) Once SKYPE is initiated, any of your contacts that are online will appear with a “green checkmark.” Anyone not online will appear with a “grey x.”
 * 3) If you wish to connect with a contact you need to click on their name.
 * 4) If they are online you have three choices:
 * 5) Instant message through the chat window (at bottom)
 * 6) Call (voice only)
 * 7) Video Call (voice and video)
 * 8) If they are not online you can still contact them through instant message. They will receive this message when they next connect to Skype again.


 * TROUBLESHOOTING **
 * video picture can pixellate greatly, depending upon connectivity values
 * video picture is lost when bandwidth is weak but audio usually remains intact
 * if bandwidth dips below necessary limits and picture freezes, application needs to be restarted in order for video to resume