Skype in the Classroom

This morning I participated in a Facetime meeting between a business marketing class at Seymour High School and the VP of the committee that plans the Seymour Pumpkin Festival.  For those who aren't from around here...it's kind of a big deal.  The purpose of the meeting was to ask questions of the organizer as well as offer thoughts and suggestions for this year's upcoming festival.  It was a great opportunity for the students in class to apply what they had learned in class in a meaningful way.  After leaving the class I went onto Skype's website to see what they were offering in the way of educational content and was surprised to see that they have an entire section dedicated to classes interested in connecting with other classes.  On the Skype in the Classroom page you can create an account and then upload a lesson plan that you would like to use as the basis for collaboration.  If you aren't interested in putting up a lesson plan but would rather search through what is available you can do that to by using the categories (see below).  Overall, it's a relatively simple way to reach out and get started with video conferencing with other parts of the country and even the world.

Now What?

If you are even remotely interested in setting up a virtual meeting for your class and you have the logistics to make it happen...you should definitely check out the Skype in the Classroom website.  If you are looking for more classes who are willing to Skype you can also check out e-Pals which is a great website that I learned about from Allison Imperio on her blog Elementary Tech Assist.