As was widely reported on the web today (see CNet and THV) “Skype in the Classroom” was launched at the start of the month, and now being used to help students in different countries and cultures around the world to connect and learn about each other.
Given the globalized society in which we all live, and which today’s children in particular will have to navigate as they grow up, this new Skype connectivity is a great teaching tool. The children discuss food, weather, geography in their country, even comparing school uniforms!
Schools that are using this technology should definitely consider using a Skype Video recorder like Supertintin to record the calls so that the experience can be shared with other children. In particular, the ability to record the entire exchange in a single file – the video and audio of all participants in a side-by-side format – would make it very easy to share these cultural exchanges.
Who knows, these calls would no doubt be of interest to sociologists, ethnologists, psychologists and many other -ologists as well. I hope that the schools are aware that recorder programs are available.
To get your school involved, visit the Skype Education website. What a great initiative by Skype!