Week in Lab: Skyping in the classroom

April10

I’m skipping my Week in Lab post because I limped into work Monday, and was out for the rest of the week, except for Wednesday. I went in because I had a Skype session with a class at Kevin Jarret’s Northfield Community School scheduled, and we were going to have a special guest, a reporter from my local paper, the Sacramento Bee. The story hit this morning!

Although I have blogged about this project before, I hadn’t shared my partner, Fay Crooks, but since she’s named in the story, I will take this opportunity to share how wonderful it has been to work with her on this. Fay is a tech newbie, but has really done a great job, and has been patient and persevered through the various technical problems that have cropped up along the way. This was a new experience for me, since I have used Skype a lot with adults, but never with children. What have I learned in this process?

  • Have a good partner: I think having a teacher who is patient and committed, is much more important than having someone who is “technically” proficient.
  • Have a plan for what you are doing: My big plan, figuring out how to use this tool in a way that is useful for learning. We also send emails about what will be covered and how things and the kids will be organized.
  • Don’t just have them meet “whole class”: We had some great sessions sharing where we were on the globe, seeing snow in New Jersey, seeing the pledge signed, and singing to the other class, but kids also need time to see each other as individuals. This last session was small group, with a pair from each class meeting at one time.
  • Building meaningful relationships that will lead to deeper learning takes time: We did not meet as often as we should have (this was our fourth or fifth online meeting) due to my only having the kids one time a week when we were both in school. I hope next year, when I have my own class, I will have been control over my class schedule and can set up a regular meeting time with whatever class I’m Skyping with. I have teachers contacting me now asking to start Skyping. This is much too late in the school year to do anything meaningful or lasting. I’d rather be with one class all year, than hopping around. Cocktail parties are nice, but weekend parties are better for getting to know people.

I’ve learned a lot this year from Fay, Kevin, and the kids in New Jersey and in my class. I look forward to more adventures in the future.

Melody Gutierrez and Randy Pench from the Bee were great, and welcome guests in the lab! Thanks so much for sharing the good word about technology in education.

by posted under reflection, weekinlab | 2 Comments »    
2 Comments to

“Week in Lab: Skyping in the classroom”

  1. April 14th, 2011 at 8:49 am      Reply laura v. Says:

    Whoa dig the new design! So how’d you and Kevin & Fay meet up / initiate your Skype relationship?
  2. April 14th, 2011 at 9:01 am      Reply alicemercer Says:

    Thanks for commenting! How did this all start?

    I knew Kevin online for the last three years or so, as we travel in many of the same edublogging circles. I think I first saw his video to be a Google Certified teacher about three years ago. We later met face-to-face at what was the NECC conference and is now called ISTE, where a lot of ed tech educators go.

    My introduction to ed tech was through many relationships facilitated by Skype with peers and other adults. My district had blocked Skype on our network, but last spring, they changed that. This allowed me to start using it in the classroom.

    There are a number of lists for finding classrooms to Skype with, but I also put out a call on Twitter. Kevin was looking for classes to pair up with teachers at his school. I believe he thinks really highly of Fay, and saved her for me ;-) , but that might be conceit on my part.

    I did not know Fay before this project, but initially took to her based on Kevin’s respect. She has more than lived up to that reputation.

    For others, I would point to this guide about Skype that I wrote up last fall:
    http://mizmercer.edublogs.org/files/2010/06/Skype-Education-Technology-Briefing1.pdf

    It has some of the lists where you can find other educators. Since then, Skype has launched its own site for Skype in Education which can be found here:

    http://education.skype.com/

    IF you are are on a social network/twitter with other educators, I recommend tweeting like I did, as it will pair you up with someone who is already in your network.

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Howdy! I teach fifth grade at an elementary school in Sacramento, CA. I started my career in Oakland, Ca, and moved here to Sacramento in 2001.

My goals are:

  1. To reflect on how I am teaching, and how effective my practices are;
  2. To integrate and embed technology in the curriculum I teach; and,
  3. To network with other like-minded educators.

To help me reach my goals, I use this blog as a place for me to reflect on best practices, and the practices I’m (trying to) putting in place in my classroom.

My philosophy of teaching is pragmatic (I’ll use what works, and I’m not particularly wed to one theory or another). I want students thinking critically, and engaged in what they are learning (Constructivism), but I know that many of my students (language learners and others) need schema, scaffolding, and explicit modeling, so I’m not afraid to use those as well.

My philosophy of technology education is that teaching comes first, but technology is an awesome tool to use to engage students, and help them create stuff. I prefer that the learning goal guide the use of technology, and not the other way around.

That’s the big picture. Other salient details are that I can be sharp, but I prefer to see the positive and connect with others rather than fighting and argufying. I can be hard on others (having high expectations), but no harder than I am on myself.

I can be contacted here.

Disclaimer

The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not those of Sacramento City Unified School District.