Best Ways to use Skype in the Classroom

Imagine a classroom belonging to the era of our grandparents – a teacher explaining Math formulae on the blackboard with a book in her hand, and a whole lot of students seated at their desks making attempts to copy the formulae in their exercise books.

With the advent of technology, the education system has gone for a complete makeover in the recent years.

Today, educators have started looking beyond the traditional teaching techniques including the chalk-and-blackboard process and started exploring brand new opportunities in the realm of education.

For instance, they have begun to harness social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus for imparting education to students.

Teachers have also started making efforts to revolutionize teaching strategies by utilizing education resources like Evernote for creating grading templates, lesson plans and much more. Nowadays, you would come across several course instructors employing certain educational apps for the purpose of teaching some academic ideas to learners, just to make the learning processes livelier and more interesting for students.

Why is Skype used in Modern Classrooms?

Skype is one of the most interactive social media tools that teachers could leverage in learning scenarios.

Skype is also one among the free online tools of Google. Skype makes it possible for students to connect with learners from other schools or nations and even interact with teachers based in different parts of the world. Therefore, Skype is a brilliant online resource that enables students to expand their knowledge in more ways than one. As some of you already know, Skype offers free chat and call services and aids the process of communication to a great extent.

Students as well as teachers would be immensely benefitted if they introduced Skype in their daily classroom sessions, as it provides an easy and affordable way to communicate.

I have compiled a list of the best ways to use Skype in the classroom.

#1. Connecting with Other Classrooms

I agree that textbooks are essential for enriching the knowledge of students in various subjects.

However, it is equally important for students to obtain a practical exposure to learning processes that are prevalent in other classrooms. Twenty-first-century youngsters are smart enough to be able to communicate with a large number of people irrespective of the geographical boundaries, thanks to technology.

As teachers, you must make the best utilization of this attitude of students to encourage them to learn more about the world.

Do you remember how, in the olden days, students would write to their ‘pen-pals’? Well, Skype ensures a more direct conversation with modern-day pen-pals! Students can use this online platform to get to know the learning tactics of other students all across the globe, and also know about their lifestyles.

Teachers can also employ Skype to make students work together on collaborative projects that inspire them to work with various other students from different educational institutes.

#2. Promote Participation beyond Classrooms

You must have observed how some students miss certain lessons on account of ill-health.

With Skype at your disposal, you would never have to worry about students not being able to attend your classes. If a student is too ill to attend school physically, he / she can be a part of the classroom sessions with the aid of a Skype connectivity.

Unwell students could attend classes from the comfort of their homes, using Skype.

Students can even log into his Skype account from the hospital and stay connected to his classes. Not only that. Teachers can also record their lectures to be reviewed later, and make them available to the sick students when they are fit enough to connect to their Skype accounts.

Now, here is the good news for all parents.

Teachers might also prefer to utilize Skype to communicate with parents who are too unwell or busy to be present at parent-teacher conferences.

#3. Conduct Interviews

At times, students gain quality education once they get opportunities to interact with outside experts, who are not associated with the school. But, the experts might be equipped with a depth of knowledge in certain academic and non-academic topics and ideas.

However, experts in different fields might be extremely busy and therefore incapable of sparing time to educate young students belonging to different academic institutes.

So naturally, they might find it an uphill task to be physically present within the school premises. If you arranged for video conferencing facility via Skype in your schools, your students would be able to communicate with these experts without any complications. A Skype ‘video-chat’ or even a Skype call is hassle-free and much less time consuming for experts who have hectic schedules throughout the day.

These Skype calls might be set up in a question-answer or a lecture format.

You can also ask your students to complete some assignments based on their interviews with the experts!

#4. Enable Easy Collaboration for Projects and Extra-Curricular Activities

A group project has always been one of the mandatory learning activities widely followed as an educational practice in a majority of schools. Students are divided into groups, assigned projects and team leaders are appointed for each group.

The team leader guides his team members to accomplish common objectives in a group project.

But, the most common problem that team leaders of group projects confront  is finding a place and time for meeting his team members and discussing the responsibilities assigned to each one of them. It is not always possible to meet up at somebody’s place or at the library, especially if students do not possess their own means of transportation.

Why not use Skype to solve the problem dear teachers? Skype lets all your students speak to each other, right from within their homes. It offers a common platform, where they can meet virtually and discuss their roles and responsibilities.

Furthermore, Skype also enables you to organize extra-curricular activities and schedule them perfectly.

#5. Host Virtual Career Explorations

Most students are clueless about their career choices, when they are in middle school or even while they might be studying in high school. They are confused about their higher education and possess vague ideas about the career that would prove to be the best for them.

Many schools invite professional experts to their institutions, where they offer lectures about certain subjects that are taught in schools and how they might assist students in shaping their future!

Do you know what kind of people could be the best guides for your students?

Well, it is their parents. With the help of Skype calls, students would receive ideas regarding different types of careers that the parents of their classmates are associated with. This is a fantastic way to explore a wide variety of career opportunities quite simply.

All you need to do is set up Skype calls with different parents. Next, ask them to present their job roles, designations and responsibilities to the students.

This helps students in two ways.

Firstly, it enables students to get a glimpse at the lives of their peers and also the careers of their parents. Secondly, it also helps parents to be involved in the daily activities of their children’s class.

#6. Use Skype for Tutoring

Students might stumble against certain knowledge gaps even outside the classrooms, when their teacher is not present.

For instance, they might not be able to understand a particular definition in Biology while they are revising their lessons or working on an assignment at home. In such circumstances, it gets extremely tough for students to continue with their learning activities without an aid of tutoring!

Skype offers teachers an opportunity to make themselves available to their students even after school hours.

Students can approach teachers with their questions or problems through Skype calls or even Skype chat facilities. Most students cannot afford additional tutoring programs after the school hours, and Skype is perfect for teachers, to come to the instant aid of such students.

Students can create an official Skype account that can be employed for discussions and calls between teachers and students.

Technology has made it possible for students to enjoy their learning processes more and more, thanks to its manifold avatars like social networking sites and educational apps and websites. Hope you enjoy a brilliant experience leveraging Skype in the modern classroom, dear teachers!