You may know that "Skype" has become a verb, defined as "to have a spoken conversation with (someone) over the Internet using the software application Skype frequently also viewing by webcam." For example, when asked what she did over the weekend, a first grader recently answered, "I skyped with my grandma." Skype has changed how people communicate over long distance, and it has tremendous implications for educational use, such as:
- Skype visit with an author
- Use Skype for a virtual field trip
- Enhance research by holding a Skype with a professional or expert on a particular topic
Recently, educational Mystery Skypes have become very popular and having done one, you will want to do more! I conducted a Mystery Skype toward the end of last year and I can't wait to get started again this year. I would love to have the opportunity to work with YOUR class to do a Mystery Skype by connecting with another classroom somewhere in the world (or right next door).
Here are two ideas to pique your interest:
- Mystery Geography Skype: each class prepares a set of questions designed to narrow down the location of the other class. Using maps, an atlas and good inquiry strategies, students try to guess where the other class is skyping from using the least amount of guesses.
- Here is what Genia Connell says on the Scholastic website: "When we first began, I quickly realized that my students’ knowledge of our own state, let alone other states in our country, was not where it needed to be. I cringed as they confidently looked into the camera and answered that our state, Michigan, bordered an ocean, was in the central time zone, and did not border Indiana. Oh, my. We had some meaningful map lessons and discussions after those Skype sessions. At our last Mystery Skype session, I noticed my students adeptly running their dry erase markers up the Mississippi River, dividing the country into time zones and asking about mountain ranges like the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas — which they didn't even know existed when we began. And best of all for me? They confidently answer questions about our own state correctly (most of the time)!" Genia Connell
- Mystery Number Skype: each class secretly chooses a number between say, 1 and 20. Using yes or no answers, one class tries to guess the number the other class has chosen. As the students figure out which numbers are eliminated, they cross them off a list, or erase them off a whiteboard. Higher level questions can eliminate several numbers at once, such as "Does the number have a curved line?"
- My students are writing the numbers to get ready. Purposeful practice.
- Everyone is learning at their own level, whether that student is still learning to write the numbers, is struggling to distinguish between 11 and 12 (why do those pesky numbers not follow the ‘teen’ rule?) or is formulating questions that eliminate lots of possible numbers. We can all participate in the same activity, but the learning is differentiated.
- While we are discussing numbers, my students are learning that other children far away are learning the same things as they are. This is a big step in global awareness.
- My students are learning one more way to use technology to help them to reach their learning goals. This kind of digital literacy is important for children growing up in an online age. Kathy Cassidy
So - are YOU ready to try a Mystery Skype?
List your ideas or questions in the comments below,
or email me for more information.
Let's get Skyping!
