11/5 Things. Thing #3

The article 50 ways to use Skype in the classroom tells us of many ways to use Skype in the classroom but it all comes down to videoconferencing. Students can video conference with other classrooms around the world. They can conference with students from other countries to find out about their culture. They can talk with a professor about science or with a fireman about his occupation. They can talk with an author without the school paying the expense of transportation. There are many ways a classroom can use Skype. I recently was in a summer school library for an elementary problem based learning program. The students were supposed to use technology to research a problem on how natural changes to the earth such as earthquakes and volcanoes affect us. They set up Skype to talk to a professor knowledgeable about earthquakes at the University of Texas about earthquakes. The professor was able to see the whole class and pick out individual students who raised their hands to ask a question. The professor actually remembered some of the students names and used them again when they raised their hands another time. I've heard of a larger session with several classes using an auditorium to ask questions. This time the students came up to a podium to ask their question.