Skype in the classroom

Reflecting on the use of ICT in my classes this year, I recalled a situation that involved the use of the video conferencing software ‘Skype’.

I was teaching a year 7 science class in first semester; each student had been supplied with their own notebook by the school which was preinstalled with Skype. One day I noticed that a student was not in class, her friends informed me that she was away ill, nothing unusual. What was unusual was when one of the students turned their notebook around to face me, displaying the ill students face on the screen. The student had connected from her sickbed at home via Skype to take part in the class!

Although somewhat shocked, I admired the students enthusiasm to not let her illness impede her from participating in class.

This experience made me wonder what possibilities there are for using Skype in the classroom. A quick Google search reveals that there are quite a lot.

One that I find most exciting is how it can be used for class incursions. Skype could be used to facilitate an incursion by an ‘expert in the field’ when it may not be possible for the expert to visit the class in person. See the example of the truck driver in the video below.

What other examples of Skype in the classroom have people experienced or considered?

ICT and the VELS

ICT provides a rich and flexible learner-centred environment in which students can experiment and take risks when developing new understanding.

I’ve highlighted this statement because in many ways it speaks to a view that I am beginning to develop about ICT in the classroom.

During my placement last semester I regularly used ICT in my teaching, but I never really thought about why, it was just something different to try and the students generally enjoyed it. However, this semester I’ve made an effort to continuously evaluate why I’m using ICT in my teaching, and specifically how it assists in achieving learning goals.

An example of my ICT use this semester is in my year 7 Science class, where I’ve been teaching the topic of atoms and the periodic table. ICT use in this topic has included computer based atom builder simulation programs, independent research on atoms and elements on notebooks (luckily the school supplies each student with their own notebook), and a periodic table Wiki which all students contributed to.

Through this exercise a number of the benefits of ICT highlighted by the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) have become evident. ICT has allowed students to work collaboratively on a number of different projects, it has provided an opportunity for students to share knowledge, students have used ICT to acquire new information and assisted students to make sense of new ideas and concepts (VCAA 2009).

In my preparing for this unit of work there were two points I considered to be most important in relation to ICT use:

1. Using ICT would allow the class to do things that would be impossible without its use.

The atom builder simulation programs allow students to get a visual representation of a difficult concept that cannot be seen, and can achieve things that traditional models or practicals cannot.

Internet based research gives access to a vast amount of material that could not be accessed through any other means.

Wikis allow students to create and share information in an efficient and accessible manner.

2. ICT provides a differentiated learning experience that caters for student differences.

I don’t necessarily agree with the ideas of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, that we posses different combinations of discrete specific intelligences (Gardner 1993). However, I do think that different people will learn at different speeds and through a variety of means. I tend to agree more with the ideas of Geake (2008), who suggests we don’t learn through one style alone, and that a complex arrangement of neural connections in the brain is a determinant of learning potential.

ICT can provide the differentiated learning experience that will cater for students who posses different arrangements of connections in their brains. But perhaps more importantly, ICT can provide a variety of different experiences that will allow students to make new neural connections and therefore increase their future learning potential.

Gardener, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.

Geake, J. (2008). Neuromythologies in education. Educational Research. 50 (2), 123-133

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2008). Victorian Essential Learning Standards: Information and Communications Technology. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from: http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/ict/