Day 45: Skype #1 Reflection

Daily Blog Challenge Day 45/365

Today my fourth graders Skyped with a class from New Hampshire. It was our first experience with Skype (third graders are Skyping next week). It was a wonderful experience and I strongly recommend other teachers incorporate it into a lesson.

Gear Setup
I do not have a projector or smart board so I use an over-sized computer monitor. I downloaded Skype onto my school computer and purchased a web cam on Amazon. I also purchased a Blue Snowball If, but to be honest I am not sure if it was necessary.

Plan

I have talked to both teachers my classes are Skyping with on Twitter. Skype in the classroom is another wonderful resource and place to find Skype projects. I suggest doing a test call before your actual time. It took only a few minutes this morning and it was just to make sure sound levels and video were ok.

My 4th graders performed one song and the other school performed two. This was great practice for concert etiquette. After the performances, students were able to ask the other class a few questions. My students mentioned afterwards that they enjoyed hearing about what other students do in music and how it compares to what we do. They also learned a new song that they thought was really cool (smelly pirates).

In total the Skype call lasted about thirty minutes.  Roughly twenty minutes into it, the internet at my school went out for about five minutes (always a good idea to have an easy standby activity).  This was a bit frustrating, but did not ruin the experience.

Overall it was a great experience. I was proud of my students and their behavior. They handled being an audience well and they were patient during out internet troubles. I am excited for our next Skype with New Jersey and I look forward to many more this school year.