Connecting Live in the Classroom
Lets Meet in our Seat
How?
Ever want to take your class on some amazing field trips where students get to learn about other cultures and perspectives in our world? Wish you could whisk your students away to Australia or South America to teach them about continents. How powerful would it be to teach them by showing them and letting them talk to the locals? Well now you can without even leaving the classroom.
Virtual Meet and Greets
There are many online tools that you can use to meet with other classes around the world. Skype and Google Hang Out are among the most popular.
Skype in the Classroom
Skype has a educator website dedicated to facilitating projects and classroom Skype calls between educators and professionals to enrich your students' learning. Sign up for a free account then you can start a project or join a project.
Some amazing activities you can do just once or twice a year are:
- Mystery Skype - A hidden location guessing game using laminated maps
- Mystery Number Skype - 20 questions with a mystery number using the 100's chart to eliminate numbers as you go
These on average take 20 minutes and often times the students will stay on and chat a little after the game is over to compare locations, schools, interests, etc. In addition, many teachers will chart their calls on a map pinning locations and the classroom or school's name. Some educators have set a goal to connect with all 50 states throughout the school year or over a number of years. Everyone is very helpful and patient. They are usually happy to walk you through the process for the first time. You can find teachers on Skype in the Classroom website or on Twitter using #SkypeClassroom #MysterySkype.