Hmmm--that is an interesting question. Security and FERPA is always an issue that we need to be concerned with, but I am not sure of the answer for this particular question. Does anyone else have any thoughts?
Skype has come up at my institution as a Student Service tool but not as a classroom tool. I believe that there are other means of lecture capture that incorporate video (the name escapes me at the moment). My concern with Skype is the reliance on internet security that is not implemented by the institution and how that may interface with FERPA concerns. Any thoughts on my assertion?
I agree that Skype could be a great tool in the online classroom. Thanks for sharing your comments Andrew.
I am based in the US but am originally from the UK. Due to this fact I use Skype regularly and find it an invaluable tool for keeping in touch. I have often wondered why it is not being used in class rooms, as the potential for learning is huge with regards to this online tool. Also it is free, simple to set up, and gives many options of how you can communicate with others on the web,video conference, IM, Voice only, text, etc. It also has a conference call setting which has come a long way since its inception. Put bluntly, I believe Skype should be utilized by as many educators as possible in order to broaden their students horizons.
Great question William. I have not used Skype in my online classes before. Has anyone else in the discussion?
We use the Connect software and when its working, its great. Glitches are frustrating but I hope that with more errors come more solutions.......come more errors......come more solutions....come more, well you get the point.
I haven't used Skype but we have used Adobe Connect in a course I took on distance education at Oxford Unversity. Technological glitches frustrated most of the participants.
