Skype?
Has anyone used Skype in their classrooms? We probably all rely on the Breeze Connet but the ability to have real time face time with students is fascinating. Is it doable yet to have multi party conference chats and if so, how did it go? Pros? Cons?
Madelyn,
This and excellent resource for keeping distance students better engaged. Good work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I am a court reporter and one of my students is in the military reserves, I have used Skype successfully. It is a great way for her to be able to stay on schedule. The new technology is fantastic and a great resource.
Brock,
These are well-stated challenges and benefits. Nice job.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
The problems I have seen with Skype and related products are--in no order--reliability, organization, cost, and ease of student use. The only other one I have much personal experience with is the WebEx meeting system from Cisco.
With Skype specifically, I have in both professional and personal environments found that certain connections between individuals can be flaky or suboptimal. I've experienced situations where I just can't tell someone else is online, or someone appears online who isn't, or other things that really inhibit the smooth flow of conversation. Sound quality with Skype is also occasionally a problem.
Formal synchronous discussion is tough with Skype. It doesn't have really any tools for formal "meeting" structure that I'm aware of, such as setting topics, or a scheduler/calender, and so on. The screen sharing tools for showing a slideshow or a virtual whiteboard are limited. I haven't much experience with the recording function but I believe it's fairly limited. With something like WebEx, I have a formal meeting calendar, a host/participant structure, screen sharing, and so on.
WebEx, though, can get out of control cost-wise for large groups. This is especially true if students have the option of calling in. My institution is relatively small, and we've been able to keep this fairly well controlled (to my understanding), but I can imagine it getting out of hand if used by every instructor for every session with large groups.
Lastly, with either Skype or WebEx, something I run into constantly is student technical problems. It's been reinforced during the course that IT support has to be in place for an online/distance program, but when a student's mic breaks during the middle of a chat session at 7 at night, it's the instructor/TA who has to do the troubleshooting if that student is going to participate in the discussion any further.
However, despite all these disadvantages, the students love being able to hear concepts explained to them, to view my scribblings on a virtual whiteboard as I explain concepts to them, and to interrupt and ask real-time questions. It's much more natural for instructors (I've seen) to control a voice chat session than a bunch of students typing at each other, which is a bonus for the new online instructor. I don't want to denigrate the value of even typing-style chat sessions, but student participation and response to synchronous meetings has, in my experience, been much greater when we are all actually speaking to one another.
I don't have any real experience using SKYPE but think that it will provide students with access to the instructor and help them feel more comfortable with asking questions about assignments.
Hi Julie, the quality is excellent. It's like you are talking to someone next door!! Tina
I have not utilized skype but it sounds like a great option. What is the quality of the sound?
Hi Karen, Breeze Connect is an Adobe conferencing product that our faculty use to hold meetings or meet with learners one-on-one. It allows you to present ppt slides or show your desktop and do demonstrations. Many of our faculty use it to hold weekly lectures or question and answer sessions. You can also give the learner an opportunity to share their desktop, which you can then view. I have used it many times with learners who have issues navigating the courseroom environment or saving documents. I can either have them watch me or I can watch them and give them directions or troubleshoot problems. Tina
What is Breeze Connet? I like the idea of having Skype as a point of contact and real time communication, but it also makes the instructor tied to the computer at a specific time. I would like to explore any other options and never heard about Breeze Connet.
Hi Emily, Skype can be an excellent communication tool and it is a free application, so all learners can engage with you. I also like the idea of being able to see the person on the other end! It really helps develop presence in the online course environment. Tina
I have never used skype in a classroom. I think it coudl be really useful if students have it available to them as well. It would help the instructor connect with the student and instruct more hands on.
I use Skype a lot for personal and professional use. I mostly use it to communicate with other instructors. I do offer my student's my skype name so they can use it as an IM etc but we try to keep most communication within the LMS if possible. This allows us to track and record correspondence.
I have not used Skype in an online environment and in reality would not be happy if it was mandatory to use. From an IT professional point of view I do not like programs that have to be installed on a computer to work that and then take over and reduce the functionality of the computer which Skye unfortunately does. In particular I do not like the dial from web function that alters the way web pages are supposed to look and cannot be turned off at least to my knowledge. That being said I think it's important to be able to talk to your students live sometimes as a class and have had great success with Free Conference Call http://www.freeconferencecall.com/ I have been on both sides of the phone with this application I have used it as an instructor and been a student in a class where it been used. The other neat thing is the conference can be recorded so it can be used as an archive for students unable to attend.
I think it adds an element of "realness", for lack of a better word. Many of my online students in my Interpersonal Class create speeches through YouTube and they love the fact that they get to physically see me and their fellow students.
Hello William,
I have not used skype, but our live chats have the ability to connect our webcam and microphone. I notice a difference when students can physically see the instructor.
It seems to add a more personal level to the discussions. Dependent and participatory students really like this aspect of the chats.
I have been teaching traditional for 10 yrs at the college level,7 at the public school level and 8 yrs on line. I also work at a university and I have no idea what this is! I have also worked for the largest corporations in America including a telecom corporation...could this be called something else or maybe region specific?
Hi William,
I don't use Skype in the classroom, but I have found that if I have a number of students who want special help outside the classroom without everyone knowing that Skype is a great tool to use.
I like skype can the student can or can't see you depending on how they want to do it. I have helped numerous students outside the classroom in this way.
Terry Armentrout
I agree it can be a great resource. Thanks for your comments Jeremiah.
I have used Skype for a work setting. Unfortunately, there are the same availability concerns you get with organized chat sessions. I think it is a great resource but it has its place just like the synchronous and asynchronous discussions.
