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A group of students and teachers with one goal: connect students with 80 schools from around the world using Skype. Many different project possibilities can be explored here. Some suggested ways of getting involved are listed, or look at which groups meet your students’ needs.  A project wikihelps teachers plan which schools to contact and how to connect.

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Skyping with students is great! They are learning...There is no doubt in my mind...!

I know...I see motivation in their eyes... I feel excitement in the air...I hear them say: "How cool", "That was awesome" or "When are we skyping again?".

I know... all about the different skills students are exposed to and are practicing while skyping.

I know... that I am helping them learn differently than from a textbook.

I know... that I am preparing them for a work environment where they are expected to collaborate with colleagues and teams who do not live in the same country, nor continent and operate in a different time zone.

I know... that I am exposing them to a world, people and cultures beyond their horizon.

I know... that I am broadening their perspectives, tolerance and for someone who is different

...but... what about formal assessment and documentation of this kind of learning.

I enjoy helping other teachers get excited and comfortable using Skype as a tool to connect with other classrooms or experts around the world. I want to make it explicit, once again, that it is NOT about the tool, but about the skills and the learning.

In order to streamline the process of converting a Skype Call into a Learning Call and to make it more visual, I created the following images and handouts. Please feel free to use them in your own classroom.

You can download all of them as a pdf file here.

Credit for middle image "experience" by tombodor

A Skype call should never be done in isolation. We should not treat a video conference any different than a field trip. The actual experience should be framed by pre-activities that activate prior knowledge and post-activites that give students the opportunity to reflect, create and connect these new experiences.
Pre-Activities include:

Familiarize with geographic location, language, culture, age group, etc.

KWL Chart

Information Literacy (locate)

Google Earth (distance)

Google Maps (Street view)

Formulate questions

Distribute job responsibilities for actual video conference experience

Pre-Activities Job Description:
Have students prepare for a call by filling out the handout below. You can easily ask them to formulate and share questions on your classroom blog as well.

Depending on the geographic location, have students "orientate" themselves to WHERE they will be connecting to by answering the following questions.
During the Call Activities include: During Skype Call Job Description:
I have written several times about engaging students during a Skype call by given them s pecific jobs and responsibilities. You can listen to my 5th graders explaining each job a little more.

http://vimeo.com/16180041

Once the Skype call has ended, it is important to help your students debrief and reflect on their experience. As their teacher you will want to assess in one shape or form the learning that occurred. Is skyping making a difference in their learning? Have they learned something that could not have been taught via a textbook? What was the engagement and motivational level of your students?

Here are some ideas on how to help your students reflect on their Skype experience and help you assess their learning. Give students choices on how to debrief by offering or alternating using different media.
Post-Call Activities include:

Informal assessment: debrief right after the Skype call. Have students talk about what just happened. Read the backchannel log out loud and collaboratively add anything that was not documented.

Information Literacy (evaluate, analyze, categorize data collected)

Create documentary (video clip) from video clips taken during the Skype call

Create Photo Slideshow of images taken during the Skype call

Write reflective blog posts

(Paper & Pencil) Journal entries: Give students prompts

Create a Video recording from your debriefing session

Audio podcasting

Embed images and video into blog post

Share with parents (informal at home) or host a parent presentation session at school

Present to larger audience (entire school, community, conference)

Post-Activities Job Description:
Take a peek into a debriefing session after a Skype Call from a third grade class.

http://vimeo.com/11338198

What are some of the activities you do to frame a video conference experience for your students? How do you document and assess the learning taking place with video conferencing?
IMPORTANT!
It is important that we start documenting and assessing student learning (formally and informally) from 21st Century tools. Most assessments are not designed to take new forms of learning into consideration. The more data and documentation we have, the more we can move towards a new kind of "testing and assessing ".

Please contribute by asking your students to take the following survey about their learning via Skype. Once you have had your students take the survey, please e-mail me , so I can share the results with you.

Please disseminate the link to the survey in your own PLN by blogging or tweeting about it.

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Skyping with students is great! They are learning...There is no doubt in my mind...! I know...I see motivation in their eyes... I feel excitement in the air...I hear them say: "How cool", "That was awesome" or "When are we skyping again?". I know... all about the different skills students are exposed to and are practicing while skyping.

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- Global, non-profit organization. Has rendered free services to youth through the Internet since 1990. In 2005, Kidlink had over 100 public and private conferencing communities for youth and adults (mostly teachers and parents) in over 30 languages, a private chat network for participants only, and a multi-lingual web site of more than 100,000 pages. Services were supported by 500 volunteers living in over 50 countries. Most are classroom teachers. Home page:

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- The Global Junior Challenge is a world-wide competition launched by the City of Rome to award prizes to the best projects using new technologies for education training purposes of youth up to the age of 29. Their webpage has a service to find new partners for your project. You can see which projects are looking for partners by country or register your own project in the Partner Search database so that others can see your details.

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Welcome to Global Junior Challenge | Global Junior Challenge

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After the Global Junior Challenge 2017, testing begins in schools.

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Founded in 1981, GEM has consistently worked with students, teachers and administrators through on-site and distant learning workshops and classroom program support to promote a better understanding of the world and its people. GEM has always maintained a close association with the United Nations as well as several other affiliations.

GEM provides various videoconferencing applications and offers packaged videoconferencing programs that can be customized through brainstorming with teachers to fit the individual classroom situation.

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Connects users from around the globe, providing the tools and meeting places to create a worldwide community of learners. The tools include ePALS SchoolMail™ and SafeBrowser™ as well as built-in language translation designed for schools. Whether you want project ideas for your class-to-class partnership, or discussion areas where you can contribute your views on a matter, ePALS strives to make it easy for members to make meaningful connections with each other.

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Lessons plans on current global issues

Twice a year you can bring a global Pulitzer reporter into the classroom, for more info contact Civitas

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The Pulitzer Center’s K–12 education programs and resources cultivate a more curious, informed, empathetic, and engaged public by connecting teachers and students with underreported global news…

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Founded in 1998, the Global Nomads Group (GNG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to heightening children's understanding and appreciation for the world and its people. Using interactive technologies such as videoconferencing, GNG brings young people together face-to-face to meet across cultural and national boundaries to discuss their differences & similarities, and the world issues that affect them.

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We believe in a generation of global citizens who are empathetic, aware, and taking action to solve some of the world's most pressing issues during these transformative times.

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International Education and Resource Network.
140 countries
30 languages
50,000 educators
2 million students