Skype: Collaboration and Sharing Tools
Using Skype to Connect Around the Globe
101 Days of Free Tech for Teachers, Day 49
Break down the four walls of the classroom with Skype. Available on any device, this free tool allows educators to connect and collaborate with other classrooms all around the globe through individual or group video calls, instant messaging, screen sharing, and other modes of communication. Skype offers searches for classrooms, guest speakers, and even Mystery Skype. Educators also have the opportunity to take their students on virtual field trips to locations they may not otherwise be able to see. Other features include lesson plans and events like World Read Aloud Day.
How We Decide Which Free Tech Tools to Feature Yup, there are thousands of apps, tools, services, websites, and other offerings — many free — designed for teachers and students. So, how do we sort through all of those to feature the ones which are most useful and interesting? Well… we start by sorting through thousands of these things… then we talk to the presenters in the SimpleK12 Teacher Learning Community and watch their videos closely… then we talk to many of the members in the Teacher Learning Community, teachers just like you who are using these apps and tools day in and day out. We’ve been doing this for over 30 years and have, in that time, developed a sense for what’s good and bad. Have we missed something that we should feature here? Most certainly. So, let us know in the Comments section what we should take a look at and we’ll throw ’em into the hopper.
Carolina Fransen is the EdTech Apps and Tools Editor at SimpleK12.com. She writes regularly about the use of educational technology in K-12 classrooms. If you have an app, tool, website, or service that you think we should know about, please send your information or tip to editor@simplek12.com.
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