Engaging Students with Skype

Today I had the opportunity to participate in a Skype lecture with a group of Senior English students and a Ph.D. student from Virginia Commonwealth University. The students were engaged. Yes, I said it! These Senior English students with just a few days left in high school were engaged!

The lecture was about identity and the book Invisible Man. The lecture and the conversations were great. The students were asking engaging questions and walked out of class excited about the lecture and wanted to do it again.

The students would have never had this opportunity without the use of a free online tool - Skype.  With the use of Skype, students are not able to experience the world that exists beyond the four walls of the classroom.

So how do you get started?  First, download Skype and create an account. If you have a personal account, you can use that or create an educational account.  The next thing you need to do is find someone to Skype.  Easy enough, right?  Yes!  There are resources out there to help educators find professional and other educators to Skype with.

Skype in the Classroom ~ https://education.skype.com/
This website should be your first stop when looking for Skyping experiences.  On this site, you can other educators and professionals that want to Skype and gain that experience of learning beyond the four walls.

Skype an Author Network ~ http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/
This website provides a list of authors that you can contact for a Skype lesson.  Keep in mind, you won't find famous authors (no offense) on this list. You will find up and coming authors and authors the students may not know .. yet.  If you want to Skype with a current author, be ready to write a check in most cases.

Authors Who Skype with Classes for Free ~ http://www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skype-with-classes-book-clubs-for-free/
This is another list of authors that will Skype with your students.

If you are a secondary teacher, try talking with the local or not so local university to find a professor or graduate student that would Skype with your class. This will help bring your subject area more to life for the students.

What resources do you use to find Skype activities?

Are You Connected?

A few days ago I came across a great article on Connected Principals about being a connected educator. The article was titled "Plugged In" and can be found here. I completely agree with the article. Educators need to be connected in order to learn about the most up-to-date information. With the introduction of Common Core, educators can't afford to not be connected.

Where do you begin to get connected?  If you are just getting started, this question can be a real burden! Here are some ways I am connected. These are not the only ways, so if these ideas don't appeal to you, don't worry! There is something out there for everyone!

~ Twitter  (I am @techie_teach)
Twitter is a great way to connect with other educators and education experts! If you want to "test the waters" before creating an account, you can search the discussions by going to twitter.com/search and searching one of the several hashtags used by educators. Some of these include #edtech, #edapp, #mlearning, and #1stchat.
Once you create an account, you want to find the experts and learn from them! Some of the experts I follow include: Lisa Johnson (@TechChef4u), Jayme Linton (@jaymelinton), Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher), Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal), and Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne).
You can find other suggestions for leaders new to Twitter here.

~ Pinterest (I am at http://pinterest.com/teachertechie/)
When you think Pinterest, you may think about recipes and home decor ideas. You should also think about education. Pinterest is a great way to "pin" and share resources, ideas, examples, and information with others. For example, Matt Gomez has a Pinterest board dedicated to free iPad apps.
Pinterest, to me, is like a large database of information but in a cute visual format. I can organize my information through the creation of boards. I have two boards created so far, fabulous teacher blogs and presenting without powerpoint.

~ Diigo (I am @ eva_harvell)
 Diigo allows you to collect website bookmarks and share with other Diigo users. What is great about Diigo is the bookmarks can be accessed from just about any device. This way you can access your favorite websites from home or school. You can join groups, like Common Core and 21st Century Learning and Diigo in Education, to gain the links of multiple Diigo members!

~ LinkedIn (I am @ Eva Harvell)
I have just recently been introduced to LinkedIn. LinkedIn is like Facebook, but for professionals to connect with each other and learn. LinkedIn is also a great way to get your name, face, and resume out there to other companies and organizations. Within LinkedIn, you can join groups to discuss/share with other educators. Some of these groups include: ASCD, Mississippi Common Core Collaboration, and ISTE.

~ Google + and Google Hangouts
I hope to start exploring Google+ and Google Hangouts soon. I came across a great resource (on LinkedIn) called Google Education ON AIR. This site is all about connecting with others via Google Hangouts.

So, how do you connect with other educators? What do you do to stay connected?

Spring Break

I fully enjoyed Spring Break this past week! Tomorrow, however, it is back to work! I have some blog ideas in my head that I hope to get posted soon. :0)