Skype

I was reading the March edition of School Library Media Activities Monthly, and noted that there was an article about Skype, by Kristin Fontichiaro.

Last spring, one of my colleagues went abroad for several weeks, as part of her sabbatical. We talked about starting a wiki for daily communicating but then I remembered Skype.

Skype is free, web- powered software that uses the Internet to let users talk to other users. One of my techies told me that we could actually talk to each other- for free! He set me up with the software and we were off! Our computers had built- in web cams and we used headsets, so we were able to have an audio and video connection.

Basically, it allows you to communicate without typing. Our high school students who were on a foreign exchange program this past fall, used it as well.

I wonder if it's going to be used in schools as a distance learning tool. Fontichiaro thinks it should enrich the 21st century learning environment.