Opening Your Classroom, Flattening Walls with Skype and Google+ Stephanie Laird Mitchellville Elementary Contact Information:

Overview Introductions Why Skype or Hangout Examples Classroom Teacher as a Professional Interact with Students Other Lesson Ideas Helpful Resources Question/Answer and Sharing Time Work Time

Introductions Stephanie Laird – 4th and 5th Grade Title 1 Math and Reading Specialist – Co-teacher in 1:1 Classrooms 4th Grade 1:1 iPads 5th Grade 1:1 MacBooks – Masters candidate in Curriculum and Instructional Technology at Iowa State University 5 th Grade Students: – Abbie – Jordan – Lucas – Via Skype Hanah Valley Kennedee

Why Skype or Hangout? Bring experts into classroom Virtual fieldtrips Collaborate with classes around the world Student research and interviews Face to face editing a document from a distance

Tied to ISTE NETS ISTE NETS-Students – Communication and Collaboration – Research and Information Fluency – Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making – Digital Citizenship

Tied to ISTE NETS ISTE NETS-Teachers – Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity – Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences – Promote and Model Digital Citizenship – Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teacher Uses Parent Involvment – Parent teacher conferences – Quick showcase of work Readers Theatre Share a piece of writing Watch a student’s presentation – Positive communication connection – Celebration Planning

Teacher Uses Teacher Absence Present a lesson Showcase vacation information Catch up with what you’ve missed Supplemental Instruction After school Reteach or Demonstrate skills Absent Students Keep up with class Limits potential for information to be misunderstood Maintains connection with students who are frequently absent

Teacher Uses Teacher as a Professional – PLC and PLN Meetings Book Discussions Goal Setting Support System Mentor Teacher Feedback – Course Refreshers – Virtually Attend Workshops – Conference Speaking Opportunities

Poet Skype Skyped with four poets o Caroline Starr Rose o Irene Latham o Mary Swander o Debbie Levy Located through: Poet’s personal websites Poetry4Kids Skype an Author Students generated interview questions beforehand

Google+ Google Hangout Poetry Slam Connected with 3 classrooms at once Arranged through Twitter Students shared original poetry Provided an audience other than classroom peers Learned new poetry types

What is Mystery Skype? Video Created by: Jennifer Regruth

Mystery Skype Two classrooms Skype Student roles Clues/Questions Given Determine location Benefits: – Map Skills-- Collaboration – Following Directions-- Student Leadership How to set up: – #mysteryskype – Global Classroom

Skype and Google+ Map

Iowa History Skype A unique and motivating way to learn Iowa History Arranged by Miranda Kral, Wellman Elementary Goal to Skype with all 99 Iowa counties We represented Polk county – Students generated research questions – Located information – Shared facts and learning with Wellman 5th graders Kral’s class shared about Washington County

Student Connections Over Skype, two wheelchair bound students shared – stories – common experiences – future hopes Resulted from our Google Hangout A great way to connect and support all students

What Students Think…

Other Skype/Google Hangout Ideas Fellow Educators have suggested: – Readers Theatre/Plays – Mystery Reader – Book Clubs – Foreign Language Learning – Social Studies Region of the U.S. – Science or Technology Fairs

Helpful Resources #mysteryskype Websites: Skype in Education CybraryMan’s Website Global Classroom’s Wiki Mystery State Wiki Blogs: TheEduBlogger The Global Classroom Project Blogging through the Fourth Dimension Skype Blogs

Tips Set a goal Test the Technology Prepare Students Provide Jobs and Expectations Debrief After Enjoy Collaborating! Skype Add ons: Call Graph Record Skype Calls Talk n Write Free writing/screen sharing Unyte Application Sharing Screen sharing

Troubleshooting Based on our experiences: Know your bandwidth Exit all other webcam programs Skype: Make sure you’re privacy is set to “available” not “invisible” Use the “Skype Test Call” Google Hangout: On Air Hangouts are recorded to the host’s YouTube account Verify time zone the Hangout was created in Choose appropriate audio setting If collaborating on a document, share through GoogleDocs first

Questions? Ideas to Share?

Take this time to explore and sign up for: Contact Information: Collaboration and Work Time Resources included on 1:1 wiki Skype Classrooms Global Classrooms Twitter