Skype for Education

Like many of you, I have used Skype personally due to the fact that I have family who are computer saavy and live out of state. While the benefits and opportunities with this type of global collaboration are astounding, there are other ways that Skype can be used in the classroom. Skype can be used to connect with a subject area expert, author, professional, artist, or anyone that has an experience to share.
 If you're interested in inviting an author to Skype with your class, here is a great place to start. Skype with an Author Network, is a wiki page that was created to provide access to Authors that are willing to Skype with classrooms for free. “The mission of the Skype an Author Network is to provide K-12 teachers and librarians with a way to connect authors, books, and young readers through virtual visits.” 
Why could not a high school Agriculture class Skype with a professional in the field who works for the State Agriculture Commission? The opportunities for use in education as a means for having various guest speakers is UNLIMITED!  Access to Skype and a web-cam is no longer a limitation for many individuals. Most laptops come equipped with a built in web-cam. Since Skype is free the barriers to entry are minimal!

See how one school district is using Skype for virtual field trips!



Here is a Kindergarten class having "Skype and Tell!"



Here is a three minute teacher tutorial for using Skype.