[jerzgirl]

Hi, All:
This month I will be skyping with our penpal class in California. We each have about 23 kids. I have never done this before and am looking for advice. Any thoughts on how to make this run smoothly? Have you done this before? How we decide who talks, what to talk about, etc?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

[Jenny]

Check out this website. I think number 37 is what you are looking for.
http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/0...the-classroom/

[Mr.L]

I do this...each penpal pair gets to talk to each other. They each write two questions to aske each other. They hve about 3-5 minutes to talk with their penpal in a quiet spot in the room. The rest of the class works on a silent activity while waiting for their turn.

[BMc]

I enjoy using skype in my classroom and have a few suggestions to help it run smoothly.

1) Have a class discussion before the skype to make a list of questions that you want to ask. Email these to your penpals so that they can be ready to answer the questions. Some of the questions lend themselves to the reverse question so the student that asks a question can answer the same question from their standpoint. (i.e. what are the best things about living in ... what are you favorite winter activities etc)

2) Discuss skype protocol--no moving around, blurting out, talking in the background (it really makes it difficult to keep a conversation going with background noise) I have my class keep notes on the skype--time started, ended, elapsed time, interesting facts learned etc.

3) Have the students introduce themselves before speaking and talk slower than normal.

4) Give students roles, MC, fact-finder with computer, photographer, videographer

And the biggest tip---do a trial skype with the teacher before the kids come in to make sure you have the volume, mic, and camera all working.
Have fun!

[Teachr4L]

This sounds great, I'm going to look into it. Thanks for sharing. Sorry, you were asking for advice and I don't have any! But, thank you for helping to remind me that I wanted to do this! !