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Education IT

Skype in the classroom

By Xinghui Guo | 1 April 2011

Skype communication software has launched a ‘Skype in the Classroom’ platform for teachers and students to collaborate on. While the normal Skype account allows for multi-conference calls upon a paid subscription, educators and students on Skype in the Classroom can access that technology for free.

This technology has since allowed teachers to work together across the globe—finding partner classes and guest speakers. According to Skype, this new platform was “designed to help like-minded teachers find each other and relevant projects according to search criteria such as the age groups they teach, location and subjects of interest”.

Jurong West Primary School has been a regular user of Skype in the Classroom, using the online platform for exchanges with Bill Williams Elementary School in California, allowing 260 students from both schools to build relationships with one another and facilitating learning that is unlimited by geographical borders, said Manuel Rose Delema, a teacher at Jurong West Primary School and a co-founder of Global Learning Exchange (GLE).

The idea for GLE came about when Delema and Troy Tenhet of Bill Williams met at a conference in 2007. The two teachers then developed this curriculum-based programme that includes learning units that develop proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening, would foster active learning across disciplines and cultures.

Tenhet explained that the GLE aims to create a climate where pupils are highly motivated and personally engaged in classroom activities.

Using Skype, the Jurong West students have read poetry to their Bill Williams counterparts, held questions and answers sessions, and last June, Delema arranged for a Skype call asking experts from NASA for her students to ask about science and environmental issues.

“The kids get eager to come to school and learn, they are willing to do things and at the end of it, the kids are excited and that makes us happy,” said Delema.

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