One of the great things about going to a large conference with a colleague is you can divide and conquer - each person goes to a different session then shares over lunch or dinner. At ECOO, one of the sessions I didn’t attend was on Mystery Skypes. But even though I didn’t see it, I’ve learned quite a bit about it over the past week because Sarah went to the session and was inspired to try it. (Skype is a free video calling service on line.)
The idea behind a mystery Skype is that you connect your class to another class somewhere else in the world and each class tries to figure out where the other is located. It is a great way to start talking about location, weather, or culture. It inspires curiosity and engagement. It forces the students to ask specific questions that will help them solve the mystery of where the other class is. It also forces the class to think about where they are in the world, and how it might be discovered by another class. Excellent option for getting students thinking about perspectives or point of view.
Over the past week, Sarah set up 2 mystery Skype sessions with 2 different classes. The first was only a mystery for Sarah’s class, as they skyped with a friend of hers at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. The class is studying the holocaust and creating a museum to demonstrate their learning. They skype session was able to give them access to an expert to expand their research. Sarah’s second class will do a mystery Skype with a First Nations class as both classes are reading The Rez Sisters play in 3U English. In this case, both classes are in the dark about the other’s location.
But mystery skype is not the only way to use skype. There is a website with ideas for using skype in your classroom (https://education.skype.com/) that suggests using skype to collaborate with other classes around the world, to invite experts into your class or take a virtual field trip. Here you can find all kinds of ideas for using skype in your class (experts, lessons, topics, classes looking for a connection). There is also a skype blog, twitter feed and facebook group if you want to see what others are doing.
Update, after this was put in Bear Essentials.
See Sarah's reflection on her first Skype session with her friend at the Holocaust Centre. Her reflection on the second Skype session should follow soon.
