Skype in the Classroom
Distance work via the internet has always been a point of great interest to me. For independent TESOL professionals, it just makes really good sense.
Increased flexibility that "instant" communication and connection offers. You could offer classes at hours when many other schools or teachers simply do not. I have a few students who want classes at times when I am normally in commute, or on my way to take my son to school, which means that they are not teachable - at least not by me, not yet.
Reduce waiting time. Some students chronically arrive late. Wouldn’t it be a better use of time if you simply signed onto your Skype account, and then went about doing all the other things you needed to do while waiting for yours student to show up?
Reduced Cancelation Frustration. Skype would also reduce that terrible sensation of commuting to class only to have the group cancel as you pull into the company parking lot. With Skype you could feel the frustration in the comfort of your own home.
Skype Adoption = Steps towards a Greener Work Solution. I don’t see myself as an environmentalist, but I am sure thinking more seriously about how I could be Greener in how I work. One way this could happen is if more of my classes were done over Skype. I think this is more wishful thinking at the moment, for a few reasons that I’ll get into in a moment, but Skyping to class instead of commuting to class….well…that would be a lovely thing. On good days I loose 2 hours in traffic, or in simply waiting for students to arrive. I can sure think of other things I could do with that time. But what about the traffic and pollution I help create by driving my lovely car? Multiply that by the thousands of other ESL teachers in this city…would there be an impact? And what if a culture of telecommuting grew in acceptance throughout the city? Could there actually be some impact on environmental levels? VOIP technology is on the increase here, and maybe as the years go by, "hotdesking" to class will become a stronger possibility.
I’ve never actually tried a Skype class. I’ve used it lots to stay in touch with my family in Canada, but never for work purposes. I find myself wondering about a few things:
1. Would Skype classes help teacher and student create the needed connections for language development to occur? We learn our first language (L1) from direct, face to face contact time with the people around us. We have eye, facial expression, touch, and emotional
contact with the people who help us learn the language. These contacts, I think, are vital to how well we learn the language. Could Skype, or any other online initiative, ever reach us on these levels in authentic ways? I don’t know. I have a feeling that real face to face time is something we will never be able to distance ourselves from, and maybe we should never try.
2. There are difficult tech gliches like lag and video crashes. I often experience this when I get into long discussions with my family. I get echos of my own voice (weird…feels like I’m talking with myself through a long pipe sometimes.) but most difficult has been starting video chats. Very often we can only have one video screen open at a time, or we simply crash the conversation. I’m not the first to mention this: TeacherDude
first got me thinking seriously about the difficulties in Skyping a class back in June 2006.
I think the only way Skype would fly well in the classroom would be if both teacher and student had high speed net connections with the right computer to handle it. These variables are likely the most difficult to balance out.
On Skypecasts
Just today I was reading through a post via Stephen Downes who comments on, and points to a very interesting read around this subject. Oddly enough, one of the major difficulties mentioned by VanDrimmelen, and I’ve heard this on other occasions too, are frequent interruptions by enthusiastic ESL learners wanting to practice their English. Go figure.
What do you think? Do you see telecommuting to English class (or any other class you teach) as a possibility in the days and months to come? Would you ever adopt it? Have you? What have been your experiences?
—————————————
Photo Credit
Telephone Boxes by malias
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=50216300&size=s
Traffic by Sarah Jane
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=84167136&size=s
powered by performancing firefox
I still maintain that Skypecasts are a great way to learn language! It is perfect because the learners get to talk with a person first hand. They may not be the best for other lecture type courses until there are some better tools put in place to moderate the people joining the conversation, but a chat room meant to practice English… you will have dozens and dozens of takers any time of day.
Comment by Jeff VanDrimmelen — November 21, 2006 @ 9:12 am
I feel as though skypecasts may eventually become a plausible substitite for in class teaching, however, i dont feel that way now. Most places dont have the speed or technological continuity to create a skype class without numerous errors and headaches. I also feel that there is no substitute for in class communication and interaction between pupil and teacher. This interaction can be very important when forming a trusting and acountable relationship with your students. I could, however, see how a combination of class and online activities could work well for a classroom. Many activities would work as well online as they would in classroom, and lectures, work, or projects could simply be posted online. Using the internet to teach will only become easier and more user friendly as people begin to see it as a viable alternative to teaching in the classroom.
Comment by ajk205 — November 21, 2006 @ 12:41 pm
I’ve been trying to use various solutions such as skype, flashmeeting and HP Virtual Room for virtual teacher training. In fact, today I gave a presentation from my house to a group of teachers in Birmingham. This saved me a 9 hour round trip by car.
However, it was really difficult to pick up on the mood and ability of the people I was training. I know that I taught them really well. However, I’m not convinced that they learnt as well as they would have if I’d been in the room with them.
At the moment I think that virtual teaching has the potential to extend a learning conversation out of a classroom, but it can’t replace real teaching.
If you fancy reading an article I wrote recently on virtual training, go to http://www.learnblog.net/ict/2006/10/24/virtual-training-and-chocolate-cake/
Comment by Alex Savage — November 21, 2006 @ 4:56 pm
Hey guys, I work for Skype’s PR firm performing user outreach. Would love to hear from any of you in more depth about how you’re Skyping. This isn’t spam or a marketing survey, sorry to clog up the comment stream!
Comment by Scott I. — November 22, 2006 @ 12:02 pm
I think that once we have the good enough connections in place Skype will be a great way for our students to practice in the classroom and at home.
As for replacing classroom interaction completely, I think that this is still not really feasible yet for all kind of psychological reasons which have nothing to do with technology.
Saying that, I think the tele - learning will be welcomed by those who don’t have access to a teacher/classroom. If you don’t leave in a big city where English is taught or your programme doesn’t allow you to commute then I think that lessons over the internet offer a fair alternative.
Comment by Teacher Dude — November 27, 2006 @ 4:12 am
Jeff,
I’m soo sorry for not replying to you until now. I agree with you: Skype holds great potential for ESL classrooms. Though there are a few hurdles to clear, I think that someday soon, I’ll be going to some classes over the internet. Maybe my students will be located in a distant corner of Mexico City, or in another country. I think that’s going to be a part of my teaching future. It sure seems to be a trend of today’s “flat world.”
I also strongly agree with your point around Skype not being a good tool for lecture style courses. Nope. It’s about conversation. That’s what Skype is good for. (And, in my humble opinion, conversations are what leads to the best learning anyway.)
Have you tried to employ Skype for language learning/teaching purposes?
Thanks for your comments, and for writing such an interesting blog.
Comment by Aaron Nelson — November 28, 2006 @ 9:14 pm
Hello ajk205,
Please forgive me for taking so long to write you back. I appreciated your points of view very much. I think you make a very strong and important point: No matter how techie our classrooms become, we must never forget that we will always need human contact to learn. Teacher with Students, Students with Teacher, Students with Students in real time, face-to-face.
I do think valuable learning can take place via online environments, but human contact and interaction in F2F environments, will likely always be a vital part of the learning process.
Blended learning solutions are the way to go I think. (Combinations of online and F2F.) That way you get the best of both worlds. The flexibility and richness of online learning, coupled with face-to-face interaction.
I really enjoyed your ideas, thanks for posting them.
Comment by Aaron Nelson — November 28, 2006 @ 9:23 pm
Hello Alex,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with Skype and training. Cutting down on long commutes and travel to work projects is something that has always….seemed to dangle just in front of me. Ever since I started commuting 2 hours one way to 7:30 a.m. English classes on the other side of Mexico City, I’ve daydreamed of one day teaching online, from the comfort of my living room.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m still wanting to deliver high quality classes, but I would sure love to cut back my commute time.
You mention a common thread of online ed: That we will never be able to replace the human side of teaching/learning. There’s just something…special that happens when you’re in the same room as the other person you’re working with isn’t there? Something, up until now, that just can’t be replicated with online options.
I agree with you: Online is great for classroom conversation extension, but it should never replace human contact.
Thanks for your ideas, I’ll read your article tonight.
Comment by Aaron Nelson — November 28, 2006 @ 9:32 pm
Teacher Dude,
Well said. There are some very common tech related roadblocks out there. I think the biggest one is what you mention: quality connections. Though broadband penetration is growing, I think the vast majority of folk simply don’t have the high speed net connections AND the computers to handle a Skype class.
2. We’ll always be human, I hope anyway, and there’s just something about our makeup that I think requires us to interact with other humans in the same room and space for some levels of learning to happen. We need and crave the contact. We can learn with digital tools, but I think only on certain levels of deepness.
Thanks for your ideas.
Comment by Aaron Nelson — November 28, 2006 @ 9:37 pm
Until recently, I have never heard of such capabilities able to communicate to someone across the world being able to listen and see that person over your computer screen, all from using skype. It is a marvelous innovation, that I believe will allow teachers to use this technology appropriately for their classroom. All the teachers or students need is the right computer and high speed internet connection (like the person said). The popularity of skype does worry me. Will this eventually eliminate the use for classrooms? There are schools, that I know of, that do host online classes but are geared toward adults with schedules constantly changing, who don’t have time, or aren’t always available to attend class. This is legitimate for those with crazy schedules looking for an education, but children need a structured place where the teacher is physically in the same room as the students. Children need physical contact from other people to develop social skills, lets not but a screen between them. Maybe I am just a bit paranoid and taking skype for all it’s worth, but this seems to be one step closer to future where a teacher in London is possible to teach a group of students from various parts of the world. It boggles my mind that classrooms might not be needed anymore and student might be taught by teachers using skype.
Comment by Jon — February 19, 2007 @ 12:52 pm
I believe that making the content meaningful to students is one of our number one duties/obligations as teachers. The majority of teachers I had, definitely did not do this. Instead they would tell us, “Know this material for the test.” They rarely ever explained why we were learning what we were learning at the time. If we don’t know that, then the material is worthless.
Comment by Sean — February 26, 2007 @ 10:49 pm