Tool #9

I could really see myself using Skype to not only see my family (most of whom live in the Valley), but I could also see my younger brother who is currently stationed in Columbia. That in itself could be a lesson with the kids to view the country and see how different or similar people's lives are to our own. I would really love to use Skype with students from other countries especially when we are studying about natural resources so that students can see different biomes, animals, and how people really live. I think it would really open our kids eyes up to a whole new world that they can only read about or see on TV (usually it's non-fiction). We always talk about giving our kids experiences that they would normally not be able to experience on their own. How many kids do you know can say they've talked to kids in China or Africa or even Sweden? How excited would our kids be about learning then?

I can definitely see using this to talk to other teachers and I could really see using Jing when doing science experiments and having multiple steps involved in the process. Kids could really benefit from seeing it versus me just telling them how to do it and since I teach only science and math, I could really benefit from videotaping the lesson. Many times kids come up with questions or have insights that the second class may not even consider.