Digital Conferencing with Skype

"Learning becomes increasingly authentic as it expands beyond
the walls of the classroom, and being able to have a phone
call or a video chat with someone on the other side of the world
can make learning come alive."
- Seven things you should know about Skype

It goes without saying that the World Wide Web removes the walls of a classroom, but sometimes I still find myself amazed at the extent of which this is true. Take for example the free service called Skype (If you're interested, look into Oovoo as well). Skype provides free Internet chat and video conferencing as well as a pay option to call land line and cell phone numbers from the computer. Forget email as a method for interaction. Skype allows face to face communication to anywhere in the world.

Needless to say, the educational possibilities are infinite. And there are no shortage of websites about Skype in the classroom. Here are just a few I found to be helpful:

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7032.pdf
http://edtech-rice.blogspot.com/2008/02/skype-pilots-in-classroom.html
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6515247.html

There is also a blog that was created only days ago that is intended to be a contact of sorts for teachers looking to integrate Skype. It's rather bare on content and participants right now, but there's certainly a need for a source like this, so skypeintheclassroom.wordpress.com is at least worth mentioning.

I would also like to use this post as an all-call for educators looking to collaborate using Skype. I'm itching to try it out in my classroom - if you are too, leave me a comment and we can work something out. (Incidentally, I also posted a similar request on the Teach-nology message board. If you're visiting Classroom in the Cloud from that forum, thanks for stopping by!)

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Asus Eee PC and OLPC

I just finished a post comparing the OLPC laptop with the Asus Eee PC and how the two could be used in the classroom. I made lists of pros and cons, I collected important links, and I tried to push my opinion that for $299 the Eee is a pretty amazing deal. There was just one problem - The OLPC is still way better. I deleted that post in exchange for this one.

Incidentally, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out the One Laptop Per Child website.

The reality is while no one can dispute the incredible potential of the OLPC, few have been able to take advantage. Like bigfoot, many claim to have caught a glimpse, but few have actually laid hands on the thing. In fact, the official release of the laptop on Amazon isn't until November 17th of this year. And even then, the starting price of $199 doubles because of a required donation of a second laptop to an undeveloped country.What are the other options?

The Asus Eee PC has been around for a little over a year, but it has just now made its way to the shelves of Target and Best Buy stores. It's an incredible little laptop - despite a measly 4GB hard drive and a 7 inch screen. It runs on a version of Xandros Linux which means the overall cost is lower due to the absence of proprietary software licenses.

Think of the educational possibilities of a fully-functional laptop that carries no overhead software costs, and is small and portable enough to tuck into a book bag. Think of it this way - under $9000 for an entire class set of laptops. Now that's potential.

So much potential, in fact, that I've decided to conduct my own little experiment. I am now the proud owner of an Asus Eee PC 900 laptop. There is some apprehension as to just how productive a laptop of this size could actually be. So for the next 100 days, I intend to find out by only using my Eee. That means no other laptops, no desktops, and no Windows operating systems. I made another blog to document my Eee-xperiment. Come visit! http://theeeepcexperiment.blogspot.com

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