Emerging Technology: Skype

For this emerging technology, I decided to toy around with the Skype program (www.skype.com). This is a multimedia social networking device available for free download to your computer. With it, you can connect to anyone, anywhere in the world, as long as they have Skype as well. Your connection with that person (or persons, as you can Skype multiple people at once on a conference call) enables you to A) see them, as long as your computer has a video camera component and B) chat with them live. Skype is very easy to use. Once you go to the site and download/install the program, it gives you step by step directions on how to set up your account. Once your account is set up, you can begin video-chatting with anyone in the world. For instance, one of my good friends from high school is in Sweden for the next 8 months due to his work. With Skype, I was able to have a personal, one-on-one video chat with him in his free time. I thought it was really cool that even though he was a half a world away, we could still see each other and talk to each other with Skype. It makes it much more personal than a phone call, and it's free (no long distance rates). I highly recommend Skype to everyone; it's an awesome way to stay connected with people, or to meet new people. As far as a classroom setting goes, Skype gives you the ability to connect your students to places that they regularly would not have access to. You may not be able to take a cross-country field trip to a historical museum, but you can set up a live video-cast of a display at the museum, for example. Skype is definitely something all teachers should at least try out.