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SKYPESkypeFor anyone unfamiliar with Skype, it is a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service that provides users the opportunity to communicate with one another through voice, video, or instant messaging.

Calls to other users within the Skype service are free of charge, while calls to landline telephones and mobile phones are charged via a debit-based user account system (Aamoth, 2011).

History of SkypeSkype was created by Niklas Zennstrm and Janus Friis who also created the file sharing program Kazaa. The technology was released in 2003. Skype began making money by charging users to make calls to landline telephones and mobile phones .However, the VoIP service charged significantly less than standard phone services.In 2011 when Skype Technologies reached around 700 million users Microsoft purchased the company for 8.5 billion dollars.

Source: (Aamoth, 2011)Brief TutorialStep #1: Download Skype software at www.skypecom.

Step #2: Choose a Skype name and password.

Step #3: Add contacts individually or through an address book such as Outlook or Yahoo.

Step #4: Contacts that are available to communicate with will appear with a green check next to the name. Contacts that are not available will appear with a gray x next the name.

Step #5: Double-click a contact to open a chat. Click on the call button next to a contacts name to make a call to them, or click on the webcam symbol to initiate a video-chat.Source (Sachdeva, 2011)Benefits of Using SkypeVoice, video, or instant messaging communication with other users that is free of cost or comparatively inexpensive (Aamoth, 2011).

Free downloadable application (Sachdeva, 2011)

Skype is available for mobile devices and a variety of operating systems (Sachdeva, 2011).

Skype applications are available for iPhone and Android mobile devices (Aamoth, 2011).

Skype offers the future potential to integrate instant-messaging and video-conferencing capabilities with Microsofts e-mail software, and other Office products like, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel (Aamoth, 2011).Using Skype to Promote LearningSkype Technologies now has its own social networking site for teachers and students found at http://education.skype.com (Childers, 2011). The site is a free global community that invites teachers to collaborate on classroom projects where they might use Skype (http://education.skype.com, n.d.).

Virtual field trips (Quillen, 2011)

Interviews with real-world subject matter experts and authors (Quillen, 2011)

Connectivity with students and classrooms around the world

Using Skype to Promote Learning (continued)Digital storytelling (Childers, 2011)

Digital co-teaching (Childers, 2011)

Skype offers students who are forced into extended absences the opportunity for continued instruction (Childers, 2011).

Skype encourages teachers to focus on broader concepts instead of isolated problems. (Quillen, 2011)

When you look at what Skype allows [students] to do, every kid in the classroom can have a worldwide audience (Childers, 2011).

Classroom Examples of Skype UseColleen Blaurock teaches Spanish at Perry High School in Perry, Ohio. Blaurock used Skype to connect her classes with native Spanish-speaking students from a nearby city.Skype conferences were held on a regular basis, and during the video meetings the students would communicate in both English and Spanish. Blaurock reported, The kids saw a reason in a traditional classroom to learn, and Skype helped make that happen (Quillen, 2011, p. 36).

Classroom Examples of Skype Use (continued)Via Skype, award winning author Laurie Halse Anderson connected with 16 school around the world during the 2009-2010 school year. Anderson contends that time and financial restraints would have prevented her from visiting these schools in a traditional manner.According to Anderson, Skype allows schools to connect me to their students in a way thats affordable for them and feasible for me (Messner, 2010, p. 41).

Classroom Examples of Skype Use (continued)

ReferencesAamoth, Doug. (2011). A brief history of Skype. Retrieved from http://techland.time.com/2011/05/10/a-brief-history-of-skype/

Childers, T. (2011). From social networking to academic networking: A paradigm shift. Internet@Schools, 18(3), 8-11.

Messner, Kate. (2010). An author in every classroom. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http:www.slj.comQuillen, Ian. (2011). Beyond the hype over Skype. Education Week Digital Directory, 36(7), 34-37.Ruchika, Sachdeva. (2011). Step-by-step tutorial for Skype. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_6927262_step_by_step-tutorial-skype.html

Skype Technologies. (2012). About DonorsChoose.org. Retrieved from http://education.skype.com/donors-choose