Stephanie Laird's presentation at the 2013 Iowa 1:1 Institute conference.

1. Opening Your Classroom, Flattening
Walls with Skype and Google+
Stephanie Laird
Mitchellville Elementary
Contact Information:
Stephanie.Laird@southeastpolk.org
Lairdlearning.weebly.com
@SLaird2

2. Overview
• Introductions
• Why Skype or Hangout
• Examples
• Teacher as a Professional
• Classroom
• Interact with Students
• Other Lesson Ideas
• Helpful Resources
• Question/Answer and Sharing Time
• Work Time

3. Introductions
• Stephanie Laird
– 4th and 5th Grade Title 1
Math and Reading Specialist
– Co-teacher in 1:1 Classrooms
• 4th Grade 1:1 iPads
• 5th Grade 1:1 MacBooks
– Masters candidate in
Curriculum and Instructional
Technology at Iowa State
University
• 5th Grade Students:
– Abbie
– Jordan
– Lucas
– Via Skype
• Hanah
• Valley
• Kennedee

4. Why Skype or Hangout?
• Bring experts into classroom
• Virtual fieldtrips
• Collaborate with classes around the
world
• Student research and interviews
• Face to face editing a document
from a distance

5. Tied to ISTE NETS
ISTE NETS-Students
– Communication and Collaboration
– Research and Information Fluency
– Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision
Making
– Digital Citizenship

6. Tied to ISTE NETS
ISTE NETS-Teachers
– Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and
Creativity
– Design and Develop Digital Age Learning
Experiences
– Promote and Model Digital Citizenship
– Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

7. Teacher Uses
• Parent Involvment
– Parent teacher conferences
– Quick showcase of work
• Readers Theatre
• Share a piece of writing
• Watch a student’s presentation
– Positive communication connection
– Celebration Planning

8. Teacher Uses
• Teacher Absence
• Present a lesson
• Showcase vacation information
• Catch up with what you’ve missed
• Supplemental Instruction
• After school
• Reteach or Demonstrate skills
• Absent Students
• Keep up with class
• Limits potential for information to be
misunderstood
• Maintains connection with students who are
frequently absent

9. Teacher Uses
• Teacher as a Professional
– PLC and PLN Meetings
• Book Discussions
• Goal Setting
• Support System
• Mentor Teacher Feedback
– Course Refreshers
– Virtually Attend Workshops
– Conference Speaking Opportunities

10. Slideshow of Skype and Google+

11. Poet Skype
• Skyped with four poets
o Caroline Starr Rose
o Irene Latham
o Mary Swander
o Debbie Levy
• Located through:
• Poet’s personal websites
• Poetry4Kids
• Skype an Author
• Students generated interview questions beforehand

12. Google+
Google Hangout Poetry Slam
• Connected with 3 classrooms at once
• Arranged through Twitter
• Students shared original poetry
• Provided an audience other than classroom
peers
• Learned new poetry types

13. What is Mystery Skype?
Video Created by: Jennifer Regruth

14. Mystery Skype
• Two classrooms Skype
• Student roles
• Clues/Questions Given
• Determine location
• Benefits:
– Map Skills -- Collaboration
– Following Directions -- Student Leadership
• How to set up:
– #mysteryskype
– Global Classroom

15. Skype and Google+ Map

16. Iowa History Skype
• A unique and motivating way to learn Iowa
History
• Arranged by Miranda Kral, Wellman Elementary
• Goal to Skype with all 99 Iowa counties
• We represented Polk county
– Students generated research questions
– Located information
– Shared facts and learning with Wellman 5th
graders
• Kral’s class shared about Washington County

17. Student Connections
• Over Skype, two wheelchair bound students
shared
– stories
– common experiences
– future hopes
• Resulted from our Google Hangout
• A great way to connect and support all
students

18. What Students Think…

19. Other Skype/Google Hangout Ideas
• Fellow Educators have suggested:
– Readers Theatre/Plays
– Mystery Reader
– Book Clubs
– Foreign Language Learning
– Social Studies Region of the U.S.
– Science or Technology Fairs

20. Helpful Resources
Twitter:
@SkypeClassroom
#mysteryskype
Websites:
Skype in Education
CybraryMan’s Website
Global Classroom’s Wiki
Mystery State Wiki
Blogs:
TheEduBlogger
The Global Classroom Project
Blogging through the Fourth Dimension
Skype Blogs

21. Tips
• Set a goal
• Test the Technology
• Prepare Students
• Provide Jobs and Expectations
• Debrief After
• Enjoy Collaborating!
Skype Add ons:
• Call Graph
• Record Skype Calls
• Talk n Write
• Free writing/screen sharing
• Unyte Application Sharing
• Screen sharing

22. Troubleshooting
Based on our experiences:
• Know your bandwidth
• Exit all other webcam programs
Skype:
• Make sure you’re privacy is set to “available” not “invisible”
• Use the “Skype Test Call”
Google Hangout:
• On Air Hangouts are recorded to the host’s YouTube account
• Verify time zone the Hangout was created in
• Choose appropriate audio setting
• If collaborating on a document, share through GoogleDocs first

23. Questions? Ideas to Share?

24. Take this time to explore and sign up for:
Contact Information:
Stephanie.Laird@southeastpolk.org
Lairdlearning.weebly.com
@SLaird2
Collaboration and Work Time
• Resources included on 1:1
wiki
• Skype Classrooms
• Global Classrooms
• Twitter