My best friend McCall was charmed by Skype when her family took a trip to Israel very soon after her older sister gave birth to her niece. Disappointed that they all would not be together to enjoy this new family arrival and that another family member would be missing out on this incredible travel journey, Skype provided a way for these loved ones to connect. I think that is pretty amazing!

I have never used Skype prior to this class, but have heard many people besides McCall sing its praises. It is fun to play around with Skype in a class like this, and anyone can see its obvious effectiveness for communication between people separated by distance. However, using Skype in the classroom was a new idea for me until yesterday. Reading Fryer’s article gave me a different view of how it can be used. I had never thought about using it connect to students from another classroom in a completely different school. How cool would that be?!? I was so happy to learn about ePals and the possibilities associated with it. I can see communicating with other 6th graders from a different part of the United States or a different part of the world being very motivating to students. There are a few things to think about though when dealing with Skype and ePals. I think this is something that a school system, administrator, and parents would have to be educated about in order for this to truly be a success. I can see that all of these parties could become very concerned about the privacy and safety of students. Articles like those written by Wesley Fryer and testimonies from teachers and schools who have actually implemented this idea are very helpful when educating administrators and parents.

I also think that Skype could be used to hold conferences with parents who have trouble leaving work to get to school but who also want to feel like they are getting a face to face discussion instead of just over the phone.

Skype is something that I think I would like to use in my classroom and I think I would love exchanging ideas and information with a teacher and group of students in another place, but as I stated earlier, I think that some background information will have to be gathered and presented before I am actually able to use this project with my students.

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