Skype Schools
What are Skype Schools?
This year our students are lucky enough to be participating in Skype Schools.
Skype is software used to connect people by video chat/conferencing. There is some further information available on the Skye website.
Skype Schools is a program run by Coast Primary which aims to connect our classrooms with classrooms in other states of Australia through the use of Skype. Year 2 are enjoying one Skype session a week (Friday afternoons) with our sister school in NSW.
Our Sister School - Mary MacKillop Primary, Penrith South, Year 2 Class.
We were fortunate enough to be allocated to the classroom, Year 2 at Mary MacKillop Primary in NSW. The students and their teacher Miss Groves are also learning how to use technology to enhance their literacy skills and we are engaging in a sharing of information, resources and ideas between the schools.
Our students love to share, interact and chat to children in a classroom across the country and it really does bring the wide world into our little room. I'm sure that there are many wonderful friendships that will bloom over the year.
The school has it's own website which I encourage all parents to view.
Sharing via Skype
A major aim of Skype Schools is to allow a free exchange of ideas and information between the two schools. We want to share our day to say activities with Mary Mackillop Primary to compare and contrast our classrooms. Some techniques we have used so far to do this include;
Questionnaires - As a class we brainstormed questions that we would like to ask the other primary school. We then voted on the most popular questions and the students took turns asking and responding to questions at the next Skype session. It was a huge success and we are planning a similar session towards the end of the year.
Slide Show- Another format we have been exploring is the slideshow. Using the Powerpoint software, the students created a slideshow to give a brief overview of their favourite things about our school and classroom. It was greatly enjoyed by the Mary MacKillop students and we are very excited to be receiving something similar from them in the future.
We hope that the Skype Schools program continues for many years to come and that are students become very confident with using it to interact with their world.
