Skype has been around for a long time and is a great tool to connect for free with people all over the world. Which is a great thing if you know who you want to talk to and have a way to set up a meeting. What you got out of it was all about who you knew. But what about for all of those teachers out there who want to connect with other teachers, experts, or guest speakers, but don't have connections? Well, now you do.
I call it "Online Dating with Skype".
First, visit Skype's Education page. You can use your existing Skype account to sign up for a profile. Once you are in, you have access to all types of resources. Basically, once you find someone who fits your curriculum needs, you contact that person through Skype in order to plan out your learning objectives and set up a time to call. That easy.
Here's a rundown of how you might search for contacts:
Skype Lessons
This is the meat of Skype Education. You can search for existing lessons by dozens of content areas. You'll see the "online dating" aspect at this point. For each lesson, the teacher can request who they are looking for. For example, one lesson might say "looking for a classroom of 16-18 year-olds to discuss the Civil War". You can also create your own lessons to invite other classrooms to contact you.
Partners
Businesses and organizations are connected here. There's quite an array of partners already: Penguin Books, Virginia Historical Society, NASA Digital Learning Network, Microsoft, and the National Museum of the Royal Navy to name a few. Most already have several lessons uploaded and ready to use.
Collections
Looking for a set of resources? Try looking through collections. You'll find categories of lessons here. There are some great collections ready for you now. Mystery Skypes, Out of this World, Culture Clubs, and Global Food are just a few examples. Content that is ready to use right now.
That should be enough to get you started. I've really enjoyed sharing this resource with my teachers. I think it turns the Skype "black hole" into a resource that can be beneficial for supporting any teacher's instruction.
