Skype

Below you will find a copy of a letter that was sent home to you with your child on Tuesday, December 14. A permission slip is needed for this activity. An online permission slip has been provided at the end of this post.

Dear Parents,

Skype is a free program that allows you to make videophone calls via your computer. It allows our students to see and hear each other. They can build academic relationships while collaborating on projects, sharing information and creating knowledge.

I believe we must vigilantly supervise students while teaching them about video conferencing. Here is how I plan on introducing them to Skype:

1. After introducing the students to Skype I plan on supervising them while they set up their profiles. This will be online profile so their safety and security is my number one concern.

· Students will only use their first name and last initial.

· Students will not provide an email address.

· Students will not complete their profile.

· I will provide students with a usernames and passwords.

2. After students set up their account, each student will call my Skpye account. During that call I will look at their profile information and confirm it is safely set up.

3. Students will then be able to begin to call other students in the classroom.

4. After I have spoke with each students I will demonstrate how to conference with two or more people.

5. We will discuss Skype safety and other issues.

As of now, we have two Skpye appointments set up for the first week of January. We will be making contact with the third grade class from Minnesota that we have been blog buddies with and the Edgewood Pre-K classes.

HOW CAN YOU HELP WITH THIS EXCITING PROJECT?

If you have a web cam, you also can Skype. I am planning on having a “What do I do while your at school?” day. I am asking parents to spend no more then 5 minutes during their child’s class time to talk to our class. We would like to know what you do during your day? Your child will be in charge of facilitating the session.

· The student will help parent set up their Skype account.

· The student will coordinate the Skype appointment between the parent and Mrs. Phares.

· The student will place a test call.

· The student will facilitate the classroom Skype call.

PLEASE COMMENT BELOW IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN A SKPYE CALL WITH OUR CLASS.

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I WILL NEED TO HAVE PARENTAL PERMISSION BEFORE STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO USE SKYPE IN MY CLASSROOM. YOU CAN FILL OUT A PERMISSION SLIP HERE. http://tinyurl.com/26vyo6l