This document provides guidance on using Skype in educational settings to connect classrooms. It discusses how Skype can be used to communicate, collaborate, and connect students to a wider audience and authentic situations. The document offers technical considerations for using Skype and provides tips for preparing students, assigning roles, following up, and maintaining online etiquette. It also shares additional Skype resources and invites the reader to connect on Skype.

1. Extending the Walls of the Classroom Rachel Roberts – VLN Primary rachel@matapu.schoolzone.net.nz

3. Connected

4. Collaborate

5. Co-construct

6. Contactable

8. Authentic relevant situations

9. Invited guests, experts

10. Special interest groups

11. Shared teaching – sharing strengths

12. Explanation, retells

13. Data gathering & comparison

14. Buddy classes

17. File sharing

18. Screen recording

20. Proxy settings – remember to adjust these for school

21. Check your Privacy settings

23. Have a clear purpose in mind (learning objectives)

24. Will it be one-to-one students, small group, whole class?

25. Look to local connections also (cluster, VLN)

26. Students should practise asking ‘good questions’, having conversations

27. Have a plan for the conversation, key questions, information exchanges

28. Assign roles to students (next slide for egs)

29. Follow up important too:

30. Debrief

31. Emails

34. Take turns talking – will need active facilitation to do this (if more than 2 schools)

35. Watch ‘off camera ‘ behaviour - calling out, signing in the background, inattention etc

36. The people at the other end can see/hear you

37. Use mute when it’s not your turn to talk.

40. Register with the site

41. Book an author

43. Add me to your Contacts! rache65 rache65@gmail.com