Skypecasts have the potential to revolutionize the academic community. They not only open up many options to teacher and student interactions, but level the playing field in a way that equalizes every participant’s voice. They also create thousands of new and exciting possibilities for real-time learning that were never possible before. This article gives a broad overview of what Skypecasts are, some possible applications in academia, as well as some of the pros and cons of using them now. You can see the original post on my webpage here.
In writing this article I realized that it would be appropriate to create a Skypecast to discuss this article and other issues facing those who implement technology in education. Join me at 10:30 (Eastern Standard Time) on November the 20th, 2006 to discuss Using Technology in Education....
Definition: Skype has a great Skypecasts FAQ page. They define Skypecasts as “large, hosted calls on Skype.” Sound pretty simple. Basically you can create or join a large online conference call with UP TO 100 people. Skypecasts are scheduled to begin and end at a certain time and usually have a certain topic of discussion. The users must download and use Skype in order to join the Skypecast....
There are Skypecasts going right now with the title “Chat in HINDI or URDU” or “You speak English with me I teach you Chinese.” Online discussion groups could be created for foreign languages acquisition classes where students could speak with a native speaker of a language and in turn help others learn English....
Comment. Hear, hear. Earlier this month I participated by telephone in an OA conference taking place in Hyderabad, India. It would have been much less expensive for the hosts if I participated by Skype. I have a couple more teleconferences coming up, one for a group in Vancouver and one for a group in Barcelona. I prefer them to travel because they save time (how often have you spent three days on the road to give a 40 minute talk?), money, hassle, backaches, and (no joke) carbon dioxide emissions.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 11/18/2006 12:10:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
