What a Difference a Decade Makes - IM and Skype

Intesting post by Jenny - the shifted Librarian, on use of Skype in education.

Here's part of it:

 There's no point in explaining that they'd be able to hear much better on the phone because for whatever reasons, this new way of communicating just feels more natural to them. I think they just connect better in this medium, they multitask, they can still IM with their other friends while doing it, and even participate in group chats. It's a dynamic I don't think I'd ever want to replicate for myself (although I do end up IMing and talking on the phone at the same time every once in a while at work), but for them, it's just natural.

Which is why I was chuckling to myself while reading Will Richardson's post about Skype Ideas for the classroom.

"But I happened to be watching an online presentation by my friend Alan November yesterday and he suggested a use that just made me slap my forehead in a 'Doh!' moment: Skype to allow parents to listen to their child's presentations at school!" [Weblogg-ed]

Will goes on to give eight great other ideas for using Skype in education, all of which Brent would totally groove on for learning. That's the kind of interactive environment in which he would learn best, because he's a very experiential type of learner. That's why he learns so well from video games, too.

Sure there are some security issues with Skype right now, but it's the concept as applied by Will that is so intriguing. The security issues will work themselves out or better software will come along (there are already good competitors).

While I see it in my job every day, I'm still constantly amazed how quickly the internet has pervaded our daily lives in just ten years. All of which is especially appropriate today as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the creation of the first web page.

technorati tags:IM, Skype, kids, internet, messaging, networking, multitasking