Skype in the classroom

Communication between teachers and students has has grown much more feasible due to the increases in technology and electronic communication. In earlier years, students and teachers would have to meet face to face during or after class in order to ask questions or discuss various matters. If a student had a question about homework while at home, they would not be able to have it answered until school the next day. Now, students increasingly use email to stay in contact with teachers, whether it is quick questions or setting up meeting times. Email is certainly a more efficient method than face to face communication, but it can still sometimes take a few days to get a question answered. The solution to this problem is Skype.

Skype is a program that provides instant messaging services, voice calling, and video calling. If teachers were to make a Skype account for students to contact them with, instantaneous responses would be possible. With Skype, you can see when other people are online and using Skype. Teachers could set up specific times when they are online and able to be contacted by students. They could then stay logged out of Skype during non "office hours" so as to avoid unwanted contact. Although this method is a lot quicker and more convenient than email, it could be seen as creepy for teachers and students to be Skyping, especially if they are using the webcam function. Furthermore, it could completely replace face to face communication as students become lazy and only result to contact via Skype. This could prevent any beneficial student-teacher bonds from forming.