The Jetsons Thing # 3

Thing #3

We have made tremendous stride in the last 2o years; fax machine, cell phone, email, texting, powerpoints, wordle, avatar, imaging etc. I can't seem to keep up with the inventions and applicatons but Skype is truly amazing very much like the Jetsons 30+ years ago. We can now talk to people and see them while we talk to them (skype). We can communicate with family and friends via skype several thousands of miles away. Skype is an welcomed class interrruption; students are able to chat with authors of the most recently read book, communicate with a class in China on a daily or weekly basis, refine foreign language skills via class participation with another class in another country, have guest speaker and virtual field trips. Skype's potential is amazing and I have experiencedit first hand. I have downloaded skype, created a name and have been able to communicate with friends on skype. I can see the advantages of skype even with this project, if one of my colleagues is on skype at the same time that I am working we can communicate while completing each thing.The research shows that there is Skype etiquette; sending a chat message intially rather than ring to speak so that the caller can prepare in advance, what a concept. The excitement is real and warranted but technology is moving faster than our educational system which causes a concern regarding the readiness of our student in the next 5 years.