Skype-A-Thon

You may be asking yourself the same thing we did earlier this year… “What is all the hype about Skype-A-Thon?”

Well, let me tell you, the hype is well deserved.

Let’s begin with the basics:

• What is Skype-A-Thon? On November 13th and 14th, classrooms across the world broke down their walls and connected students with peers from various countries and cultures, as well as experts in various fields.
• 2 Kinds of Skypes: Skyping with experts & Mystery Skypes
• How does it work? Students ask Yes or No questions to determine where the other classroom is located in the world. Following the Mystery Skype, each class shares information about their location, school, and culture.

What are the benefits of Skype-A-Thon?

• Connecting & learning from another culture
• Authentic relationships and audience
• Building empathy and world view
• Adding context and connection to books, lessons, and more
• Learning from experts
• Questioning skills
• Map skills
• Deduction skills

And more! We connected with classrooms and experts from 16 different countries during our 31 Skype connections. We traveled 136,866 virtual miles over the duration of Skype-A-Thon!

Click the button below to see our experience with students from Bryson Elementary School, Greenfield Elementary School, Wayside Middle School, & Boswell High school.

#Jenallee was also featured on “Making Learning Addictive” w/ Brian Smith Sr. reflecting upon the impact of Skype-A-Thon