Communication in the classroom is always important, but communication out of the classroom and with other groups can be just as helpful. New technologies and ways to communicate with people from across the globe continue to pop up with video conferences, chat rooms, live feeds and more.
A popular way to communicate is via Skype. Skype is a video conference resource. It can be used between two people or in a group call. Some classrooms have started to use it to talk with other classroom across the country or even across the world. The learning potential is endless as these students interact with different cultures and collaborate on assignments, world issues, or even just thoughts on day to day life. Skype is also frequently used for meetings, especially if one or more parties is unable to be physically present. Educators across the country can share ideas with each other now that distance is no longer a barrier. In recent years, other video chatting tools, such as FaceTime (only for Apple devices), have made their way into the tech arena as well.
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Very important discussions were had over video chat with my cat.
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Direct messages and chat rooms, while slightly less interactive, can also allow for effective collaborating. Twitter, GooglePlus, GoogleHangout, and LinkedIn all have this feature. Chat rooms are between multiple people while direct messages remain between two parties. GoogleHangout is also great for after school help time. Teachers can tell students when the chat room will be open online and field questions in the chat room during that time electronically. Students can also help each other with teacher monitoring. Using Twitter, I was able to communicate quite easily with colleagues since the forum is easy to use and most people have a Twitter account. These resources make conversation quick (recipients of a message receive a notification) and since Twitter has an app that can go onto a smartphone, conversation can occur anywhere.
Creating networks of professionals can also be advantageous when looking for new ideas and content or for brainstorming. By creating a GooglePlus educator group, users can share lesson plans, ask questions, and collaborate with each other all on one neat forum. Teachers no longer have to limit themselves to the ideas in their school or collaboration to a couple of teaching conferences a year. These tools are available 24/7 so that no good information is lost or locked away!