Skype
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Skype: Mystery Skype
Skype: Mystery Skype
Learn how to use Mystery Skype to teach students about other cultures, geography skills, listening and speaking skills, research, social etiquette, and global citizenship.
Your Techpedition:
Your Techpedition:
Mystery Skype is perhaps the simplest way to begin using Skype in your classroom and may even serve as a springboard to create partnerships with other classes for future projects.
Mystery Skype is a global guessing game in which two teachers in different locations connect their classes via Skype. The object of the "game" is to guess the location of the other class and to help them guess your location. Students are not told where the other class is located and must use clues to find out.
You can choose to have classes take turns asking each other yes or no questions OR you can have each class come up with broad to narrow clues for where they live. Giving clues may work better for younger grades but do what works best for you and your students.
Prior to the Skype session, practice with your student how to ask good yes or no questions (or prepare your clues) and have several starter questions ready. Be sure your questions or clues are not too specific at first. You don't want to give it away 5 minutes into the Skype session.
Examples of Good Questions:
Are you located in North America?
Are you on the East Coast?
Do you live north of Kentucky?
Does your state share a border with other states on each side?
Is there a major body of water north of you?
Students may consult atlases, maps or globes and take notes as they use critical thinking to narrow down the possible answers. Mystery Skype sessions usually last anywhere from 20-45 minutes.
Helpful tips:
Create a shared google doc or google slides to share photos, visual clues, or links with the other class.
Use a shared doc with your own students to provide a collaborative work space for Mystery Skype notes.
Assign jobs to your students. Suggested jobs include:
Videographer
Photographer
Greeter (Opening speaker)
Speakers (students who ask the questions)
Ending Speaker (Thanks other class and ends the session.)
Equipment Manager
Note Takers
Researchers
Discuss Skype Etiquette with your class before the Skype session:
Sit quietly (Noises and hand motions are magnified on video calls and can be very distracting to those on the other end of the call.)
Raise hand to talk or answer questions
Write down your guess. Listen for clues and see if your guess is correct after all questions have been asked.
Look at the camera
introduce yourself when you speak.
When it is your turn to talk, speak into the microphone
Use a loud and clear voice when speaking on Skype
Thank your guests for Skyping with you at the end of the call.
Explore Microsoft's #Mystery Skype website and watch Mystery Skype in action on the Youtube Mystery Skype Playlist.
Submission Details:
Post your response to the following question:
What benefit could participating in a Mystery Skype session have for your students?
Click Below to Continue Your Skype Techpediton
Click Below to Continue Your Skype Techpediton
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