Skype April 23, 2010

Skype as you all know is not my favorite learning tool in the world for a few different reasons. The main reason I dislike skype is because of personal preference. When I'm talking to someone and there is a drastic delay, whether it's movement, voice, or the static delay I feel like you miss a lot of pertinent information. If your in the middle of an interview or a video conference the time you have is very valuable so any type of delay is a set back. I think my personal frustrations with this is what makes me stay away from this tool, however those that have a high patience for this, it can be a great learning tool, and a great way to keep in contact with friends and family. The main way that I use skype is to keep in close contact with my cousin who is a paramedic over in Kuwait. He has been over there for over a year and when your close it's hard not to see someone's face and talk to them like you do on a regular basis. I also have used skype to keep in contact with my family and friends whom live all over the USA. My most recent interaction with skype is a video conference that I partook in with Kenya and their school systems over there. This is a great way to learn in a multi-cultural way. Skype also offers a conversation or calling tool that is convenient to talk back and forth with someone without video, my personal opinion is that the phone works better and there isn't a delay. There is also a chat method that you can use on there. Overall skype is a good learning tool for students and teachers, but I think its a personal preference if you like to use it or not.