September 2005 — Features

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Promoting Synchronous Interaction in an eLearning Environment

By Cheng-Chang (Sam) Pan and Michael Sullivan

7 Instructor Recommendations for Skype Use

  • Schedule the students’ Skype subscription in the class orientation. The sooner students are exposed to the technology, the better they’ll adjust to the unique learning experience.
  • Organize a pre-class training session for a subset of the entire class. Instructors can schedule a meeting with a group of class “trainers.” These trainers then teach their own group members skills.
  • Divide students into groups of four. A Skype conference call can only take up to five participants. If needed, reserve a seat for the instructor for tracking/coaching purposes.
  • Provide technology use protocols ahead of time. For instance, if someone accidentally hangs up, the conference call initiator (usually the group leader) can immediately add him back in to the meeting.
  • Keep group deliberations on the record using additional tools. Skype conference calls are not recorded. Options are Skype Chat and Blackboard Chat.
  • Reserve a Blackboard Chat Room for each group as the last resort. One of the drawbacks of using such freeware is that the service makes no guarantee that the program will be there when needed. An effective way to cope with this is to reserve the Blackboard Chat Room as a backup device.
  • Encourage necessary accessories. A headset and a wired broadband connection are preferred accessories for use with Skype and other similar communication tools.

Cite this Site

Cheng-Chang (Sam) Pan and Michael Sullivan, "Promoting Synchronous Interaction in an eLearning Environment," T.H.E. Journal, 9/1/2005, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/17377

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