SKYPE
Description
Skype is a popular video chat platform that is being used to hold a meeting, work with colleagues – just about anything you need to do together every day. Skype is also suitable for distance education. You can use Skype on your smartphone, tablet or computer. It is free to start using Skype – to speak, see and instant message other people on Skype for example. You can even try out group video. Voice and video make it simple to share experiences with other people no matter how far away they physically are. Skype is part of Microsoft.
Key functionality
- Compatibility: Accessible through computers & mobile devices
- User accounts: Users need to register and create a free account for Skype or they can use their existing Microsoft-account.
- Groups: You can create a group together with other Skype-users and chat / share photos and videos / make group video calls with the members of your group.
- Explore: You can search for other Skype-users and other matters of interest.
- Chat: You can chat with one person or a group of persons (if you have first created or joined a group)
- Highlights: You can share your highlights with persons or groups and see your contacts´ highlights
- Creating & sharing content (photos / videos): You can easily create a video or take a photo and then share it as highlight, within a group or with a single Skype-user
- Video calls: You can make video calls with one Skype-user or a group of users.
- Private messaging: You can make a video call or chat with single Skype-user.
Who uses the tool
Users:
Free SKYPE is available for everybody. It can be used for video calls (one to one or group video), chatting, sharing content (documents, photos, videos).
Gender
Age groups
Pedagogical purposes:
In VET widely used for counselling / guidance / communication purposes.
Below there are three examples how SKYPE is being used in VET.
Example 1
Smartphones or tablets (as devices) and Skype are used when students are learning outside classrooms/VET-school´s premises e.g. in elderly people´s homes or on-the-job training. Students go e.g. to elderly people´s homes in pairs and get connected with the VET-teacher through Skype (IPad is the device they use and get this from VET-provider). The VET-students can then ask the VET-teacher for advice and the VET-teacher can answer questions and give feedback to the student(s).
Example 2
A combination of a blog (held by the VET-student) and Skype / Facetime or other tool that enables distant counselling. The VET-students can document their learning experiences on the blog (e.g. during on-the-job learning) and they get counselling and feedback from the VET-teachers through Skype or Facetime.
Example 3
Different kind of discussions can be held with the help of Skype
- Guidance discussions, e.g. planning vocational skills demonstrations for workplaces
- Assessment discussions
- Distance guidance for those who need special support for executing assignments
- For guidance during the on-the-job learning period.
- Distance teaching through Skype
Platforms
Privacy & User data
The app collects the following types of information from all users:
- Contact information;
- User data information;
- Demographics information;
- Payment information
- Device identifiers;
- Objects of interests and favorites;
- Location information
- Information about contents;
- Metadata – technical data that is associated with User Content.
The app uses this information to:
- help users to efficiently access their information after they sign in;
- remember information so users will not have to re-enter it during their visit or the next time they visit the Service;
- provide personalized content and information to users, which could include online ads or other forms of marketing
- provide, improve, test, and monitor the effectiveness of Microsoft´s services
- develop and test new products and features
- monitor metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns
- diagnose or fix technology problems
- automatically update the Skype application on users’ device(s)
Terms and conditions of use can be found on this page:
Using the tool for PROMOVET
Advantages
- Skype is a digital tool appropriate for many occasions – distant learning, counseling, instant messaging, presenting / sharing files or other content.
- Skype is a tool that enables the VET-student to develop his/her communication skills especially verbal communication - usually social media / digital tools enable the development of written communication skills.
- With the use of Skype it´s possible to use various learning environments in VET and still give the VET-student the possibility to get advice, support and feedback from the VET-teachers. VET-teachers limited resources are used in a purposeful way. He/She couldn´t counsel all these VET-students in different learning environments outside the VET-school without Skype.
- It´s easier for some VET-students to get feedback through Skype than face to face. And it´s also easier and quicker for VET-teachers to give oral feedback instead of text-based
Disadvantages
- Sometimes technical problems can occur e.g. voice, video etc.
- Wifi or other internet connection not available on not working properly/efficient enough
- Some VET-learners disabled for any reason prefer text-based communication.
