Mystery Skype without a Class of Students?
I am a big fan of mystery Skype sessions but primarily thought of them as a class to class event limiting the sessions to the school day. Recently I participated in our PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators monthly webinar and mystery Skype sessions were featured. I am quite familiar with this technique including mystery author sessions or author/specialist visits via Skype but never thought of having a mystery Skype session with a colleague.
The session demonstration I watched had the colleague answer on Skype with a thumbs up or thumbs down. This was because he was from Australia and we would have immediately guessed the country/location he was from due to his accent. I thought this was an important aspect to include to have only yes or no questions answered with a thumbs up/down. Having colleagues from around the world becomes more of a possibility. He also had students in his classroom stay late, up until midnight as he taught middle to high school students, so that late mystery Skype sessions could occur and he had several students staying late to participate.
Students ‘eat this type of activity up’ and are excited to participate. Most sessions are 20-30 minutes with time for a question and answer exchange whether there are two classes participating or students asking questions of a colleague or author/specialist/author. Not to say a colleague doesn’t fit those categories because they certainly do but for clarification purposes in this blog post I refer to colleagues in classrooms around the globe in a separate category. Colleagues do not have to have their students present to have a mystery Skype session as demonstrated in the webinar I participated in recently. Students enjoy seeing other students but are just as excited visiting with other expert adults via Skype so be sure to consider colleagues and experts of all types for Skype sessions.
When possible, sessions can occur like the webinar presenter demonstrated after school hours. The guest was from Australia during his summer vacation so he had the time to visit with us during the demonstration. This can be just as exciting a session for students as when students on both ends are included but time zone and schedule logistics can interfere with having mystery Skype sessions during the school day. You can have students bring $2 or $3 or get pizza donated when possible to eat while waiting after hours for the mystery Skype session to occur. The presenter held late Skype sessions after hours on a day before a holiday or professional development day so that students can sleep in the next day.
The presenter, and I was late and missed his name, but brought up great points and tips for exciting sessions. One that we both stress for mystery Skype sessions is to have a question to ask or job of some sort so that all students are participating during the session. You don’t want students sitting bored, not paying attention or misbehaving during the session. Sessions can get very active and structure is necessary to ensure students are learning and actively participating appropriately.
I cover mystery Skype classroom to classroom and Skype an author visits in my book about mystery adventure quests. This is just one type of mystery adventure quest you can set up for your students that ensure all students are excited and engaged. It is a great opportunity for your students to learn about different cultures, attire, games, languages, etc. as a result of participating in a mystery Skype session of all types. If you have never participated in a Skype session, contact me and I can help you set up and consider the logistics necessary for a successful Skype session. Take a risk and watch your students get excited about learning!
