Day 13 – Using the new Skype App on a Windows 8 Tablet
A Windows 8 Tablet for Teaching and Learning - Day 13Monday, December 17, 2012
Today, I had a scheduled Skype session with someone in California that is in my Personal Learning Network. One of the great benefits of having a PLN is that you get to meet some very smart and dedicated educators from all around the world and learn from them. Using Facebook and Twitter is great for keeping up-to-date with seeing what others are doing from snapshot postings but it is not the same as talking to someone in person. Enter Skype, with Skype you can have a face-to-face video call with anyone in the world at the click of a button, all using this tablet. Amazing!
I decided I would use the Samsung Ativ Smart PC Tablet 500T for the Skype session this morning as I wanted to see how it performed. The new Skype app has a very clean and minimalist look to it. Since I already had a Skype account all of my contacts were automatically displayed when I first logged into my Skype account, nice.
The Ativ 500T tablet has both a front and back facing camera to be used for taking still photographs, videos, and for Skype calls. I had downloaded the Windows 8 Skype app (it was free) from the Windows Store last week and tried it out with the help of one of my Graduate Assistants.
Last week when testing the app with my GA I took the tablet out in the hallway and placed the Skype call to my GA. The new Skype app allows you to change from the front to the back camera by simply pressing the camera video in the Skype call. I pressed the front facing camera display and it switched to using the back camera. I then walked down the hall so now the video my GA was seeing was from the back camera of the tablet and he was seeing what I was as seeing as I walked down the hall. Perhaps this could be of use in setting up some virtual field trips for my students in the future, hmmm.
Last week when testing the app with my GA I took the tablet out in the hallway and placed the Skype call to my GA. The new Skype app allows you to change from the front to the back camera by simply pressing the camera video in the Skype call. I pressed the front facing camera display and it switched to using the back camera. I then walked down the hall so now the video my GA was seeing was from the back camera of the tablet and he was seeing what I was as seeing as I walked down the hall. Perhaps this could be of use in setting up some virtual field trips for my students in the future, hmmm.
Another scenario where this camera switching would be valuable for teachers is when we have a Skype call in the classroom and the remote caller would like to see the entire room of students. With this tablet and the new Skype app you can easily switch back and forth between the front and back camera as needed.
My Skype partner and I agreed upon a time last week and set the time for 10:30am CST today. I propped the tablet up against my desktop computer on my desk so that I would be in the field of view of the front camera. I need to find a better solution if I do much more Skyping in the future and find a case or some other type of holder. Since my Skype partner was in California it was 8:30am for him. When 10:30am CST approached I sent a Skype text message to see if my partner was ready and he was. He initiated the call and I answered it by clicking the green accept call button. I then clicked on the Video button to allow the front facing camera on the tablet to turn on for a video call. We talked about several educational technology related topics for about 20 minutes and agreed to get back in touch after the new year.
The tablet worked great for the Skype call!
The audio I heard was great and the video quality was also good. It was the next best thing to being in the same room. I did not use any extra microphones as I just used the tablets built-in microphone and front facing camera. The call was placed using only a WiFi connection and there was only one slight video stutter during the entire 20 minute call. Not bad for using a WiFi connection and having a video call half-way across the country in California on a wireless tablet that I can hold in my hand.
The audio I heard was great and the video quality was also good. It was the next best thing to being in the same room. I did not use any extra microphones as I just used the tablets built-in microphone and front facing camera. The call was placed using only a WiFi connection and there was only one slight video stutter during the entire 20 minute call. Not bad for using a WiFi connection and having a video call half-way across the country in California on a wireless tablet that I can hold in my hand.
This tablet continues to impress. Now I can add video conferencing to the list of educational capabilities this tablet offers teachers and students that is very easy to use.
Keep on Learning,
Dr. Grissom
Tom Grissom, Ph.D.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar