Day 19 – Skyping with the Surface RT (Video Chats)

30 Days with a Surface RT for Teachers 

Teaching and Learning with a Windows 8 Tablet

The Surface RT is turning out to be quite a diverse teaching machine for the classroom. Today I would like to introduce you to the Skype video conferencing app. Skype allows you to easily video chat with your friends using the Internet. It could not be easier to video chat with a friend using the Surface RT.

The built-in kickstand on the Surface RT comes in extremely handy for Skyping as you just set the Surface RT with the kickstand open on a table, login with your Microsoft Account, and open up the Skype app from the Start Screen. Your friend will also need a Microsoft (Skype) account. Once you know their Skype name, search for it, select it, and press the Call button, that’s it!

By default, the Skype app begins with audio only for the call and you will need to press the Video Camera icon to give permission for Skype to turn on the webcam.

The front-facing camera on the Surface RT is angled for the best video conferencing viewing experience when you using the kickstand. The Surface RT also has a built-in microphone that sounds good so you will not need to mess around with an external camera or mic.

Since I am a little camera shy I would like to introduce you to Mr. B and Mr. T who will be making the Skype call today.

Like many things with the Surface RT, the Skype app is free and can be downloaded from the Windows Store if it did not come preloaded on the Windows 8 Start Screen. 

The new version of Skype is greatly simplified over previous versions I have used on Windows 7 as it has been redesigned for Windows 8. Skype has been around for a long time and many just know video conferencing as Skyping. This is a bit like calling tissues Kleenex as there are other video chatting services, but the Skype branding is strong.

One of the benefits of a Microsoft Account is that it conglomerates all Microsoft services under one account and this makes things much easier to manage by avoiding multiple userids and passwords. I had to merge my very old Skype Account with my Microsoft account last year when Microsoft was merging multiple accounts but now I just need to login once and Skype is available to me.

Snap View with Multitasking on the Surface RT

Another huge benefit of the Surface RT over other tablets on the market is its ability to multitask. I often have multiple apps open at the same time and it is very easy to cycle through them by swiping in with my left thumb over and over to go from app to app. If I need a more static view of two apps side-by-side I use the “Snap” feature of Windows 8.

I use the snap feature a lot on the Surface RT. You can snap apps with an 80/20 split or 50/50 split. Windows 8.1 will offer additional choices when it becomes available next month.

Below are two screenshots of how you might use a video chat with snap view. The first example has the Skype call snapped to the left and on the right-hand side I have Word open to take notes about the conference call.

The next example I have the Skype call snapped to the left and PowerPoint open on the right. You could be viewing a PowerPoint together with your video conferencing friend if you email them the PowerPoint ahead of time. If you number your slides this is a great way to share and discuss the presentation if your partner cannot get together face-to-face. Of course, your partner would need a device (like the Surface RT or Surface Pro) that multitasks and offers snap-view to see both the video chat and the PowerPoint at the same time ;)

There are many apps that will work with snap-view. If you are a sports fan you can keep the game scores open on the side as you are doing other work.

Or, if you are wanting to keep track of the business world open the Bing Finance app on the side for daily info on the markets.

In the above examples I have the Skype app open in the main snap view window but you could have any combination of Windows 8 apps you want. You could have your IE browser open and the music app snapped to the side. 

Another useful combination is to snap a YouTube Tutorial to one side and have the app you are learning about in the main window. The possibilities are endless.

Surface RT Rocks!

Until next time...
Keep on Learning,

Tom Grissom, PhD

Follow me on Twitter @tomgrissom

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