Citrus High School’s own Jerry Swiatek using Skype in the classroom.  Read the article below!

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Schools Using Skype

KAALtv.com – http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1779363.shtml?cat=10151
By: Sarah Swistak

(ABC 6 NEWS) – Another form of technology being used in our schools is Skype.

It’s a computer program that lets you talk with people all around the world on your web cam for free, but one district is using it to knock down the four walls of the classroom and change the face of education.

It’s a meeting that would not have been possible if not for twitter, and a re-tweeted tweet.

The tweet came from Jerry Swiatek, who was looking for an Applied Geneticist to be a guest lecturer for 13 students in an AP Bio Class.

“It was just a shot in the dark,” he said.

“This is right up my alley. This is definitely the kind of thing I get excited about too,” said Dr. Kelsey Metzger, an Associate Professor in the Center for Learning Innovation at the University of Minnesota-Rochester.

But the classroom is at Citrus High School in Iverness, Florida, 1,400 miles away from

Doctor Kelsey Metzger’s office at UMR, so she’ll be teaching through Skype.

“It’s really an awesome example of how social media is sort of breaking down the four walls of the classroom and it’s just a great example of how the kids, how their learning isn’t confined to their school. That their learning can come from anywhere in the world,” said Swiatek.

“This is something I’ve always wanted for my classroom,” said Gene Trescott, the Science Department Head at Citrus High School.

And it’s a lesson on molecular genetics, from an expert in the field, that the Florida district couldn’t otherwise afford.

“Hopefully it’ll open a lot of doors for a lot of people to have access to ideas, information and learning opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise had,” said Dr. Metzger.

Dr. Metzger will give the half-hour lecture tomorrow morning, and plans are already underway for another one in November.

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