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Wahoo 5th Graders Use Skype to Experience a Foreign Culture

Students Learn About Life in Mali, Africa

by Wahoo Elementary 5th Grade Teacher Verna Rezac on March 02, 2010

Students in Mrs. Verna Rezac’s fifth grade class recently had the chance to mix technology and world studies.  

Rezac’s husband went to Mali, Africa, with a group of men from their church to do construction. While he was there he used Skype, an Internet based video conferencing software, to call back and talk to her.  

Skype is a software application that allows people to make video/audio calls over the Internet to anywhere in the world for free. It can be downloaded on any computer for free from http://www.skype.com.

There is a six-hour time difference in Mali, so his calls would come in around 2:00 p.m.  

“He ended up talking to the students more than he talked to me,” Mrs. Rezac stated. “It was a real learning experience for all us, and I was very proud of the questions the students asked him.”  

Students spent about a half hour a day asking Mr. Rezac questions about the climate, economy, people, and animals found in Mali. One of the most interesting things we learned was that this country is very poor, and garbage is everywhere.