How
Skype-buddy model influences blended learning
Name
Institution
Abstract
This paper shows a correlation on
improvement in then levels of learning amongst individuals and the use of
technology. The sky-buddy is shown as a very interactive form of model for use
in blended learning. From the research in this case, it will be shown that
there is a very heightened level of enlightenment when tutors use the platform
to engage students from all walks of life. The paper shows that there exists
challenges with the use of the application and other form of video conferencing
in areas where the internet connectivity has not penetrated in large scale.
Through the use of the application, many students have been able to access
education through video and distance learning. There are advantages associated
with this model as will be found here namely classroom simulations, cost saving
advantages, self paced form of learning among other advantages. The challenges
identified in this case will include the huge costs of accessing internet in
some areas, total lack of connectivity in other areas and ignorance in certain
cases. The research shows that the use of the application and others of the
same magnitude will go a long way in revolutionalizing the way education is
conducted in the world today.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The invention of internet technology has
proven to be perhaps the most indispensable
innovation of all times (Sherron& Boettcher, 1997). There has been
countless businesses that have resulted from the platform across the globe. The
rapid and widespread use of this form of invention has caused massive ripple
effects across almost all forms of innovations in the world. For instance, it
is through the internet that billions of people connect and share their
opinions. The internet facilitated the ease and speed of communication between
billions of people across the globe. This has been made possible through an
eruption of very many social internet platforms. The most prominent ones
include Facebook and twitter. These two platforms alone have a customer base of
many billions of customers. The kind of traffic and flow of information that is
processed by these platforms is gigantic. These forms of social platforms have
been able to bring people together in a very successful manner and this goes a
long way in ensuring that people come
closer to each other irrespective of the distance between them. The internet
has revolutionalized the way people conduct their businesses too. People have
been able to give their businesses more exposure using online marketing
platforms and through the creation of websites and other media forms that
utilize the internet. With this view in mind, it can then be easy to relate to
how Skype has been utilized in a variety of ways to bring people together. The
platform has been used extensively as a social tool where people get the chance
to talk to their loved ones who are situated miles away. Businesses have also
benefitted hugely from this platform. Trade and commerce has been opened up and
people are seeking markets for their products thousands of miles away from
their premises.
This paper investigates the use of the
Skype-buddy application as a way of conducting blended learning. The parameters
which will be looked at in this case includes the investigation into the
challenges that these people encounter during the process of offering these
services through the use of Skype-buddy as a messaging and video conferencing
tool.
It will look at the statistics that show how
the use of the application has been conducted, the testimonials that relate to
how the application has been successful to them or not through a review of
literature on the subject. The paper will be structured in the following
manner. The objectives of this paper will be highlighted, then a literature
review conducted then recommendations and finally a conclusion that ties all
the facets of information discussed here given.
Objective of the
research paper
This main objective of this research
paper is to investigate how Skype-buddy has contributed to blended learning.
Literature review
Half a century ago, the world was
practically shut down. There were no models of communication that had the
capacity to bring billions of people together in one platform atthe same time
as there are today (Hunt, 1998). People relied on obsolete means that often
took too long and were proven to be cumbersome in more ways than one. For
instance, the use of the post office to send mails. The mails often took too
long to reach their destinations or even got lost along the way. It was evident
that these could not be used to deliver urgent messages. When the mobile phone
was invested and taken mainstream, the cost of owning and maintaining one was
too high to an extent that they were a reserve of the rich people only. The
tariffs paid on the use of the phones
was too high and the service was not always very reliable. After that, the competition
in this business saw companies start manufacturing mobile phones that were more
affordable. The ordinary man could now afford to have some form of
communication through the use of bulky but mobile, phones. However, the tariff
charges remained quite high. When internet and the web was invented, it took
over from all other means of inventions as the greatest invention of the world.
Today, it would be almost impossible to imagine a world without internet
technology or web platform. The website is the tool upon which all the other
tools and applications are based. In this case, the internet acts as a major
tool for all the applications that have been invented. Currently, there are
aver a billion applications, both mobile and PC based that rely on the use of
the internet to deliver a form of service to the clients who need such. Through
the platform, people have been enabled to have snap interactions with one
another regardless of the distance that exists between the people (Cavanaugh et
al, 2001).
Skype and Skype-buddy
overview
It is on this platform that many
brilliant applications were developed. One of these applications is Skype.
Having been released a decade ago, Skype has grown into a huge company with
over 650 million users. The application offers both instant messaging services
as well as voice over IP services. In other words, they also offer video
communication services. This is perhaps the flagship of this application. Skype
website (2014) shows that there are over two billion minutes spent on calls in
Skype every day. This shows that people spend over 33 million hours per day
talking to each other through the use of this platform. These are phenomenon
figures which relate to the popularity of the site across different platforms. The
application that uses Skype as a way of communication is known as
Skype-buddy. This is a platform that
connects different people across the world as friends and allows them to talk
to each other through this platform as a direct encounter. The encounter is
normally instant and people can be able to see each other as they speak. This
takes place through the use of web cameras and other cameras present on other
devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Blended learning definition
Blended learning involves a learning process that does not
require the student, or the tutor to meet physically. In other words, it is a
form of learning where the tutors engage their students through usage of video
conferencing as well as other forms of long distance tutoring. In blended learning
model, there is no physical connection between the tutor and the student. There
are various models and forms of learning under this concept. There are very
many applications that have been used across the world to engage students and
tutors in discussions and learning platforms. Skype buddy is one such
application. Through the use of the Skype platform, Skype buddy is an
interactive top notch platform for making students have a learning experience
that is interactive and class-simulated. Through the use of the application,
many students have graduated from many universities across the world with
honors in different fields. The main point in this case is the fact that the
application gives the students the chance to learn courses that they could not
access from their regions. It also gives the universities the chance to
decongest their campuses by ensuring that some of the students who enroll in
the university are under this program and are studying from home.
How Skype-Buddy works
For people to enjoy this application,
both parties must have the Skype application installed in the devices that they
are using. For example, if one is using a personal computer to Skype, then he
must have downloaded and installed this application in their computer. The same
applies to the person with whom contact is desired. One of the reasons that has
made this application so popular is that the application is offered freely by
the Microsoft corporations and it works on every computer which supports any
Microsoft operating system. Bearing in mind that over 80% of the computers in
the world run on operating systems that are developed by Microsoft Corporation,
it shows that there is a very wide support system for the application. Other
operating systems have also been synchronized in such a manner that they are
also capable of accepting the application. Mobile devices such as smartphones
have the capacity to make and receive video calls using the application. The
major factor in this case is that there must be the presence of internet
connectivity for the application to work successfully. When a person installs
the Skype application in their respective devices, they then invite other
people to have a chat with them. The invitations may be pulled from contacts in
email or even telephone numbers. Here, the user has the option of sending a
text message to his ‘buddy’ or making a video call. These are instant services
that take seconds to conduct. The speed and clarity of the connections is
however dependent on the strength of the internet signals and the data bundles
the clients use. In most cases, the charges rely upon the local charges of
where the user is making the call from. The messaging services on this platform
are entirely free.
Skype-buddy in
education: Blended learning
The introduction of open learning as
well as distance programs have been facilitated to a great deal by use of video
links for learning (Dixon, 2000) Today, any person can choose to study for any
course that they wish regardless of the distance. For instance, a person in Africa may decide
to take up a particular course being offered by a particular university in USA,
many miles away. This person may not have the capacity to travel to the
respective university to take their classes from there. The person can join the
class of choice and study just using the video link and Skype-buddy for this
interaction. Physical appearance in classrooms is no longer a pre-requisite to
have people study. More and more people are embracing this form of studying to
gain qualifications in various fields. The embracement of use of video link in
education has enabled a very huge number of people to gain education and earn
meaningful forms of livelihoods. Besides creating a great avenue for meeting
new people and creating connections, Skype-buddy has managed to create a small
community within its spheres of ‘buddies’ who are connected through the media
platform. The major concern for this paper however, is the usage of the tool in
education. Many students are attending classes online very many miles away from
their homes. The Skype-buddy offers a wholesome experience in this arena. In many tertiary institutions such as
universities and colleges, the concept of Skype-buddy has taken root. Video
conferencing has been taken out of
There are several advantages as well as
challenges that are associated with the usage of this platform as the following
paragraphs outline.
Advantages associated
with using Skype-buddy in blended learning
There are several advantages that are
associated with the usage of Skype-buddy in blended learning. The advantages are discussed in the following
paragraphs under related headings.
Classroom simulation
In some cases, the student is given the
capacity to be in the same classroom as those who are physically present in
these classrooms. In this case, the lecturer carries on his duty of teaching
the classroom as well as the students by correspondence at the same time and
without incurring additional costs. The student has the capacity to see the
other students in the class and they can even interact directly with each
other. This saves on both time as well
as resources used in offering education to these students. The fact that these
students can participate in classroom alongside other students offers a
simulated interaction that is both fulfilling and healthy to these students.
A chance to engage in online
discussion
Through the use of the Skype platform,
there are very many platforms which have been developed to offer students the
advantage of interacting with their fellow student wherever they may be in the
world. For instance, a person who takes a course in Finance in a certain
institution could find other people taking a similar course in other courses
across the globe. Once they hook up and become ‘buddies’, they can then engage
each other in discussions. More than one person can connect at a given time
irrespective of their geographical differences and they can brainstorm or work
their way around certain academic problems. The Skype-buddy allows these interactions
to be real-time and gives students a chance to assist each other or brainstorm
issues across different platforms.
Allows students to give
feedback to their tutors
The platform also allows the students to
give feedback to their tutors in matters pertaining to education. Through this
platform, students can be able to ask their tutors any questions that they
could be harboring in their minds. The tutors are able to know whether the
students are comfortable with this form of study and what could be done to
spice the process. With a direct interaction, they are able to assess whether
what they teach has any form of impact on these students. This is more
enriching than the use of emails for studying. The tutors can also be able to
ask the students any questions they would wish as they try to assess whether
these students have been able to grasp what they have been taught.
It is more interesting
than other forms of long distance learning
Use of Skype-buddy brings some form of
liveliness to the learning process despite the difference in distance between
the teachers and the students. The fact that there is a direct process of
exchange of information between the tutors as well as the students makes the
whole process become even more interactive and interesting.
Offers
a wider access to courses
In some nations, particularly the
nations that have not been so developed, the system of education might be very
vague. In this case, you find that the institutions in these countries do not
offer their students a wider choice or range of courses they can undertake.
Other universities across the globe have come up with a strategy to fill this
gap. They offer the students course that they need and the richness and
diversities of these courses is always an attraction to them. To make the
education more accessible, they have adopted the power of blended learning to
assist them in this teaching program. The blended learning uses Skype
extensively as the preferred application because of its user-friendliness,
compatibility and accessibility. Students are now able to tackle very different
courses from any university they wish across the globe. Skype-buddy is being
used as a very rich resource for connections that ultimately enable these
students realize their goals and dreams in the academic sphere.
Learning facility for
disabled
The Skype-buddy is a great application
for use by people who cannot be able to access the classrooms. A good example
is the disabled people who cannot be able to go to school physically. This
facility gives them the chance to learn just like other normal children but at
the comfort of their homes where they would not have many difficulties, as they
would be well taken care of.
Self-paced learning
The program offers the users the chance
to take the education courses at their own pace, this reduces the rigidity
associated with many courses out there and increases the chances of many people
joining the program. In most cases, you may find that the people who prefer to
use this program are professionals who do not have the time to go to school.
When school is brought right into their homes using the concept of Skype-buddy,
these professionals can have the chance to take classes at their own pace and
hence develop their careers. Self-paced learning spaces the learning time and
allows the users to be able to handle other issues as the same time. One does
not have to leave their jobs to go back to school if they want to advance their
careers.
Cost saving advantage
The use of the application is very cost
effective, particularly in tertiary institutions. Most people who have been
documented as having been enrolled in this program have done so because of the
cost benefits associated with the same.
The blended learning program is cheaper than other courses. Because it
also offers people the freedom to choose when it is the appropriate time to
learn, it is a preferred course of many people in the world. People can save
money while at the same time keep their jobs.
The challenges in this
project
Sometimes, projects might have a number
of challenges that could in one way or the other inhibit the accurate conduct
of the projects. Even in this case, the
research shows that there are a number of challenges that have contributed in
one way or the other the slow uptake or use of the platform for education. These
challenges have been discussed in the following paragraphs.
Limited internet access
in some countries
In some countries, particularly the
developing ones, the internet connectivity scales and signals tend to be very
poor. The poor strength of these signals inhibits and sometimes prevents the
application from being effective. In
many cases, this poor internet access is brought about by the fact that most of
these developing countries do not have much capacity to buy personal computers
for use in engaging in online classes. With this limited access to internet
technology, then it becomes almost impossible for students in these areas to
have access to Skype and hence their education potential through this platform
is highly affected. The developed world do not experience some of these
infrastructural challenges.
Sometimes services
become interrupted
Skype-buddy relies on the usage of
servers provided by a third party. Though the chances of these servers clashing
are very minimal, sometimes they do experience some downtime. When these
downtimes occur, the services become interrupted and the blended learning
programme ceases to have meaning.
Commitment to the
process and program
Because this program does not involve
physical attendance in classrooms, some students may take this opportunity to
skip learning. For the program to be a successful one, both the tutor as well
as the student must be willing to engage each other actively and be committed
to the program. Sometimes you may find that because of the differences in time
zones, there could occur issues involving the exact time the lessons should
commence. The program requires that each of the participants be having a huge
commitment towards the same so that success may be achieved.
Lack of experimental
touch and learning
Despite the fact that the program offers
its users a very highly interactive form of connection, it lacks the actual
experience one gets from the sheer act of being physically present in the
classroom (Holmberg, 2008). For example, if someone was learning about
chemicals in a lab project, the experimental segment of the program would not
be availed in this case. This
experimental factor could be a very important factor in some cases as it could
relate to whether the individual gets to fully comprehend what they are being
taught. The lack of touch with the tutor makes this platform lose some
popularity with some people.
Lack of technological
knowhow to use the program
In some areas, some people fail to
attend classes because they lack the necessary knowhow required to use an
application such as Skype-buddy. This lack of technological knowhow is brought
about by ignorance in most cases and in other cases, such as in developing
countries, it is brought about because of lack or resources.
Recommendations
The above challenges can be dealt with
if the following recommendations are applied effectively. Skype should have its
own proprietary budget. Through this way, the
systems will never experience downtimes. Power backups using other forms
of energy should be made available at all times to ensure that the project
never fails because of that. Downtimes could cost the company a lot of traffic.
If for instance there was a downtime of three minutes, six billion minutes of
talk time would be disrupted.
Another recommendation is to governments
in regions where internet connectivity has not been able to penetrate
effectively. The government should put measures in place to ensure that they
have provided their subjects with internet connectivity through the provision
of cyber places where these people could meet to access internet connection.
Currently, the application is only
working in major expensive mobile devices. The developers of this application
should go back to the drawing board and come up with an application that has
the capacity to work in simple cheap phones. If this happens, the percentage of
the people who will have access to Skype-buddy will double overnight.
Conclusion
The above discussion has offered a lot
of insight into how Skype-buddy can be used to influence blended learning. The
usage of the application has been observed as being on the rise each day. More
and more people are embracing the usage of Skype-buddy to engage with others on
learning platforms. there are several advantages as well as challenges that
have been identified with the usage of this application. The advantages include
classroom simulation, a chance to engage in online discussion, allows students to
give feedback to their tutors, it is more interesting than other forms of long
distance learning, learning facility for disabled, self-paced learning and cost
saving advantage. The challenges
identified in this case include Limited internet access in some countries,
Sometimes services become interrupted, Commitment to the process and program,
Lack of experimental touch and learning as well as Lack of technological
knowhow to use the program. Various forms of recommendations have also been
offered in this paper. These includes Skype having its own proprietary budget
so that it can avoid downtimes. Power backups using other forms of energy
should be made available at all times to ensure that the project never fails
because of that. Another recommendation made in this paper is that governments in regions where internet
connectivity has not been able to penetrate effectively should put measures in
place to ensure that they have provided their subjects with internet connectivity
through the provision of cyber places where these people could meet to access
internet connection.
Lastly, another recommendation has been
made to the developers of this application to come up with an application that
has the capacity to work in simple cheap phones so that the percentage number
of people interacting on Skype buddy could increase considerably. In conclusion, it can be established from
this research that the use of Skype-buddy in blended learning has led to a lot
of exposure and increased levels of educational interaction amongst many people
in the world.
References
Cavanaugh
et al (2001). ‘The Effects of Distance Education on K-12 Student Outcomes:
A
Meta-Analysis’. Available at
Dixon,
RS (2000). ‘Internet videoconferencing: coming to your campus soon’. Educause
Quarterly.
4: 22-27.
Holmberg,
B (2008). ‘The Evolution, Principles and Practices of Distance Education’.
Available
Hunt,
C (1998). ‘Distance learning: short-term gain, long-term commitment – a case
study’.
International
Journal of Educational Management. 12(6): 270–276.
Sherron,
G.T., & Boettcher, J.V (1997). ‘Distance learning: the shift to
interactivity’. Available
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