edit: Title: Using Skype to Improve Student interivews by Gayle Dietrich

For this study two schools were chosen to test weather or not Skype would provide to be a better medium for interviews than in person. The two schools consisted of mostly minority students, one school was a science, technology, engineering and mathematics school (STEM) all male school, the other was a co-ed middle school. The problem in this research was weather or not Skype would be a better medium for interviews. The audience for this research was school teachers or any level that provide interviews for their classrooms.

The variables involved were the students and their ability to use Skype to provided insightful interviews with officials. Skype its self was also a variable since you could do an inperson interview.

Skype was tested by allowing students access to it under teacher supervision to conduct interviews with officials in the community. Students were instructed in how to proceed with an interview. Students then practiced with each other and with teachers to get acclimated with Skype.

Gayle Dietrch found that by using Skype students interest in conducting interviews went up, along with the achievement gap of students. Schools were also more likely to conduct interviews using Skype than by not using Skype.

I thought this study was very well done. I have found Skype to be particularly useful over the past few years to communicate with my wife and with siblings when they are over great distances. I feel that using it in a school setting is a very good idea because of its ease of use for students and teachers. I don't personally have a classroom, however when it comes to the business environment Skype is much more economically feasible than some of the other teleconferencing options. I also feel that for teachers it could be a way to include students who have been out sick for an extended period of time since you could Skype them in to the classroom.

When I talk about Skype around my current colleagues as well as around other business acquaintances I know, most of them are already aware of Skype and its usefulness, but to the people that are unaware of it tell them that Skype in a free application that allows person to person communication with or without video over the internet no matter where you are in the world.