Dr. Christine White
How do you Skype with a Scientist?
Skype with Scientist: First-ever connection and it’s process
Sometimes cool things can happen when you be more proactive and approach teachers. This month I approached one of our science teachers and asked her whether she wanted to connect with a Scientist. She was very excited, and from there, the process begins.
We had a preliminary meeting where she discussed with me the topic and the grade with whom the Skype session will happen. I discovered the https://www.skypeascientist.com/ program and had requested to connect with one scientist at a time. After considering her request, I told the teacher we would fill out the form and wait for the response. I knew this could be an excellent opportunity for her students to learn from experts in the field of Genetics, specialized in Children’s Cancer. The google form had good options for subject choices and preferred timings which can suit to our lesson timings.
The email came from Skype a Scientist a few days later informing me that they had 
found three Scientists for us to select from and connect. The teacher and I both were super excited. We have finalized one Scientist and started emailing and planning our Skype session. The teacher shared what content she wanted her students to cover during the session. The scientist was excited too when she read the content, and she emailed back saying that she is doing her research on the same line. She sent ancillary materials for the students to review before they met so they could get an idea of what type of work she does. On the day of the session, we had a run-through practice with all the technical team which worked very well. At the time of the meeting, all the connections worked very well, and the students were very engaged. They asked the right questions and made excellent use of the opportunity.
I want to thank Skype in the Classroom, Skype a Scientist program, and the Science teacher to make this session successful.
Sunita Malekar
Secondary Librarian
