Skype+wiki

//** Welcome!!! **// **// to Tyler, Elias and Mike's wiki-text about Skype and its applications in education //**

__ **TABLE OF CONTENTS** __ History FAQ Features Educational uses

**__ HISTORY FAQ __**

**__What is Skype?__** Skype is a global peer-to-peer (p2p) network that offers live voice over internet protocol (VOIP) calling from computers to other computers or to telephones around the world. As a VOIP technology, Skype uses the internet as its medium for data transfer, rather than traditional telephone lines. Today,Skype offers much more than the original voice calling. See features below for more details about what today's Skype has to offer. __**What does "Skype" mean?**__ Niklas Zennstrom (Sweden) and Janus Friis (Denmark) founded Skype in 2003, basing its headquarters in Luxembourg1. The original name, "Sky peer-to-peer", was quickly shortened to "Skyper". However, some domain names associated "Skyper" were already in use by other organizations [|2]. As a result , Skyper dropped its "r" and became known by its current name, Skype.

**__Do many people use Skype?__** Since its founding, the use of Skype has increased continuously. In 2011, Skype experienced unprecedented usage, with more than 26 million Skype users online simultaneously [|3].

**__Who owns Skype?__** In October 2005, Skype was purchased by the internet resale giant eBay, for $2.6 billion USD [|98]. Zennstrom and Friis, the company's original founders, left Skype in 2008, after repeated clashes with the owners, eBay [|4]. In November, 2010, eBay sold off 70% ownership of Skype for $2 billion USD to a consortium of of buyers including Joltid, a company founded by no other than Zennstrom and Friis [|5]. In May 2011, Microsoft agreed to acquire Skype for an unprecedented $8.5 billion USD [|6].

__ **FEATURES** __

The main features, and selling points, of skype are live video calling between skype members and the ability to make calls to phones, both mobile and landline, with a subscription or pay-as-you-go. Secondary features include instant messaging and file transfer between skype contacts and, most recently, a pay-per-use text messaging feature.









Skype is available across a wide variety of media. It started with computers, but has branched out to smartphones and tablets as well. Requirements for skype on a personal computer or laptop are an internet connection, webcam, speakers and a microphone, though a headset is recommended. Smartphones and tablets generally have these peripheral devices built in, so skype can run as soon as it is installed and connected.

__ **EDUCATIONAL USES** __

** __Skype can be used in the classroom in many ways__: **
 * After school help
 * Guest lecturers
 * Inclusion (if a student is sick or has a permanent disease, he/she can attend the class from home via skype)
 * Share students' work with parents
 * Help to learn foreign cultures lessons first hand
 * Video conferencing
 * Field trips (help students who cant afford the field trip help to watch the field trip from their home)
 * Help to study foreign languages
 * Bring busy parents to the classroom via skype
 * International video pen-pals
 * Collaborative assignments
 * Distance education

There are, however, limits to Skype's accessibility in schools. Streaming live video takes a large amount of bandwidth and may be unfeasible if your school internet connection is limited. Some schools and school boards fear misuse and prohibit Skype within their schools. This trend may be changing as Skype has introduced Skype for education a collaborative project that lets teachers work together on lessons and maximize Skype's potential as an effective resource for teaching and for learning.