Last fall, as I was reading the Twitter feed, I saw something called Mystery Skype that intrigued me. After searching sites and reading how other teachers were using this activity, I decided to give the game a try with my students, so we started by practicing. The students were divided into two teams within the classroom. Each team had a mystery state and the other team had to ask yes/no questions to try and guess the other team’s state. I thought that the students would have fun, but I had no idea how much enthusiasm they would show. After playing within the classroom for a week or two, I decided that my students were ready, so I Tweeted #mysteryskype looking for partner classrooms. I created a chart with various jobs, and the students chose which one they preferred. We got the United States map, state maps, and time zone maps out, and we were ready for our first call. The students did an amazing job working together, and the 21st Century Skills of collaboration, critical thinking, and communication were all demonstrated throughout the call.
During a Mystery Skype call, students ask questions trying to pinpoint the other’s location, and each student has a job. There are mappers who use maps to mark off states as they are eliminated and decide the next question. The runners relay the questions to the inquirers who keep the session going smoothly, and actually ask the questions when it is their class’s turn. Besides those jobs, there are photographers, videographers, question keepers, a blogger, and a student live Tweeting. The room is a busy place during a Mystery Skype. Once the classes find each other, the students discuss similarities and differences in their schools, and they share information about their state. After the call, the question keeper goes back over the questions with the class. We analyze which were “good” questions, and what we could have done differently. Each time we play the game, we rotate jobs so that students practice each of these skills.
As the enthusiasm in my students grew, so did the program. Not only were they learning geography and skills and collaborating with each other, but they were communicating with other children throughout the country. I began connecting with more teachers, and by January, my three social studies classes had connected with over 25 individual classrooms in the United States, Canada, and Venezuela. I will continue connecting with other teachers around the globe because my students hope to meet more children so that they can learn from them. Our children are growing up in a world where with the click of a button they can have conversations, share, and collaborate with others who are miles away. The world, indeed, is a small place.
If you are interested in setting up Mystery Skype in your school or classroom, find me on Twitter at @kbeckr and follow my students at @Hd3rd.