Today I decided I was going to figure this Google Video Chat out, but before I got started with that, I had to go to wrestling practice and work out with my wrestlers. Today was an intensive conditioning day, which means treadmill for 15 minutes and an assortment of high energy games in the gym. There were only a handful of varsity wrestlers who showed up, which made the games all that more entertaining. We played full court basketball, hockey, dodge ball, and threw in some sprints in between each game. You might be thinking, "What kind of wrestling team works out by playing games?" Well, since today is Christmas Eve, I and the other coach, decided we should have a little fun today. We ended up running around for a solid two hours, so, needless-to-say, we were all feeling pretty good by the end of practice.
Once I had gotten home and cleaned myself up from practice, I called my dad in St. Louis, Mo. to set up a video chat with him via our web cams. It took a few tries to get it working properly. First, in the contacts list, anyone you wish to video chat with needs to have a little green camera next to there name. That indicates that each party is capable of receiving video chats. Then, move your cursor over the name you wish to chat with and select "chat" or "video and more." It seems simple, but my dad kept having complications on his end.
It was my first time using the feature and I thought it was fantastic. If you don't already have a web cam, I would recommend getting one. There are multiple uses for it in the classroom. I observed an 8th grade American History teacher using it to chat with a representative from the Constitutional Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. If you would like to know more about you go to his blog at www.speakingofhistory.blogspot.com. I hope to use Google Chat more in the future, I know the students in Mr. Langhorst's class enjoyed it and I'm sure other students will too.
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