This event took place on 23rd June 2007 at 9:30am (08:30 GMT)
Knowledge Media Institute, Berrill Building, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, MK7 6AA
Technology has always had a major impact on the way we communicate with people. The Internet and its many applications have been perhaps the most influential. One particular application that has received much attention, and has indeed changed the way in which we communicate, is Skype. Skype is an online application that supports Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls. New software developments have seen this influence increase as Skype users can now host multi-participant conversations of up to one-hundred people. This communicative medium is called Skypecasts. Skypecasts function in the same way as conference calls, where interlocutors from all over the world converse in real time. This paper will discuss the interaction that results from using Skypecasts as a medium to facilitate synchronous online spoken communication. Despite the possibility of experiencing the same type of disorganized communication that is sometimes characteristic of other online mediums (e.g., chat rooms), Skypecast participation is methodical and its progression is conterminous. This would suggest an orientation to participation structures that are in fact characteristic of casual, face-to-face interaction. The paper will be divided into two parts. The first part will explain how interlocutors use interactional mechanisms, such as turn-taking, repair, and floor management, to establish and maintain their position in conversations. The second part will discuss the possibilities of using Skypecasts as a teaching and/or learning tool.
Technology has always had a major impact on the way we communicate with people. The Internet and its many applications have been perhaps the most influential. One particular application that has received much attention, and has indeed changed the way in which we communicate, is Skype. Skype is an online application that supports Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls. New software developments have seen this influence increase as Skype users can now host multi-participant conversations of up to one-hundred people. This communicative medium is called Skypecasts. Skypecasts function in the same way as conference calls, where interlocutors from all over the world converse in real time. This paper will discuss the interaction that results from using Skypecasts as a medium to facilitate synchronous online spoken communication. Despite the possibility of experiencing the same type of disorganized communication that is sometimes characteristic of other online mediums (e.g., chat rooms), Skypecast participation is methodical and its progression is conterminous. This would suggest an orientation to participation structures that are in fact characteristic of casual, face-to-face interaction. The paper will be divided into two parts. The first part will explain how interlocutors use interactional mechanisms, such as turn-taking, repair, and floor management, to establish and maintain their position in conversations. The second part will discuss the possibilities of using Skypecasts as a teaching and/or learning tool.
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