#MysterySkype jobs

In order to make your #mysteryskype successful, it's important to have everyone involved. This means that each of your students needs a job to do. If you've ever watched a #mysteryskype in action, you'll actually see a lot of work going on in the room. And that's because there's a lot that needs to be done, from researching locations, to asking questions, to recording information.

What jobs you have your students do depends on your grade level and how many students are in your class. There's lots of variations on #mysteryskype and many teachers do things slightly different. You need to look at your class and decide what's right for you. Here is a suggested list of jobs.

• Greeters: Introduce your class to the guest class and goes over the rules. Once done greeting, they help where needed during Skype call. They could also be the ones to close the Skype call.
• Questioners: They are the ones to ask the yes or no questions and are the voice of the class. They could also be the ones that answer the questions from the other class.
• Answerers: If you have a lot of students you can designate a few to take turns answering the questions from the other class. They should know their state facts pretty well.
• Mappers: Using clues that are given, this group will narrow down the location of the other class.  This group could be broken down into even smaller groups if needed. For example, some could be working with atlases, while others are using Google maps.
• Logical Reasoners: Work closely with mappers.  This group will come up with questions to ask other class based on questions that have been answered.
• Runners: Run from group to group relaying information, primarily taking questions to the Questioners to ask the guest class.
• Question keepers: Record questions and answers from both classes. This can be done on butcher paper mounted on the wall or through a Google Doc.
• Blogger: Takes notes and writes about the experience on the class blog.
• Photographer: Takes pictures during the event to post on the class blog.

After doing a few #mysteryskypes with your class, it might be helpful to ask them what jobs they think they should have. They probably like to try different jobs, as well as have suggestions for job.

Some teachers like to switch jobs on a regular basis. Others like to have students apply for and keep the same job. Here is a job application developed by another teacher.