A middle school social studies teacher I was working with expressed interest in doing a Mystery Skype with another class in Europe. I was all for it until I remembered the time zone difference. Not to be deterred, I looked around for resources to help me figure out what time zone countries in Europe are in. Here are two that I like to use.
World Time Zone
World Time Zone is an interactive map that shows the current time in each time zone across the world. The map shows the current time in each time zone at the time I land on the page. I can then quickly see if it's feasible to do a Mystery Skype.
Time Zone Converter
Time Zone Converter is a resource I use frequently to convert my time to my connecting class's time. I simply plug in the day and time we want to do our Mystery Skype, search for the city of the other class, and click Convert Time. It then shows me the time in both time zones.
Flexibility
Being flexible is also key. Sometimes teachers have a class period that is better behaved or more likely to succeed at playing Mystery Skype. However, with managing the times of two different classes in two different time zones, that class might not be the best fit. Teachers need to be flexible and use whatever class is available at a time that works.
Time zones is an important aspect of Mystery Skypes. Messing that up that little detail can make or break a successful connection!
How do you figure out time zone compatibility? More importantly, how do you Skype with classrooms that are half way around the world? I have a teacher that wants to Skype with a class in Europe!
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