Tips on what to do on a Skype author visit
Recently I did my first author visit over Skype. I've spoken at events before, and in front of kids, but never in a virtual setting. So I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. Would everything work properly? Would the students be able to hear me? See me? And not get bored in the midst of all that technology?
Well, I have to say that my experience was fairly smooth, and speaking in front of a camera turned out to be easier than I thought. On top of that, the kids had come prepared with questions and predictions, which made everything so much more fun for me, the author. So I have to thank PragmaticMom, a faithful follower of From the Mixed-Up Files, who not only won me in our huge Author Skype giveaway, but set up the event at her school, and then blogged about it afterwards with such great detail. I was in good hands throughout!
I'm sure there are many seasoned Skype authors out there. But I thought I'd share just a few things that I learned from doing this visit, which might help any future author-skypers, as well as teacher/librarian skypers. I know that I turned to some of my friends for a few tips, which went a long way in planning how I would do my visit (thank you, Wendy Shang!).
Tips for authors:
1. Figure out how long your visit will run. Most Skype sessions run between 20 - 30 minutes. This is a great length of time to do a Q&A session. My session ran longer -- 45 minutes, because that was the terms of our giveaway at From the Mixed-Up Files. We really wanted to provide our winners with a lengthier, meatier session.
2. In terms of content, what worked well for me was to have the class read a section of my book ahead of time. In an ideal world, it would be better for them to read your whole book. If you plan your visit well in advance, and you have the teacher on board, you might be able to arrange for this. But if you do something in the spring, chances are, the teacher will be up to his or her eyballs in state testing and end-of-the-year projects. So ask if they can read a chapter or two before the visit. I think it always helps for the students to have some acquaintance with your writing ahead of time.
3. What also worked for me was to build my talk around the first few chapters of my book. I read very brief excerpts and asked them to find the clues that were planted in those sections. The question I asked before I read was, Tell me when you first realize that something is wrong. Is there a word, a detail, something that stands out? This worked quite well because my book was a mystery. But I believe you can focus the kids on a set of simple questions centered on a specific passage they have read. This way, the students have two chances to approach your text, and perhaps see something there that they didn't on the first reading.
4. It helps to have props, even in a cyber setting. You will not be able to walk around and show your items as easily to the students, but you can certainly hold them up to the camera. I had a chance to show the students a miniature veena - so they could see all the parts - and then a real veena (which is huge), but they were ready by then to encounter that hugeness. I also played a very short excerpt of veena music on my iPad so they could all hear what a veena sounds like.
source: PrgamaticMom's blog.
5. I had this bonus stroke of luck that my book happened to be set a few miles from the school, which meant I could talk about the setting, how much I love Boston, and what part of the city figured its way into my book. I think it's great if you can find a way to connect you or your book to their own direct experience. I also knew they were sitting in the library, so I started off talking about the library in the elementary school where I went, and how it was important to me as a kid.
6. My 3rd grade daughter had a genius idea about how to start my talk. I wasn't sure if I could call on people, or ask many questions, because I would be viewing the class through a small window on the screen. So I had them answer 3 questions by raising their hands:
Raise your hand, how many of you like to read? Raise your hand, how many of you like to write? How many of you like to do both?
I thought this worked really great, because it was a very visual way to see them participating on my end, and an easy way for them to communicate on their end. And strangely, I really did feel a connection to them -- so many hands went up each time! I felt like I was talking to kindred spirits! Because I was a kid who liked to do both. And it was a pefect launching point for me.
Tips for teachers/librarians setting up the Skype visit:
1. Make sure to do a test run a few days before. If something isn't working, there is a chance to fix it before the day of the event.
2. If possible, send questions from your students to the author ahead of time, so she can vet for redundant questions as well as get a sense of what the students are interested in discussing.
3. Make sure your students get to read at least a chapter or two from the book. The more, the better.
4. During the Skype visit, you can really help out by calling on kids to answer a question by the author.
5. If possible, project the author onto a big screen so your students can have a good view. Then have your computer set up so that the author can see your students' faces while she's talking. It really helps to see each other's faces .
6. Be prepared for dropped calls and other technical mishaps. It is all part of the technology. Be confident that it will work itself out, because Internet author visits is an ongoing process which will only keep getting better.
Lastly, for authors, teachers and librarians alike, be sure to check out PragmaticMom's post about my Skype visit. There's a lot of good info there, and you can get a sense of what a Skype visit is like from the student side!