Module 8

                                   My Experience of Trying out Skype

            I have heard about Skype when I just came to America because I was looking for all kinds of communication tools that could help me to contact my families and friends in China. I didn’t try Skype at that time because I thought it would charge me for service fee, and I chose Wechat as my international communication tool, which was a very popular communication tool in China. However, after I had my first experience with Skype, I fall in love with it for its convenience, across-the-board functions and creative design.

            We are supposed to have a Skype ID for our ENG 704, and that’s why I registered for it. I never tried it until I met the first problem when taking ENG 704, which was that I couldn’t open links of writing samples for reading reflection in our first module study. I had thought about writing an email to Dr. Cadle about that problem, but I was afraid it would take some time to get the reply. So, Skype occurred in my mind. It was my first time to open Skype App in my phone, and I behaved like a child, being careful to take every step. I clicked the name of Dr. Cadle in my contacts, and I wondered whether I should call her or message her. To be honest, I didn’t get used to call somebody if I haven’t seen him or her physically before because I would get tongue-shy.

            I decided to write a message to Dr. Cadle in trying out Skype for the first time. I took serious of the content of the first message to my instructor, so I introduced myself, stated the problem and what I wanted Dr. Cadle to help me with, and expresses my gratitude in that message. I was restless when waiting for Dr. Cadle’s reply from Skype, and it didn’t take a long time that she replied to me and helped me with my problem. I felt that Skype was so amazing for it could acted as a bridge for me to get a quick help from others.

            From that time, I began get used to using Skype to contact my instructors or classmates, but I still didn’t try giving a call to somebody through Skype until I met an emergency in ENG 704. I check on the Hub, and noticed that we would had an online workshop. We were supposed to upload documents by tomorrow, and I was unsure about which document we should upload. I was freaked out, and I didn’t know how to contact my teacher at that time. Skype suddenly appeared in my mind again. I called Dr. Cadle, and she didn’t answer me instantly for some reason. Then, I wrote a message to her through Skype, and it only took few minutes that I got a call back from Dr. Cadle. Dr. Cadle answered my questions on the phone, and helped me to clarify my confusion. I also shared what I’ve learned in the class with her. The more I chatted with my instructor, the more I wanted to learn from her. At the end, I even made an appointment with Dr. Cadle that I could talk with her personally through Skype call. Skype doesn’t distance people’s relationship as what I expected before. On the contrary, it helps to provide a space where people can help each other, learn more about each other, and get closer to each other.

            Except for Skype, I also benefited a lot from other alternative communication tools, such as Messenger of Facebook. I am a friend of Kate on Facebook, and we both take one class together. Sometimes, if I meet difficulties in finishing projects of that class, I will ask help from her on Messenger, and she will give me some guides. On the other hand, if Kate is unsure about what our homework is, she will message me for clarification as well. Although we were unfamiliar with each other before, we become real friends through mutual learning by Messenger, which is only a subordinate communication tool of Facebook in some people’s eyes.

            The experience of trying out Skype and other communication tools is like an exploration into space: We are cautious and nervous at the beginning, but when we take our first step of trying out them, we will discover how amazing they are. Moreover, there is no end for the exploration for those communication tools as long as you hold an open mind for it. For example, I plan to invite my families and friends in China to try Skype, discovering how it will work in international communication.