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Our most important institutions, like schools and workplaces, are designed for extroverts,

why is it that kids who prefer to go off by themselves or to work alone are seen as outliers?

How about the very definition of “class participation?”

how best to cultivate the talent of those students.

a student who has one or two or three friends, and prefers to go deep with their friendships instead of being one of a big gang, there’s nothing wrong with that at all, in terms of it being a predictor for adulthood.

But Cain particularly feels for one group of introverts: the quiet kids in a classroom.

make sure to build quiet time into the school day, especially when kids are younger. Have 15 minutes set aside every day where the students just read.

Apps that allow students to contribute to class discussions, sometimes anonymously and sometimes not.

less group work in general.

do more work in pairs, which is a way that both introverts and extroverts can thrive.

challenge teachers to rethink what they mean by class participation and start thinking of it as classroom engagement instead.

account the research of Anders Ericsson, who invented the concept of “deliberate practice.”

tools that allow students to participate through their electronic devices as opposed to raising their hand.

maximize choice.

e introverts of the world. In th

advanced features, such as group video calls, require users to pay a fee and upgrade to a premium account to get the service. Calling fees vary depending on the countries the user calls and the amount of time spent on calls. Subscribing to a premium account, which will allow users to use services such as group video chats, currently costs US$59.88 for 12 months. US$4.99 per month is not very expensive.

Limitations Although Skype and Skype in the classroom provide an intriguing option for language teaching and learning, there are some limitations as well. First, there are minimum download/upload speeds required for using Skype. For example, video calling and screen sharing require 128kbps/128kbps as the minimum download/upload speed; group video calling requires 4Mbps/128kbps as the minimum download/upload speed. Therefore, Skype users need to check whether their Internet connection meets such requirements to avoid video and audio lag during Skype lessons.

Second, Skype and Skype in the classroom promote authentic learning. According to Lombardi (2007), authentic learning emphasizes “real-world, complex problems and their solutions, using role-playing exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in a virtual community of practice” (p.2). Thus, authentic learning happens as learners participate in real-world relevant tasks that require their judgment to distinguish information, patience to participate, ability to adapt themselves to unfamiliar contexts, and flexibility to work with people from different cultures. In this view, Skype and Skype in the classroom allow language teachers and learners to participate in a context of authentic learning.

The ACTIONS model, proposed by Bates (1995), is a practical guide for educators and policymakers to select and evaluate the use of technologies for teaching and learning. The ACTIONS model involves the following criteria: Access: How accessible is a particular technology for learners? Costs: What is the cost structure of a particular technology? Teaching and learning: How does a particular technology support teaching and learning? Interactivity and user-friendliness: How does a particular technology facilitate interaction among learners? How easy is a particular technology to use? Organizational issues: Are any class organizational changes needed? Novelty: How new is this particular technology? Speed: How quickly can courses be taught and learned via this particular technology?