17 How Skype-buddy model influences blended learning Name Institution Abstract This paper shows a correlation on improvement in then levels of learning amongst individuals and the use of technology. The sky-buddy is shown as a very interactive form of model for use in blended learning. From the research in this case, it will be shown that there is a very heightened level of enlightenment when tutors use the platform to engage students from all walks of life. The paper shows that there exists challenges with the use of the application and other form of video conferencing in areas where the internet connectivity has not penetrated in large scale. Through the use of the application, many students have been able to access education through video and distance learning. There are advantages associated with this model as will be found here namely classroom simulations, cost saving advantages, self paced form of learning among other advantages. The challenges identified in this case will include the huge costs of accessing internet in some areas, total lack of connectivity in other areas and ignorance in certain cases. The research shows that the use of the application and others of the same magnitude will go a long way in revolutionalizing the way education is conducted in the world today. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 3 Objective of the research paper 5 Literature review 5 Skype and Skype-buddy overview 6 Blended learning definition 7 How Skype-Buddy works 7 Skype-buddy in education: Blended learning 8 Advantages associated with using Skype-buddy in blended learning 9 Classroom simulation 9 A chance to engage in online discussion 10 Allows students to give feedback to their tutors 10 It is more interesting than other forms of long distance learning 10 Learning facility for disabled 11 Self-paced learning 11 Cost saving advantage 11 The challenges in this project 12 Limited internet access in some countries 12 Sometimes services become interrupted 12 Commitment to the process and program 13 Lack of experimental touch and learning 13 Lack of technological knowhow to use the program 13 Recommendations 14 Conclusion 14 References 16 Introduction The invention of internet technology has proven to be perhaps the most indispensable innovation of all times (Sherron & Boettcher, 1997). There has been countless businesses that have resulted from the platform across the globe. The rapid and widespread use of this form of invention has caused massive ripple effects across almost all forms of innovations in the world. For instance, it is through the internet that billions of people connect and share their opinions. The internet facilitated the ease and speed of communication between billions of people across the globe. This has been made possible through an eruption of very many social internet platforms. The most prominent ones include Facebook and twitter. These two platforms alone have a customer base of many billions of customers. .

1. 17
How Skype-buddy model influences blended learning
Name
Institution
Abstract
This paper shows a correlation on improvement in then levels of
learning amongst individuals and the use of technology. The
sky-buddy is shown as a very interactive form of model for use
in blended learning. From the research in this case, it will be
shown that there is a very heightened level of enlightenment
when tutors use the platform to engage students from all walks
of life. The paper shows that there exists challenges with the
use of the application and other form of video conferencing in
areas where the internet connectivity has not penetrated in large
scale. Through the use of the application, many students have
been able to access education through video and distance
learning. There are advantages associated with this model as
will be found here namely classroom simulations, cost saving
advantages, self paced form of learning among other
advantages. The challenges identified in this case will include
the huge costs of accessing internet in some areas, total lack of
connectivity in other areas and ignorance in certain cases. The

2. research shows that the use of the application and others of the
same magnitude will go a long way in revolutionalizing the way
education is conducted in the world today.
Table of Contents
Abstract 2
Introduction 3
Objective of the research paper 5
Literature review 5
Skype and Skype-buddy overview 6
Blended learning definition 7
How Skype-Buddy works 7
Skype-buddy in education: Blended learning 8
Advantages associated with using Skype-buddy in blended
learning 9
Classroom simulation 9
A chance to engage in online discussion 10
Allows students to give feedback to their tutors 10
It is more interesting than other forms of long distance learning
10
Learning facility for disabled 11
Self-paced learning 11
Cost saving advantage 11
The challenges in this project 12
Limited internet access in some countries 12
Sometimes services become interrupted 12
Commitment to the process and program 13
Lack of experimental touch and learning 13
Lack of technological knowhow to use the program 13
Recommendations 14
Conclusion 14
References 16
Introduction
The invention of internet technology has proven to be perhaps
the most indispensable innovation of all times (Sherron &
Boettcher, 1997). There has been countless businesses that have

3. resulted from the platform across the globe. The rapid and
widespread use of this form of invention has caused massive
ripple effects across almost all forms of innovations in the
world. For instance, it is through the internet that billions of
people connect and share their opinions. The internet facilitated
the ease and speed of communication between billions of people
across the globe. This has been made possible through an
eruption of very many social internet platforms. The most
prominent ones include Facebook and twitter. These two
platforms alone have a customer base of many billions of
customers. The kind of traffic and flow of information that is
processed by these platforms is gigantic. These forms of social
platforms have been able to bring people together in a very
successful manner and this goes a long way in ensuring that
people come closer to each other irrespective of the distance
between them. The internet has revolutionalized the way people
conduct their businesses too. People have been able to give their
businesses more exposure using online marketing platforms and
through the creation of websites and other media forms that
utilize the internet. With this view in mind, it can then be easy
to relate to how Skype has been utilized in a variety of ways to
bring people together. The platform has been used extensively
as a social tool where people get the chance to talk to their
loved ones who are situated miles away. Businesses have also
benefitted hugely from this platform. Trade and commerce has
been opened up and people are seeking markets for their
products thousands of miles away from their premises.
This paper investigates the use of the Skype-buddy application
as a way of conducting blended learning. The parameters which
will be looked at in this case includes the investigation into the
challenges that these people encounter during the process of
offering these services through the use of Skype-buddy as a
messaging and video conferencing tool.
It will look at the statistics that show how the use of the
application has been conducted, the testimonials that relate to

4. how the application has been successful to them or not through
a review of literature on the subject. The paper will be
structured in the following manner. The objectives of this paper
will be highlighted, then a literature review conducted then
recommendations and finally a conclusion that ties all the facets
of information discussed here given.Objective of the research
paper
This main objective of this research paper is to investigate how
Skype-buddy has contributed to blended learning. Literature
review
Half a century ago, the world was practically shut down. There
were no models of communication that had the capacity to bring
billions of people together in one platform at the same time as
there are today (Hunt, 1998). People relied on obsolete means
that often took too long and were proven to be cumbersome in
more ways than one. For instance, the use of the post office to
send mails. The mails often took too long to reach their
destinations or even got lost along the way. It was evident that
these could not be used to deliver urgent messages. When the
mobile phone was invested and taken mainstream, the cost of
owning and maintaining one was too high to an extent that they
were a reserve of the rich people only. The tariffs paid on the
use of the phones was too high and the service was not always
very reliable. After that, the competition in this business saw
companies start manufacturing mobile phones that were more
affordable. The ordinary man could now afford to have some
form of communication through the use of bulky but mobile,
phones. However, the tariff charges remained quite high. When
internet and the web was invented, it took over from all other
means of inventions as the greatest invention of the world.
Today, it would be almost impossible to imagine a world
without internet technology or web platform. The website is the
tool upon which all the other tools and applications are based.
In this case, the internet acts as a major tool for all the
applications that have been invented. Currently, there are aver a
billion applications, both mobile and PC based that rely on the

5. use of the internet to deliver a form of service to the clients
who need such. Through the platform, people have been enabled
to have snap interactions with one another regardless of the
distance that exists between the people (Cavanaugh et al, 2001).
Skype and Skype-buddy overview
It is on this platform that many brilliant applications were
developed. One of these applications is Skype. Having been
released a decade ago, Skype has grown into a huge company
with over 650 million users. The application offers both instant
messaging services as well as voice over IP services. In other
words, they also offer video communication services. This is
perhaps the flagship of this application. Skype website (2014)
shows that there are over two billion minutes spent on calls in
Skype every day. This shows that people spend over 33 million
hours per day talking to each other through the use of this
platform. These are phenomenon figures which relate to the
popularity of the site across different platforms. The application
that uses Skype as a way of communication is known as Skype-
buddy. This is a platform that connects different people across
the world as friends and allows them to talk to each other
through this platform as a direct encounter. The encounter is
normally instant and people can be able to see each other as
they speak. This takes place through the use of web cameras and
other cameras present on other devices such as smartphones and
tablets.Blended learning definition
Blended learning involves a learning process that does not
require the student, or the tutor to meet physically. In other
words, it is a form of learning where the tutors engage their
students through usage of video conferencing as well as other
forms of long distance tutoring. In blended learning model,
there is no physical connection between the tutor and the
student. There are various models and forms of learning under
this concept. There are very many applications that have been
used across the world to engage students and tutors in
discussions and learning platforms. Skype buddy is one such
application. Through the use of the Skype platform, Skype

6. buddy is an interactive top notch platform for making students
have a learning experience that is interactive and class-
simulated. Through the use of the application, many students
have graduated from many universities across the world with
honors in different fields. The main point in this case is the fact
that the application gives the students the chance to learn
courses that they could not access from their regions. It also
gives the universities the chance to decongest their campuses by
ensuring that some of the students who enroll in the university
are under this program and are studying from home.How Skype-
Buddy works
For people to enjoy this application, both parties must have the
Skype application installed in the devices that they are using.
For example, if one is using a personal computer to Skype, then
he must have downloaded and installed this application in their
computer. The same applies to the person with whom contact is
desired. One of the reasons that has made this application so
popular is that the application is offered freely by the Microsoft
corporations and it works on every computer which supports
any Microsoft operating system. Bearing in mind that over 80%
of the computers in the world run on operating systems that are
developed by Microsoft Corporation, it shows that there is a
very wide support system for the application. Other operating
systems have also been synchronized in such a manner that they
are also capable of accepting the application. Mobile devices
such as smartphones have the capacity to make and receive
video calls using the application. The major factor in this case
is that there must be the presence of internet connectivity for
the application to work successfully. When a person installs the
Skype application in their respective devices, they then invite
other people to have a chat with them. The invitations may be
pulled from contacts in email or even telephone numbers. Here,
the user has the option of sending a text message to his ‘buddy’
or making a video call. These are instant services that take
seconds to conduct. The speed and clarity of the connections is
however dependent on the strength of the internet signals and

7. the data bundles the clients use. In most cases, the charges rely
upon the local charges of where the user is making the call
from. The messaging services on this platform are entirely
free.Skype-buddy in education: Blended learning
The introduction of open learning as well as distance programs
have been facilitated to a great deal by use of video links for
learning (Dixon, 2000) Today, any person can choose to study
for any course that they wish regardless of the distance. For
instance, a person in Africa may decide to take up a particular
course being offered by a particular university in USA, many
miles away. This person may not have the capacity to travel to
the respective university to take their classes from there. The
person can join the class of choice and study just using the
video link and Skype-buddy for this interaction. Physical
appearance in classrooms is no longer a pre-requisite to have
people study. More and more people are embracing this form of
studying to gain qualifications in various fields. The
embracement of use of video link in education has enabled a
very huge number of people to gain education and earn
meaningful forms of livelihoods. Besides creating a great
avenue for meeting new people and creating connections,
Skype-buddy has managed to create a small community within
its spheres of ‘buddies’ who are connected through the media
platform. The major concern for this paper however, is the
usage of the tool in education. Many students are attending
classes online very many miles away from their homes. The
Skype-buddy offers a wholesome experience in this arena. In
many tertiary institutions such as universities and colleges, the
concept of Skype-buddy has taken root. Video conferencing has
been taken out of
There are several advantages as well as challenges that are
associated with the usage of this platform as the following
paragraphs outline.Advantages associated with using Skype-
buddy in blended learning
There are several advantages that are associated with the usage
of Skype-buddy in blended learning. The advantages are

8. discussed in the following paragraphs under related headings.
Classroom simulation
In some cases, the student is given the capacity to be in the
same classroom as those who are physically present in these
classrooms. In this case, the lecturer carries on his duty of
teaching the classroom as well as the students by
correspondence at the same time and without incurring
additional costs. The student has the capacity to see the other
students in the class and they can even interact directly with
each other. This saves on both time as well as resources used in
offering education to these students. The fact that these students
can participate in classroom alongside other students offers a
simulated interaction that is both fulfilling and healthy to these
students.A chance to engage in online discussion
Through the use of the Skype platform, there are very many
platforms which have been developed to offer students the
advantage of interacting with their fellow student wherever they
may be in the world. For instance, a person who takes a course
in Finance in a certain institution could find other people taking
a similar course in other courses across the globe. Once they
hook up and become ‘buddies’, they can then engage each other
in discussions. More than one person can connect at a given
time irrespective of their geographical differences and they can
brainstorm or work their way around certain academic
problems. The Skype-buddy allows these interactions to be real-
time and gives students a chance to assist each other or
brainstorm issues across different platforms. Allows students to
give feedback to their tutors
The platform also allows the students to give feedback to their
tutors in matters pertaining to education. Through this platform,
students can be able to ask their tutors any questions that they
could be harboring in their minds. The tutors are able to know
whether the students are comfortable with this form of study
and what could be done to spice the process. With a direct
interaction, they are able to assess whether what they teach has
any form of impact on these students. This is more enriching

9. than the use of emails for studying. The tutors can also be able
to ask the students any questions they would wish as they try to
assess whether these students have been able to grasp what they
have been taught.It is more interesting than other forms of long
distance learning
Use of Skype-buddy brings some form of liveliness to the
learning process despite the difference in distance between the
teachers and the students. The fact that there is a direct process
of exchange of information between the tutors as well as the
students makes the whole process become even more interactive
and interesting.
Offers a wider access to courses
In some nations, particularly the nations that have not been so
developed, the system of education might be very vague. In this
case, you find that the institutions in these countries do not
offer their students a wider choice or range of courses they can
undertake. Other universities across the globe have come up
with a strategy to fill this gap. They offer the students course
that they need and the richness and diversities of these courses
is always an attraction to them. To make the education more
accessible, they have adopted the power of blended learning to
assist them in this teaching program. The blended learning uses
Skype extensively as the preferred application because of its
user-friendliness, compatibility and accessibility. Students are
now able to tackle very different courses from any university
they wish across the globe. Skype-buddy is being used as a very
rich resource for connections that ultimately enable these
students realize their goals and dreams in the academic
sphere.Learning facility for disabled
The Skype-buddy is a great application for use by people who
cannot be able to access the classrooms. A good example is the
disabled people who cannot be able to go to school physically.
This facility gives them the chance to learn just like other
normal children but at the comfort of their homes where they
would not have many difficulties, as they would be well taken
care of.Self-paced learning

10. The program offers the users the chance to take the education
courses at their own pace, this reduces the rigidity associated
with many courses out there and increases the chances of many
people joining the program. In most cases, you may find that the
people who prefer to use this program are professionals who do
not have the time to go to school. When school is brought right
into their homes using the concept of Skype-buddy, these
professionals can have the chance to take classes at their own
pace and hence develop their careers. Self-paced learning
spaces the learning time and allows the users to be able to
handle other issues as the same time. One does not have to leave
their jobs to go back to school if they want to advance their
careers.Cost saving advantage
The use of the application is very cost effective, particularly in
tertiary institutions. Most people who have been documented as
having been enrolled in this program have done so because of
the cost benefits associated with the same. The blended
learning program is cheaper than other courses. Because it also
offers people the freedom to choose when it is the appropriate
time to learn, it is a preferred course of many people in the
world. People can save money while at the same time keep their
jobs.The challenges in this project
Sometimes, projects might have a number of challenges that
could in one way or the other inhibit the accurate conduct of the
projects. Even in this case, the research shows that there are a
number of challenges that have contributed in one way or the
other the slow uptake or use of the platform for education.
These challenges have been discussed in the following
paragraphs.Limited internet access in some countries
In some countries, particularly the developing ones, the internet
connectivity scales and signals tend to be very poor. The poor
strength of these signals inhibits and sometimes prevents the
application from being effective. In many cases, this poor
internet access is brought about by the fact that most of these
developing countries do not have much capacity to buy personal
computers for use in engaging in online classes. With this

11. limited access to internet technology, then it becomes almost
impossible for students in these areas to have access to Skype
and hence their education potential through this platform is
highly affected. The developed world do not experience some of
these infrastructural challenges.Sometimes services become
interrupted
Skype-buddy relies on the usage of servers provided by a third
party. Though the chances of these servers clashing are very
minimal, sometimes they do experience some downtime. When
these downtimes occur, the services become interrupted and the
blended learning programme ceases to have meaning.
Commitment to the process and program
Because this program does not involve physical attendance in
classrooms, some students may take this opportunity to skip
learning. For the program to be a successful one, both the tutor
as well as the student must be willing to engage each other
actively and be committed to the program. Sometimes you may
find that because of the differences in time zones, there could
occur issues involving the exact time the lessons should
commence. The program requires that each of the participants
be having a huge commitment towards the same so that success
may be achieved. Lack of experimental touch and learning
Despite the fact that the program offers its users a very highly
interactive form of connection, it lacks the actual experience
one gets from the sheer act of being physically present in the
classroom (Holmberg, 2008). For example, if someone was
learning about chemicals in a lab project, the experimental
segment of the program would not be availed in this case. This
experimental factor could be a very important factor in some
cases as it could relate to whether the individual gets to fully
comprehend what they are being taught. The lack of touch with
the tutor makes this platform lose some popularity with some
people.Lack of technological knowhow to use the program
In some areas, some people fail to attend classes because they
lack the necessary knowhow required to use an application such
as Skype-buddy. This lack of technological knowhow is brought

12. about by ignorance in most cases and in other cases, such as in
developing countries, it is brought about because of lack or
resources.Recommendations
The above challenges can be dealt with if the following
recommendations are applied effectively. Skype should have its
own proprietary budget. Through this way, the systems will
never experience downtimes. Power backups using other forms
of energy should be made available at all times to ensure that
the project never fails because of that. Downtimes could cost
the company a lot of traffic. If for instance there was a
downtime of three minutes, six billion minutes of talk time
would be disrupted.
Another recommendation is to governments in regions where
internet connectivity has not been able to penetrate effectively.
The government should put measures in place to ensure that
they have provided their subjects with internet connectivity
through the provision of cyber places where these people could
meet to access internet connection.
Currently, the application is only working in major expensive
mobile devices. The developers of this application should go
back to the drawing board and come up with an application that
has the capacity to work in simple cheap phones. If this
happens, the percentage of the people who will have access to
Skype-buddy will double overnight. Conclusion
The above discussion has offered a lot of insight into how
Skype-buddy can be used to influence blended learning. The
usage of the application has been observed as being on the rise
each day. More and more people are embracing the usage of
Skype-buddy to engage with others on learning platforms. there
are several advantages as well as challenges that have been
identified with the usage of this application. The advantages
include classroom simulation, a chance to engage in online
discussion, allows students to give feedback to their tutors, it is
more interesting than other forms of long distance learning,
learning facility for disabled, self-paced learning and cost
saving advantage. The challenges identified in this case include

13. Limited internet access in some countries, Sometimes services
become interrupted, Commitment to the process and program,
Lack of experimental touch and learning as well as Lack of
technological knowhow to use the program. Various forms of
recommendations have also been offered in this paper. These
includes Skype having its own proprietary budget so that it can
avoid downtimes. Power backups using other forms of energy
should be made available at all times to ensure that the project
never fails because of that. Another recommendation made in
this paper is that governments in regions where internet
connectivity has not been able to penetrate effectively should
put measures in place to ensure that they have provided their
subjects with internet connectivity through the provision of
cyber places where these people could meet to access internet
connection.
Lastly, another recommendation has been made to the
developers of this application to come up with an application
that has the capacity to work in simple cheap phones so that the
percentage number of people interacting on Skype buddy could
increase considerably. In conclusion, it can be established from
this research that the use of Skype-buddy in blended learning
has led to a lot of exposure and increased levels of educational
interaction amongst many people in the world.
References
Cavanaugh et al (2001). ‘The Effects of Distance Education on
K-12 Student Outcomes:
A Meta-Analysis’. Available at
http://faculty.education.ufl.edu/cathycavanaugh/docs/EffectsDL
onK-12Students1.pdf
Dixon, RS (2000). ‘Internet videoconferencing: coming to your
campus soon’. Educause
Quarterly. 4: 22-27.
Holmberg, B (2008). ‘The Evolution, Principles and Practices of
Distance Education’. Available
at http://www.uni-
oldenburg.de/fileadmin/user_upload/c3l/master/mde/download/a

14. sfvolume11_eBook.pdf
Hunt, C (1998). ‘Distance learning: short-term gain, long-term
commitment – a case study’.
International Journal of Educational Management. 12(6): 270–
276.
Sherron, G.T., & Boettcher, J.V (1997). ‘Distance learning: the
shift to interactivity’. Available
at https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub3017.pdf