Well I panicked for nothing. I skipped class last night because of a snow storm that wasn't very bad. A good thing about it was the chance to use Skype, so in a way I was in class. It was a unique experience and I was exptremely glad to be able to listen and watch class. For some reason my computer was running a little slow and I was unable to talk to you. The mute button on my end didn't seem to make a difference. I truly appreciated the opportunity to monitor the class, hear the lecture and listen to the videos. A student at home sick or laid up for any reason could attend class via Skype. To make it work smother you could assign a particular student to attend to the connection and help the person on Skype to be heard or adjust the camera. (maybe a remote controlled camera) I could only see the bottom 1/4 of the screen, the wall and floor but I could hear very well. I think that everyone in my class should stay home and attend class via Skype.