Periscope For Education?

Periscope screenshot of a tour of La Jolla, California

I am writing this post because I need some help.  I know, not the first time those words have come out of my mouth.  I stumbled upon this new app called Periscope and was blown away.  The first thought that entered my mind was "How can I use this as a learning tool?"

If you are unfamiliar with Periscope, it allows you to watch live video of people from all over the world.  This morning, I watched someone give a tour of the Red Sea, a neighborhood stroll in Los Angeles and the Upper East Side, a walk through the rainy streets of Hamburg, Germany, and a lot of refrigerators (it's a Periscope joke that I still do not get).

The interaction a viewer can have with the person broadcasting is what makes this such a powerful and such a scary tool.  I could ask the person a question via a written comment.  The ability to interact increased the learning possibilities.  At the same time, I witnessed many people commenting inappropriately simply because they could.  Comments that would certainly not be appropriate if they were projected on a screen in front of a classroom full of kids.

So what is the workaround?  While my initial thought would be to show a video from someone I know and trust, that would not prevent others from commenting inappropriately.  If I want to make it private, why not just use Skype or Google Hangouts?  Again, I do not have the answer, that's why I'm asking.  This seems too powerful to just toss aside.