Last year Microsoft announced plans for adding a real-time translation function to Skype. In December of 2014 they made it available to a limited audience. Today, Microsoft has made Translator Preview open to anyone who is using Windows 8.1 or a preview edition of Windows 10. Click here to visit the download page for Translator Preview.

Skype Translator will automatically transcribe and translate as you talk. It currently supports English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin.

Applications for Education
As demonstrated in the video embedded below, the realtime translation option in Skype will open up more possibilities for connecting classrooms through activities like Mystery Skype.

H/T to Lifehacker.