I just thought I would add this here. My friends just started up a really cool company called Breakthrough Chinese.

The concept is very similar to another company I have used as an example of language learning meets technology in my own classroom:

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynvgJr9HbfI&playnext_from=TL&videos=h7x6gq 8xNjM"]YouTube- Using Skype to Teach: Learn New Languages[/nomedia]

So, I'm pretty excited about it because I studied Mandarin Chinese for a few years in university and lived in Mainland China as part of my study. I really miss studying Mandarin but as a working Mom who is also going to school part-time, I just can't jam one more lesson into my schedule especially if I have to travel to Central (we live pretty far out) to study etc. So, I think I will be signing up for at least the trial class with them and see how it goes.

I've been friends with these folks for the past 8 years (met them in HK where they lived for several years) and they are fantastic people. When the Sichuan Quake happened they were living at almost ground zero and even though they have children they were some the first people to start responding to the needs there in any way they could. So, if you're looking for a way to learn Mandarin online via Skype, this might be a good option.