This volume introduces Virtual Exchange (VE) as an innovative form of online intercultural learning and investigates the myriad of ways VE is being carried out across universities, ultimately arguing for its integration into university internationalisation policies and course curricula. Against the backdrop of increased digitalisation initiatives throughout universities given the effects of the pandemic, chapters focus not only on providing new research findings, but also on providing a comprehensive introduction and argumentation for the use of VE in university education and also in demonstrating how it can be put into use by both university decision-makers and educators. Reviewing the limitations of the activity, this timely work also fundamentally posits how VE and blended mobility more broadly could be developed in future higher education initiatives. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics, scholars, and students involved with Open & Distance Education and eLearning, approaches to internationalisation in education, and the study of higher education more broadly. Those interested in innovative methods for teaching and learning, as well as educational research, will also benefit from this volume.
This volume includes a collection of short papers presented at the second International Virtual Exchange Conference (IVEC) hosted virtually at Newcastle University in September 2020. The contributions address the conference theme, towards digital equity in internationalisation, and offer fresh insights into the current state and future of online intercultural communication and collaborative learning. Providing examples of interdisciplinary, multinational, and multimodal research and pedagogy in virtual exchange from around the world, this book will appeal to educators, administrators, researchers, and internationalisation leads in higher education interested in supporting and implementing virtual exchange.
This resource explores the intersection of technology, sustainability, and global learning in the evolving landscape of international higher education. Although virtual exchange and mobility programs are essential components of digital internationalization, they represent just one aspect of a broader movement toward more significant integration of digital technologies in international education. Virtual and augmented reality, AI, and ChatGPT are rapidly shaping the higher education landscape. This book brings together experts in the field to consider the myriad ways in which technology impacts all facets of internationalization, highlighting both areas of concern and areas of great potential. The chapters in this book provide best practices and key insights into digital alternatives for student mobility, operations, marketing, and recruitment, while simultaneously laying the foundation for creating more equitable and environmentally friendly international learning environments. This book marks the beginning of an era of digital internationalization. Practitioners, administrators, policymakers, and researchers in the field of international education will find the text sharply relevant and invaluable in its practicality.
Virtual exchange refers to education programmes in which constructive communication and interaction takes place between individuals or groups from different cultural backgrounds with the support of educators or facilitators. Evaluating and Upscaling Telecollaborative Teacher Education (EVALUATE, http://www.evaluateproject.eu/) was a European policy experimentation financed by Erasmus+ which studied the impact of a telecollaborative model of virtual exchange on student teachers. Between 2017-2018, the project consortium trained teacher trainers and organised virtual exchanges which involved over 1,000 student teachers at initial teacher education institutions. This entailed students interacting and collaborating with partner classes from other countries as an integral part of one of their courses. The research team then analysed the learning gains from these exchanges using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. They also worked with representatives from European ministries of education to understand how virtual exchange could be upscaled in teacher education across Europe. This publication presents the findings of the EVALUATE experimentation and its implications for the education of future teachers. The study found that engaging student teachers in structured online intercultural collaboration as part of their formal learning can contribute to the development of their digital-pedagogical, intercultural, and foreign language competences. It can also lead to innovation and international learning in the education of future teachers.
This volume provides a state of the art overview of Online Intercultural Exchange (OIE) in university education and demonstrates how educators can use OIE to address current challenges in university contexts such as internationalisation, virtual mobility and intercultural foreign language education. Since the 1990s, educators have been using virtual interaction to bring their classes into contact with geographically distant partner classes to create opportunities for authentic communication, meaningful collaboration and first-hand experience of working and learning with partners from other cultural backgrounds. Online exchange projects of this nature can contribute to the development of learner autonomy, linguistic accuracy, intercultural awareness, intercultural skills and electronic literacies. Online Intercultural Exchange has now reached a stage where it is moving beyond individual classroom initiatives and is assuming a role as a major tool for internationalization, intercultural development and virtual mobility in universities around the globe. This volume reports qualitative and quantitative findings on the impact of OIE on universities in Europe and elsewhere and offers comprehensive guidance on using OIE at both pedagogical and technological levels. It provides theoretically-informed accounts of Online Intercultural Exchanges which will relevant to researchers in Computer Assisted Language Learning, Computer-Mediated Communication, or Virtual Education. Finally, contributors offer a collection of practitioner-authored and practically-oriented case studies for the benefit of teachers of foreign languages or in other subject areas who wish to engage in developing the digital literacy and intercultural competences of their learners.
Virtual exchange is gaining popularity in formal and non-formal education, partly as a means to internationalise the curriculum, and also to offer more sustainable and inclusive international and intercultural experiences to young people around the world. This volume brings together 19 case studies (17 in higher education and two in youth work) of virtual exchange projects in Europe and the South Mediterranean region. They span across a range of disciplines, from STEM to business, tourism, and languages, and are presented as real-life pedagogical practices that can be of interest to educators looking for ideas and inspiration.
International Student Recruitment and Mobility in Non-Anglophone Countries offers a detailed analysis of global dimensions and trends in international student mobility and recruitment. It examines current data on student flows, policies and instruments, obstacles and opportunities for recruitment, and the roles of multiple stakeholders from different parts of the world. Considering the current geopolitical developments and tensions, increased competition for global talent, health and sustainability concerns, growing nationalism, and other factors, non-Anglophone countries are likely to increase their recruitment efforts moving forward. This book highlights the initiatives and instruments of these countries to attract international students and build long-term internationalization strategies. With case studies from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, International Student Recruitment and Mobility in Non-Anglophone Countries is a must-read text for international education policy advisors at the national and institutional levels and in the international higher education industry around the globe.
The literature on higher education discusses globalization and internationalization in areas such as competencies, mobility, policies, and knowledge transfer. The COVID-19 pandemic and advancing educational technologies have prompted universities to rethink education, leading to innovative ways for teacher educators and students to connect and learn virtually. Educators and administrators are seeking to advance their teaching through intercultural partnerships and relevant models to improve the quality of education through international connections. The current global situation has also prompted the need to further knowledge of communication technologies. Encouraging Transnational Learning Through Virtual Exchange in Global Teacher Education aims to provide resources and recommendations for global teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, and pre-service and in-service teachers on developing international virtual exchange programs in teacher education. The book aims to showcase effective online pedagogies, provide practical values of online collaborative teaching and learning, and connect theory to practice in critical global citizenship, digital literacies, and teacher development. Led by educators and researchers in teacher education programs involved in virtual exchange partnerships and research, the book shares implications for teacher development with an international component based on shared studies. The book will be a resource for connecting international partners and efforts to internationalize institutions. Covering topics such as virtual exchanges, collaborative online international learning (COIL), telecollaboration, and global education, this book is ideal for international teachers, teacher trainers, students, and researchers interested in collaborative online international learning (COIL).
Co-published with AIEAInternational higher education has evolved, in some respects dramatically, in the decade since publication of the first edition of this handbook. The new issues, trends, practices and priorities of research that evolved over this time have in some instances been transformed by one of the most dynamic and tumultuous periods in the history of international higher education, brought on by the pandemic, a re-emergence of nationalism, and the recognition of the power imbalances between the developed economies and the global south, and racial inequities within and across borders. This new edition addresses the myriad changes across all aspects of international education, each chapter addressing to the extent possible the reality of the present in which they were written and offering some insights for the future. While updating a number of chapters from the first edition, it also includes a preponderance of new chapters written by contributors representing wider and more diverse backgrounds.In keeping with the first edition, the overall message is that the internationalization of higher education has a vital role to play in a world that is more interconnected than ever before. Recognizing changing economic, geopolitical, climatic, and public health issues, as well as the importance of international and cross-cultural collaboration to address global problems, this handbook offers a comprehensive range of models, data and ideas to stimulate new directions in the conception and practice of international education.This edition reflects today’s concerns around inclusion, diversity and equity, and how international education is being changed by issues such as decolonization, the focus on learning outcomes, the impact of digital tools to enhance access and learning and collaboration such a virtual exchange, competition for resources, risk, new patterns of mobility, and new models such as joint programs and qualifications.As with the first edition, the chapters often intentionally pair scholars and practitioners from different parts of the world, and include text boxes that highlight concrete institutional, national, or regional experiences, providing diverse voices and perspectives from around the world. This comprehensive new edition provides ideas, concepts, theories and practical ideas from around the world for those seeking to enhance the quality of the three core functions of higher education: teaching, research and service to society. It constitutes an essential resource for everyone involved in the delivery of international education and in determining its future direction. Summary of ContentsMaintaining a similar structure of the first edition, this revised Handbook is comprised of four sections. The first section includes five chapters that address national, regional and international frameworks and contexts. The second addresses key aspects of internationalization at the strategy level, covering leadership, institutional strategies, outcomes assessment, resources and financing, risk management, and institutional linkages and partnerships. The third describes core functions of internationalization, addressing intercultural competence development, the internationalization of the curriculum, teaching and learning, virtual exchange, international perspectives on the work of student affairs professionals, student engagement, engaging staff and faculty, the internationalization of research and finally, and a chapter on serving communities.
