Transformation of Global Education Under COVID-19: A New Wave of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)

In the current difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, international educators have been facing unprecedented challenges. Most physical student mobility has stopped and it is hard to predict when students can start to travel freely again. While we need to deal with the difficult situation caused by the pandemic, alternative programs that utilize online educational platforms are emerging. This session will introduce such new learning models, including COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning). The audience will engage in discussion about how educators can utilize these online platforms and collectively seek ways to redesign the goals, mission and curriculum of global learning.

Traditionally, studying abroad is believed to be an effective way to increase students’ inter- cultural competency. In order to pursue their career choice within today’s increasingly interdependent societies, students need to cultivate greater capacity by engaging with the global society. International educators have been developing study abroad programs and trying to integrate human complexity including cross-cultural issues more explicitly into the learning process. Another trend of study abroad during the last two decades has been the expansion of non-traditional study abroad programs including internship, service learning and field studies. Study abroad has a high impact on a student’s life, but most students will never have this opportunity due to limitations of funding and time. Emerging new global learning programs that utilize digital platforms allow us to design low-risk and low-cost study abroad programs, and such programs will attract those students who have been traditionally unable to participate in study abroad.

The presenters will first introduce examples of good practices of COIL including one sponsored by UMAP. UMAP (University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific) is a multilateral consortia for study abroad. The UMAP-COIL program has been successfully conducted since 2019, even before COVID-19. In 2021, UMAP-COIL will expand to include new features, beyond the original college-level honor program for Advanced Placement (AP) programs in high school.

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Posted by IAFOR