TEACHING & LEARNING

Integrate your Virtual Exchange into local curriculum  

Virtual exchange (VE) does not need to be a separate module or course but can be embedded as part of a regular course. This means that all students enrolled in the course will participate in the virtual exchange phase to complete the course successfully. When virtual exchange is embedded like this, you can ensure that the students can receive credits for their work during the VE phase and likewise, it will be part of your teaching load

How to initiate the integration of virtual exchange as a part of the curriculum? 

You can integrate virtual exchange into your local curriculum by  

1) (co-)teaching a fully online course that lasts an entire semester together with (a) teacher(s) from another institution  

2) embedding it as an element of an already existing course (e.g. 7-week online exchange in a 14-week course). The VE then contributes to the learning outcomes of your class and adds valuable international/intercultural/interdisciplinary aspects to your students’ learning pathways.   

Where to integrate Virtual exchange into the curriculum?  

VE can be integrated in different parts of the curriculum and different moments in your students’ study programmes – from early BA courses to PhD classes. When it is embedded into an existing course, it is often located in the electives, but it is recommended to integrate it in an obligatory module. 

When your VE is specifically designed to foster intercultural competence development, global citizenship skills or communicative competences, a transversal skills area in the curriculum may be a suitable framework. 

If you are looking to establish a more formalised connection between study programmes in ENLIGHT, e.g. through mobility windows, VE can also be used to prepare students for a mobility period or as part of a re-entry seminar. In ENLIGHT, VE has also been used in the context of extra-curricular activities, such as thesis writing workshops. 

Shaping students’ learning pathway   

For some of your students, this might be the first international experience in their study programme and they might be inspired to continue an international orientation with other “Stepping Stones” in the ENLIGHT network.   

Since the virtual exchange philosophy builds on learning through dialogue and interaction, students will be enriched by an international and often interdisciplinary collaboration with peers from different backgrounds. This is even more the case if partners beyond Europe, e.g. from the Global South join your virtual exchange.  

Considerations for Curriculum Development  

Virtual Exchange is a pedagogic approach that promotes international and intercultural collaboration between learners and teachers without the need to travel. It illustrates an effective tool that strengthens the process of Internationalisation of the Curriculum at Home (IoCaH) and can be more accessible to a large group of students.   

• Cross-curricular approach – VE fosters the bottom-up engagement, so that you can follow your teaching interests together with colleagues from different institutions and/or disciplines.   

• Ongoing exchange – In a virtual exchange, students interact frequently for a sustained period of time (synchronously as well as asynchronously). This strengthens intercultural collaboration between student groups. This helps them to reflect on their own as well as others’ perspectives in the context of the discipline and beyond. Moreover, just like your students, you as teachers build relationships that lead to intercultural competence and mutual understanding.   

• Action orientation – Virtual exchange lends itself to work on real-life challenges together with your students. Collaborative work, joint student projects or the integration of external actors allows them to understand the impact of diverse local/national/global perspectives and develop a sense of responsibility towards solving challenges of the 21st century as part of an interconnected world.  

Design

Designing a virtual exchange (VE) program effectively is crucial to ensure meaningful and impactful learning experiences. VEs can be disciplinary or cross-disciplinary and can be designed for small groups as well as larger ones. They may vary in length from a few weeks to a semester or longer, depending on whether they are embedded within a course. They may also be a segment of a course. Because of the variety of formats and objectives, you really need to take time working on the design phase with your partner since it consists of deciding on all the important elements of a VE. This can go from deciding on topic, content to assessment. 

After selecting a topic with your partner, you must also decide on the learning outcomes: what the students are going to learn and how. These learning outcomes require that you consider your students’ skills carefully and address the various gaps. Please note that these learning outcomes may be different from the learning outcomes of your partner’s students. You will have to set expectations,  facilitate cultural sensitivity, and familiarize students with digital tools. You should not take for granted the fact that your students will be able to work and communicate with other students easily, you must select students who are motivated and open to cross-cultural engagement.  

You must consider the tools you are going to use, and you must consider the various activities: ice-breaking activities, collaborative tasks and reflection for learning activities. As previously mentioned, these activities must carefully be considered to avoid any misunderstanding.  

This design phase is when the implementation is going to be decided (which activities will be synchronous, which asynchronous?), how the project will be facilitated and when and for how long the project will last. Since the success of your virtual exchange depends on such an intentional design, take time to work on this together with your colleague at the partner institution.  

VE implies close collaboration between teachers from different cultural /disciplinary backgrounds, it requires positive synergy between them for a successful VE. So, the more the teachers know and trust each other, the easier it will be to work as a team which will impact everyone’s work positively. The question of mutual trust and understanding will help students adhere to the project and see how relevant it is

Topic/Content 

Learning Outcomes  

Deciding on learning outcomes is a crucial step in VE design. They provide a clear, shared understanding of what students are expected to know, do, or value upon completing a course or program. Very often, the learning outcomes include soft skills such as language skills, intercultural competence, digital literacy and other skills often referred to as 21st century skills.   

Although they must be considered by both partners, the learning outcomes can be different from one partner to the other since they should be really adapted to the students’ academic profile in the case of interdisciplinary VEs. Beware that differing expectations between student groups from partner institutions can hinder effective collaboration. For example, students from one institution may demonstrate a higher level of commitment and effort compared to their peers from the other institution, leading to imbalances in participation and potentially affecting the overall success of the collaborative project.   

As a reminder, make sure the learning outcomes are relevant and student-centered, clear and expressed in simple language for more inclusivity. They must be quantifiable and observable.  

Assessment 

The assessment process requires a comprehensive understanding and effective communication among partners. It is strongly advised that the evaluation criteria should be developed collaboratively. Clearly outlining the evaluation methods (surveys, reflective journals or blogs, peer feedback...) and establishing precise criteria is essential to prevent any perception of unfairness or injustice. Participants should be thoroughly informed about the criteria from the very beginning to eliminate any potential confusion. The evaluation criteria should be made available to participants or easily accessible for their reference.  

Assessment can be done at various moments of the project: at the beginning, during (formative) or at the end (summative). The importance of regular formative assessments, which can be done in class (since the teachers will be working with their own students) or online depending on the context, should not be overlooked. For teachers, these regular assessments are crucial for evaluating students' understanding throughout the course. The assessments provide continuous feedback to students, aiding in their progress and enhancing their learning experience. Indeed, they enable teachers to check on the students, to see how they are doing and to address some aspects such as motivation, for example. By checking on the students’ work regularly, this will encourage all the participants to value more the project and so may get even more motivated. For students, getting regular feedback during the VE will help them work, it might help them understand the topic better, and might even reduce misunderstanding issues.  

While grades do not need to be assigned jointly, it is highly recommended to discuss the evaluation criteria and the application of any rubrics with your partner in advance. Ensure that collaboration plays a critical role in the distribution of points. 

Virtual Exchange is most effective when both student groups recognise that their efforts significantly impact the final score of their course. If one instructor adheres to this principle while the other does not, it creates an imbalance in expectations, resulting in one group exerting more effort than the other, which diminishes the experience for all. Ideally, the Virtual Exchange should be evaluated consistently and for the same number of credits across the different partner universities. This ensures the project’s success.  

Teaching Strategies 

Tools 

Tools selection is a crucial step in the design process. Unlike Virtual Mobility, you are dealing with students from two (or more institutions) each in their own digital learning environments. The tools they work with can be from these learning environments, or from a third-party (in which case institutional regulations, GDPR, etc) may complicate the process. The tools can be either institutional (Sharepoints, Teams, Google Drive.) or personal. With personal shared spaces (e.g. Google Drive or OneDrive) you may also run up against privacy issues. Having the students choose their preferred tools for videoconferencing can give them more responsibility/ownership over the process. That is why tool selection must be taken seriously. 

For asynchronous work, use your institution’s learning management system or consider a shared workspace such as Microsoft SharePoint, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, padlet ...  

For synchronous lessons, use online meeting software embedded in your learning management system or consider Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and others.  

Digital tools such as polling, quizzes, word clouds, whiteboards, posting boards can support interaction. 

Course Planning

Virtual Exchange does not require many administrative procedures. Aspects to consider are given below. 

Finding partners

VE is all about working with a partner. It starts with finding a partner to develop the tasks or projects together. In addition to finding partners in the ENLIGHT network, the following tools may be used to find partners: COIL Connect, UNICollaboration Partner Finding Tool . These organisations also regularly host partner finding fairs (online sessions where you meet to find potential partners).

Contacting your International Office   

Unlike the other types, Virtual Exchange (VE) projects can be run without any involvement of the International Office. Nevertheless, you are strongly advised to contact your international office (or VE coordinator, if there is one) to inform them of your project and the international partners you work with. As with the other formats, they may point you to funding resources, options for visiting your partner (e.g. in preparation of the project), other colleagues doing VE, etc.  

Getting funding to design your course  

No regular funds are available for integrating VE into your course. If you want to develop a VE course with an ENLIGHT partner, you may be able to acquire funding through ENLIGHT+ calls to foster new emerging small scale joint initiatives across disciplines. The application criteria and rounds are explained here

Highlight: technology contact  

Assigning credits  

Credits for completing a VE course are awarded by the respective home universities. The VE component is often part of a larger course in which the volume of the credits is awarded on the basis of each university's internal rules as for any other course using ECTS. The total time spent by the learner in the learning process must be taken into account: reading instructions and materials, watching video lectures, participating in discussions, completing individual and group assignments and contact teaching (synchronous learning). The work done as part of the VE project must be included in the total workload for the course, preferably specified separately as the amount of time (or credits) spent on this part

Delivery 

Course completion  

Assessing students and awarding credits  

Usually, no separate credits are awarded for VE since the VE project is a part of the course.  

Be explicit on how participation in the VE tasks is assessed and contributes to completion of the course (how many hours / ECTS from total ECTS of your course). 

Discuss with your programme coordinator if the VE status of your course can be made visible on an official transcript after completion.   

Alternatively, or in addition, consider if a separate badge can be awarded for the VE work in your course (and that of the partner).  

Whom to contact   

Administrative procedures may differ considerably between ENLIGHT universities. The first person to contact with further questions is the ENLIGHT coordinator of your university.  

The list of contacts can be found here: 
https://enlight-eu.org/university-about-us/contact/local-coordinators