Robert O’Dowd University of León, Spain
Dec 19, 2014
Robert O’DowdUniversity of León, Spain
Grandin & Hedderich : In reference to 21st century Engineering graduates “...the future
belongs to those who learn to work or team together with other groups without regard to location, heritage, and national and cultural difference” (2009: 363).
US Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan 2010: How we need to learn includes using the technology that
professionals in various disciplines use. Professionals routinely use the web and tools such as wikis, blogs, and digital content for the research, collaboration, and communication demanded in their jobs. ...For students, using these real-world tools creates learning opportunities that allow them to grapple with real-world problems– opportunities that prepare them to be more productive members of a globally competitive workforce (2010b, p. vii).
EHEA Ministerial Conference: We call on higher education institutions to develop other
possibilities for mobility such as virtual mobility and enable non-mobile students to have an “international experience at home (2012: 5)
Telecollaboration/ Online Intercultural Exchange (OIE) involves virtual intercultural interaction and collaboration between classes of Foreign Language (FL) learners in geographically distant locations
Future Primary-School teachers in Uni León (B1 level) work with Students of Spanish in Missouri, USA:
Task 1: Upload a photo or video which tells the other group something about your home culture
Task 2: Participate in two discussion forums – one in English and one in Spanish.
Task 3: Make a short video teaching your partners some expressions in your language
Task 4: In groups of four, create a blog with images, text and links about an aspect of life in Spain/USA. Post your reactions and some language corrections to your American partners’ blogs.
Task 5: Write an essay reflecting on what you have learned from the exchange.
Making short videos for their Making short videos for their partners…partners…
Writing and designing blogs about their local Writing and designing blogs about their local culture for a foreign audienceculture for a foreign audience
My opinion about this Exchange is very positive; it has made me consider to use it in my future English classes with my students. These months sharing opinions have given us a very different view of the United States, which we had idealized, and that, from this we have taken note that are not so different to our countries and that American films us had deceived with respect to reality. The most important thing I've learned in this Exchange has been not to judge a society without first speak with one of its citizens…
I really enjoyed meeting new people and talk with them. I think it was a good experience. I also think that learning English with this online exchange is fun for people who don’t like English and it is an alternative way of learning English.
For Students: Development of FL competence, intercultural awareness, electronic literacies
For Students: Development of FL competence, intercultural awareness, electronic literacies
For University Management: ‘Low cost’ internationalisation strategy / Opening up new
university partnerships
For University Management: ‘Low cost’ internationalisation strategy / Opening up new
university partnerships
For Mobility Officers: Preparation for physical mobility/ Alternative to physical mobility
For Mobility Officers: Preparation for physical mobility/ Alternative to physical mobility
For University Educators: Opening up of classroom / Authentic communication and
project work / Developing international network of collaborators
For University Educators: Opening up of classroom / Authentic communication and
project work / Developing international network of collaborators
Objectives: Establish a clear overview of
the use of telecollaboration in European HE and identify practical barriers to the take-up of telecollaboration.
Develop a set of tools, telecollaborative models and partner networks to overcome barriers and facilitate telecollaboration practice.
Develop a set of workable solutions to address the lack of academic integration in Europe.
INTENT
Integrating Telecollaborative Networks Into Foreign Language Higher Education
Financed By The European Commission - Lifelong Learning Programme
October 2011-March 2014
Online surveys from December 2011 - February 2012 Language versions: English, German, French and Italian Three surveys:
Experienced teacher telecollaborators (102 responses) Inexperienced teacher telecollaborators (108 responses) Experienced student telecollaborators (131 responses)
Qualitative Case studies: 7 representative examples of telecollaboration around Europe
Aims: Identify types of telecollaborative practices undertaken by
European university educators Explore the barriers to telecollaboration and the strategies
used to overcome these barriers
In your opinion, what are the reasons why telecollaborative exchange is not more popular in university education? __________________________________
(Mentioned by 49/ 98 practitioners) __________________________________
(Mentioned by 28 / 98 practitioners) __________________________________
(Mentioned by 20/ 98 practitioners) __________________________________
(Mentioned by 19 / 98 practitioners) __________________________________
(Mentioned by 9/ 98 practitioners)
In your opinion, what are the reasons why telecollaborative exchange is not more popular in university education?
Time necessary to set up and run exchanges (Mentioned 49/ 98 practitioners)
Difficulties in integration & assessment due to institutional requirements (Mentioned by 28 / 98 practitioners)
Lack of pedagogical knowledge about how to run and integrate exchanges (Mentioned by 20/ 98 practitioners)
Teachers lack e-literacies/ required technological knowledge (Mentioned by 19 / 98 practitioners)
Difficulty in finding appropriate partners (Mentioned by 9/ 98 practitioners)
• Because teachers are not trained and insitutions are not aware of the potential and needs and those teachers carrying out innovative teaching practice are not in a position of power and cannot make decisions which impact on their insitution.
• First, it is difficult to organize such exchanges at institutional level. Second, the idea sounds interesting, but the teachers involved need to dedicate much time and energy to the exchange, so finally they won't do it. Third, the student's motivation won't last long since it is not a credited course.
• It is essential to find a partner with similar aims, able to adapt programs to different institutional expectations (amount of homework done by students for example), willing to adapt to technical disturbances (network disturbances, computer crashes), and to some extent lose or share control of class dynamics. The partners must build a program that satifies needs, levels and interests of both classes.
What are practitioners doing to overcome these barriers and to ensure successful, on-going exchanges which involve recognition of teachers and students’ work?
Case studies of practitioners in Trinity College; Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden; the University of Padua, Italy; University of Manchester, UK ; Arhus Universitet, Denmark; University of Riga, Latvia; University of Warwick, UK
Telecollaboration is not only for ‘pure’ language students – Engineering students in Sweden, Business Studies students in Trinity, Dublin
Senior Management – view OIE as a positive international activity but are often unwilling to provide adequate staff and technical support
OIE can contribute to educators’ academic careers – new academic networks, staff mobility – e.g. Riga & Grenoble / Warwick & Clermont sign ‘Memory of Understanding’
No ‘one size fits all’ -Different levels of integration are possible: Claivier at Warwick takes place independently of
academic courses SpEakWise at Trinity is integrated into a course but does
not carry credit Manchester and Latvia – course marks are based
completely on OIE activity
Signing of written contracts between participating partner classes – provides security to include exchanges in study guides etc.
Ensure that students see relevance and value of exchanges – e.g. through providing academic credit for OIE
Functioning partnerships gather momentum – try to maintain steady partners
Ensure awareness and support of department heads – coordinating staff can be replaced if necessary
Prestige and awareness raising through press releases and prize winning (e.g. Trinity award)
Ensure internal department collaboration and sharing of good practices (e.g. Padova – tool sharing)
‘Loose networks’ of partners are gaining in popularity TransAtlantic Network (Translation students around Europe &
technical writing students in USA) Soliya – Connects students from 100 HEI’s in 27 countries in
Western-Eastern dialogue Cultura – bilingual bicultural exchanges through comparative
task types AUSJAL DUAL IMMERSION PROJECT - 21 Jesuit universities
from eight different countries in North and South America Byram’s Intercultural Citizenship project – 25 practitioners
looking for partners to carry out a project on intercultural citizenship
Advantages: Common themes of interest Not obliged to work with same partner constantly - flexibility Activities, solutions and ideas are shared and developed
Contact and suggestions welcome: robert.odowd@unile
on.es Read our Report on
Telecollaboration in Europe: www.intent-
project.eu Upcoming platform for
collaboration and networking: www.uni-
collaboration.eu
Name of Exchange Participating Institutions Student Profile
The SW-US Exchange Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden & Clemson University, South Carolina, USA
Engineering students in Sweden and English students in the USA
SpEakWise Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland & University of Hildesheim, Germany
Students of German and Business studies in Ireland and students of International Information Management and of International Communication in Germany
Telecollaboration at Padua
The University of Padua, Italy & various partner universities and telecollaborative networks
Students of foreign languages in Italy with students from various study backgrounds
V-PaL University of Manchester, UK & Universities of Cagliari and Macareta, Italy
Students of Modern Languages in the UK and in Italy
The Trans-Atlantic Network
Vasa Universitet, Finland; Università degli Studi di Trieste and Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy; Université Paris—Denis Diderot, France; Århus Universitet, Denmark; Hogeschool Gent, Belgium; North Dakota State University and University of Wisconsin, USA
Students of Translation Studies in the European institutions and students of technical writing in the American institutions
Le Francais en Premiere Ligne
University of Riga, Latvia & University of Grenoble, France
Students of French in Latvia with students of foreign language education in France
The Claivier Project Université Balise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France & University of Warwick, UK
Students of Sports Sciences in France and students of various undergraduate degrees in the UK