Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

6-22-2020

Publication Source

ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings

Abstract

Teaching and learning in the digital age harness the opportunities created by internet technologies to distribute and learn various information all over the world. This is commonly referred to as connectivism, and it values the impact of stakeholder information appraisal skills, virtual and personal communication skills [1], and the sense of cultural awareness. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), a type of connectivism, typically involves instructors and students from at least two geographically and culturally distinct areas who collaborate virtually on a common project for four or more weeks.

The objective is to create a culturally diverse virtual environment where students can explore and enhance their interpersonal skills, and also, improve their intercultural competency skills. In this Work-in-Progress (WIP) paper, we present early findings of a COIL project from students’ perspectives. Social constructivism postulates that humans develop and construct knowledge through social interactions with others [2].

Thus, participating in collaborative social activity helps to acquire knowledge [2]. Hence, having students from two culturally distinct regions to collaborate is crucial for the development of intercultural skills. Thus, the objective of COIL is not necessarily to expose students to the experience of virtual collaboration, rather, to enhance intercultural competency skills while collaborating virtually. The project serves as a collaborative tool and must provide a challenge for the teams to design concepts, negotiate, build, or share perspectives to solve a problem [1, 3, 4]. The project could be a client-based or instructor designed project.

ISBN/ISSN

2153-5965

Document Version

Postprint

Comments

The document available for download is the presenters' manuscript of a work in progress.

Publisher

ASEE

Volume

2020


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