The aim of the Self-study group is to support curricular and extra-curricular offering at Ohio State that facilitates the development of students’ global competencies. This is not just in case Spring 2021 Education Abroad cannot be implemented, but about access and equal opportunities for a larger segment of our students to experience international exchange and cultural differences.
We think we can be prepared to support faculty and staff at Ohio State to facilitate teaching and learning and orient students for a new kind of relationship with their global peers and intercultural experiences. We are addressing the need for professional development so that individuals in various roles and fields across the campus can join international collaborative learning and virtual exchange projects with the knowledge and skills needed to make them successful.
There are many roles required for successful online learning and virtual exchanges. In general, the less faculty/teachers work on technical issues or complex learning activities, the more they can focus on the preparation and delivery of expert knowledge. From feedback on such experiences, we see that “…international staff and academic staff need to work closer together than in most regular courses, which makes it interesting and more time-consuming in terms of coordination” (SUNY COIL). We also see that “Faculty—and Students—Need Support” Do Not Underestimate the Complexity of Virtual Exchange https://www.nafsa.org/ie-magazine/2020/6/4/virtual-exchange-101
The technical part and coordination of such active learning are too hard to manage on one’s own.
We are forming an ‘in-house’ learning group where individuals will start learning on their own and in a discussion group, supported by the reading lists of literature that we already have, and resources that can assist us, such as: IT instructional designers (e.g. Engineering and EHE); Office of Distant Education & eLearning and their learning technology experts; and Carmen-Canvas on-line course tools, to just name a few. This will facilitate our extended roles.
If you’d like to join please get in contact with us!