Location: Loop Room
The Importance of Color in Communication - Physics and Communication
Alejandra Ortega Legaspi and Nicole Simon
When we first develop a COIL course, it means that the teachers need to combine two different courses, many times, you might think that only courses with the same content and discipline can be on the COIL program, but that is not true; in the spring of 2017, we were able to combine a science course about light and color, with a communication course about digital culture, and the results were favorable. COIL represents the combining of two different courses and cultures in a joint course or project. Communications and Physics of Light and Color were COILed to create the Importance of Color in Communications. This project merged a communication course on digital culture and the science of light and color for communications, art, and photography students. Learning about creativity and the science behind everyday scenarios helped students communicate about our world.
Mixing It Up—No Teaching Without Learning: Fostering Student AND Faculty Intercultural Communicative Competence in an Online Environment
Marilyn Plumlee, Angela Palumbo Martin
Based on the experiences of a COIL match between SUNY international students of English as a Second Language (ESL) and an MA TESOL class of novice ESL teachers at the American University in Cairo, this session will provide attendees with (1) sample intercultural task assignments and worksheets which introduce ways of promoting a sense of community in such classes while (2) showing how to create meaningful tasks that allow for individualized growth in intercultural communicative competence. Attendees will participate in interactive session activities designed to develop intercultural communication strategies. The session will include an evaluation of the collaborative tools used. Another theme addresses instructor professional development by (1) identifying factors leading to successful partnering and (2) suggesting intercultural competence benefits for COIL faculty over and above student learning outcomes. Target audience: Instructors or administrators envisaging COIL partnerships encompassing broad student heterogeneity; anyone seeking to match ESL learners; and/or MA TESOL graduate students.
Location: River Room
This presentation focuses on ongoing research at THUAS in the Netherlands, critically evaluating the output of the first EUROCOIL conference in 2016. Has the high momentum created by the many enthusiastic COIL experts resulted in tangible outcomes? An overview of COIL activities at THUAS will be provided, including various internal and external obstacles encountered. Suggestions will be offered as to how to maintain momentum and create a sustainable COIL environment. Part of this will be a discussion on whether COIL efforts should be overseen centrally within the institution or not. Through the use of polling software, we will engage participants to gather experiences of collaboration and knowledge-sharing within their institutions. The goal is to draw on the experiences and knowledge of the audience, being aware that the provided information on the situation at THUAS is far from representative. This presentation will be of interest to all international COIL startup universities!
Location: Private Dining Room
This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the COIL Professional Development Program since its inception a few years ago. Those who have been centrally involved in its design and delivery will be reporting on the rationale underpinning its present content and format and the benefits and pitfalls identified with each of its numerous iterations. The result will be a comprehensive overview of the "do's" and "don't's" when preparing both individual faculty (CCO) and teaching partners (CA) for the design and delivery of a COIL-enhanced modules.
Location: Loop Room
Our presentation will show and argue how a COIL partnership introduces students to multiple ideas, perspectives, principles, and basic concepts for understanding contemporary world affairs with a focus on human rights. The course strategy is to equip students with a sound knowledge of the behavior of national and international, as well as the non-state, actors from not only from a critical cultural perspective, but also a cross-regional and global perspective. Our students came from an incredibly diverse background and were native speakers of Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Russian. This course is among very few of SUNY / COIL that ran for the entire semester. We are expecting to share with our audience practical teaching techniques, the usefulness of social media as a tool and robust class discussions on sensitive issues.
Location: Arts Room
This workshop will help teachers and other institutional stakeholders learn the costs and benefits of different collaborative partners and activities to maximize impact of COIL projects. We will explore the practical and pedagogical benefits of synchronous vs. asynchronous activities for teachers, institutions, and students and consider how to break down barriers to collaborative international coursework through strategies such as scaffolded curricular changes enabling dynamic course development with student input. This workshop will help faculty and insitutions thrive in the rewarding space of collaborative learning and teaching.
Location: Arts Room
An examination of a project pairing graduate students in TESOL with adult students from Afghanistan for online tutoring, this presentation provides evidence that virtual interactions can lead to both increased linguistic and intercultural competence. Over the course of a semester, the participants met weekly for one-on-one synchronous sessions. While some tutors expressed concern at the beginning of the project, data gathered in the form of written and oral reflections offer examples of growing feelings of empathy, understanding of the others, and respect for differences on the part of the graduate students. Findings from this study point to the integral role online collaborations can play in bringing together participants from different language backgrounds and cultures for service learning projects for a transformative change in higher education.
Location: Private Dining Room
This panel discusses a Seven’s Initiative Cohort 2 SUNY- MENA partnership from Spring 2017 and the expansion of their partnership with their Steven’s Initiative Cohort 3 partners for Fall 2017. The first SUNY/GCC and AUT/LEBANON partnership focused on the "Impact of the Internet and Social Media on Personal, Professional, and Societal Life". The Fall 2017 partnerships are between AUT/LEBANON AND SUNY/GCC focusing on “Families”, and between SUNY/BROCKPORT and AUT/LEBANON focusing on “Technology’s Impact on Physical Activity and Aging”. The panel will discuss lessons learned from the original partnership and how they have shaped their new partnerships with a focus upon the four aspects of a successful COILED course: Professional Development of the Teacher, Effective teacher presence in a COILED course, Role of Technology and Student engagement. Faculty, administrators, and students interested in learning about a COILED experience are invited to attend.
Location: River Room
Many technology-based international exchanges end up being a one-and-done prospect. Once the novelty wears off or a faculty partner moves on to new opportunities, any progress gained is lost. East Carolina University’s award-winning Global Partners in Education (GPE) network utilizes a model in which partners actively engage in full semester courses, short term course enhancements, and other activities each semester. Approximately one quarter of our partners have been involved in GPE on a consistent basis for at least 10 years. Two-thirds have been involved for 5 years or more. Using a case study approach, attendees will identify techniques to leverage global partnerships to create a sustainable, scalable, Global Exchange Network. Attendees will then discuss strategies to enhance sustainability within their own programs.
Location: Park/Fountain Room
Amsterdam UAS and RMIT Vietnam share their best practices of introducing COIL in their universities. The presentation will discuss the various stages from pre-embedding COIL in the curriculum, to preparing lecturers to coach students during virtual teamwork and preparing students to be COIL ready. We will feature strategies to create an effective and engaging project with students in different disciplines, where students experienced cross cultural communication and worked on a course specific project. The key outcomes from this presentation will focus on how to motivate students, set up assessments (together or separately), and set up a university culture of engaging COIL. We will discuss the challenges faced and the support strategies provided by the institutions to overcome them. The targeted audience is lecturers, managers and teaching and learning staff. We will share student experiences (through video testimonies and student survey results) and the presenters will include lecturers and COIL managers.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7GBs4I3_GM
Location: Loop Room
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) creates multiple innovations for pedagogical development among faculty. A faculty development director of a center for teaching excellence will examine the inclusion of COIL as part of the center's program agenda and describe how such a center, in collaboration with the center for international education, can create funding, training and mentoring to support COIL efforts across the university campus.
