Collaborative Online International Learning

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) engages students in global learning experiences within existing courses in flexible and affordable ways. This approach connects faculty and students around the world through co-designed and co-taught course modules that bridge physical distance through digital platforms for intercultural learning.

COIL modules have several defining characteristics:

• They are embedded in a regular credit-bearing course of any modality.
• They connect courses both within and across disciplinary areas.
• They are co-designed and co-taught by instructors in different countries.
• They align with the learning outcomes and curricula for the connected courses.
• They involve material and activities to which both courses have equal access and opportunity for engagement.
• They are taught in a language selected by both instructors, supporting instructional goals.  
• They range from just a few weeks to the majority of a semester in duration.
• They engage students in collaborative and project-based learning.
• They emphasize transferable skills for academic, professional, and civic success.

Overall, COIL represents an important opportunity for students to develop both global and self-awareness while deepening and widening their knowledge of a subject as it resonates in global contexts. COIL experiences also offer an opportunity for students to develop durable employability skills, including the following from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education’s Graduate Profile:

• Communicate effectively
• Think critically to solve problems and create new ideas and solutions
• Interact effectively with people from different backgrounds
• Perform professionally
• Engage in civic life to improve society
• Collaborate and work in teams

COIL adds a layer of digital proficiency and literacy as students apply these durable skills through various platforms or “third spaces” that instructors choose as the grounds for student interaction in both synchronous and asynchronous formats. While COIL modules work effectively as freestanding experiences for any course, they also may serve as an extension of an education abroad experience.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) offers an array of compelling benefits for students, educators, and institutions. Here’s a breakdown of the key advantages:

For Students:

1. Global Perspective Without Travel:
   COIL enables students to interact with peers from different cultural and academic backgrounds, fostering cross-cultural understanding without the need to study abroad.
2. Improved Intercultural Communication:
   Working on joint projects with international students helps improve communication skills, empathy, and adaptability in diverse environments.
3. Real-World Collaboration Skills:
   Students gain experience working in international virtual teams—an increasingly valuable skill in today’s globalized workforce.
4. Language Practice & Development:
   Engaging with students from different linguistic backgrounds naturally enhances language skills, and a language course may be matched with a course in a different discipline depending on what skills instructors want students to practice.
5. Cost-Effective Global Learning:
   COIL offers international learning experiences without the high costs of travel and living abroad.

For Faculty:

1. Professional Development:
   Teachers expand their instructional methods, learn new technologies, and engage in intercultural collaboration.
2. Curriculum Enhancement:
   Integrating international perspectives adds depth and diversity to course content.
3. Research & Teaching Partnerships:
   COIL can spark ongoing collaborations between faculty members from different institutions.

For Institutions:

1. Global Engagement Strategy:
   COIL supports the internationalization of curriculum and strengthens global partnerships without relying solely on physical mobility.
2. Increased Accessibility:
   Makes international education more accessible to a wider range of students, including those who can't afford or manage study abroad.
3. Innovation & Reputation:
   COIL programs showcase institutional innovation and commitment to global learning, enhancing institutional reputation and appeal.

• For help finding an international partner, visit https://coilconnect.org/ or connect with UK's Executive Director of International Partnerships and Research, Tim Barnes (tim.barnes@uky.edu).
• Instructors can work with a CELT Instructional Consultant and a UK Online Instructional Designer to develop your project including:
  • developing learning outcomes for the project 
  • project assessment - products are created jointly by the students across classrooms, but students are graded by their own instructors; Co-designing a rubric for collaborative student work  
  • ensuring student engagement and involvement 
  • creating team building activities appropriate to each partnering culture   
  • setting up the collaboration -- nitty gritty about technology needs, third space platforms, data protection, data privacy, communication tools and protocols. 
    • Tools - Zoom, Canvas Catalog, Google Tools,  
  • demo possible tools to select the best tool for the project and ensure they are accessible to students and faculty in all locations.   
  • project Evaluation- how to determine the success of the project. Reflective process for instructor. Collecting  feedback from the students. How to consider potential for future collaborations? What improvements could be made?