Continuous Professional Development on Virtual Exchange in Europe: Insights from the Erasmus+ VE Introductory Online Course

Research-publishing.net. La Grange des Noyes, 25110 Voillans, France. e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://research-publishing.net

Y

12

Introductory Courses; Online Courses; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; College Faculty; Computer Mediated Communication; Technological Literacy; Exchange Programs; Experiential Learning; Teaching Methods; Teacher Administrator Relationship; Course Evaluation; Cultural Awareness; Faculty Development; Listening Skills; Communication Skills; Student Mobility; Study Abroad; Educational Cooperation; Teacher Attitudes; International Educational Exchange; Feedback (Response); Foreign Countries

This presentation focuses on the Erasmus+ online introductory training course, which aims to introduce university educators and administrative/technical staff to Virtual Exchange (VE). The training, which requires no previous experience with VE, engages the participants in tasks that help them understand the requirements to successfully integrate an Erasmus+ VE project into existing courses and curricula, while gaining experience in digital literacy, including communicating and collaborating online. After a brief presentation of the structure of the four-week course, we will show how the design of the course -- based on an experiential learning approach -- elicited reflections and discussions on pedagogical and technological issues crucial to successful VE projects. Finally, we will show how forum interactions between teaching and administrative staff helped all the participants understand the pedagogical, technological, and administrative implications of setting up VE projects, and identify the necessary steps to engage the different stakeholders (teachers, administrative and technical staff, top management, and students) within their institutions. The overall evaluation of all training courses was highly positive: respondents reported discovering that the course boosted their confidence in communicating or working in a culturally diverse setting. They also felt that the training helped them develop their intercultural awareness, digital competences, active listening, communication skills, and acquire ideas for new teaching practices. [For the complete volume, "Virtual Exchange: Towards Digital Equity in Internationalisation," see ED614868.]

As Provided

2021

ED615956