I’ve just finished attending the 10th Anniversary COIL Conference for the first time, and I had such an interesting experience – a bit like a twisted de ja vu, It’s so similar to the work I did in K12 from ’98 to ’11 supporting K12 videoconferencing, mostly projects. Yet it has it’s own higher ed spin of course!
So I thought I’d make myself a little chart, as I’m processing my learning and this new world/field I’ve learned about.
Comparisons
K12 Videoconferencing | Higher Ed International Collaborations | |
Getting Started | Usually teachers participate in a managed project to get their feet wet (i.e. RAP as the gateway drug to videoconferencing) | Faculty meet at a conference, or fly to meet in person to plan the project Institutions support collaborations with existing partner institutions |
Organizations providing support and assistance finding a partner | iEARN.org CAPspace CILC.org Global SchoolNet Project Registry |
Institution collaborations such as SUNY COIL Global Partner Network Virtual Team Teaching Exchange UNICollaboration |
Length of projects | Usually one videoconference, with 1 to 2 weeks of preparation | Two weeks to a full course |
Curriculum | All subject areas | More popular in the humanities |
Project Support | Teachers create projects and find partners OR teachers participate in managed projects like Read Around the Planet |
Mostly individually created collaborative experiences Soliya is an organization managing the collaborative experience for higher ed |
Faculty support | Media specialist or instructional technology support staff Sometimes also educational service agency support |
Instructional designer International office IT / AV support Dean, chair, other administrative support |
Value | A simple exchange or meet & greet often sufficient and valued | Need the experience tied to a framework or model and research supporting it |
Evaluation | Were the students engaged / inspired? | Did the experience produce “satisfactory scholarly work”? Was there rigor in the quality of the academic experience? |
Reactions?
What do you think? Have I over-generalized? Am I missing any major concepts? What would you add?