Virtual Exchange: The teacher's experience
I like challenging my students. I want to show them that there is more to learning than attending lectures and writing a course paper. I want them to realize the importance of responsibility, self-reliance and flexibility. I would like them to solve problems independently. And, more importantly, I would like to make them experience group work across time zones and cultures.
This academic year I ran four Virtual Exchange (VE) projects, which is something a teacher should never do! Way too much work! Yes, it felt crazy at times... But still worth the experience!
My English majors could volunteer for the online collaboration with Japanese, Polish, and Singaporean students. The partner universities were Waseda University, Tokyo, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, and the National Institute of Education, Singapore. I would like to thank my wonderful colleagues for joining me in this pedagogical challenge! Let me list their names here (I hope they don't mind): Mariko Kondo (Japan), Victoria Muehleisen (Japan), Katarzyna Radke (Poland), Mary Ellis and Mark Wilkinson (Singapore). Thank you all! The Virtual Exchange with the Polish University was mentored by EVOLVE (Evidence-Validated Online Learning through Virtual Exchange), which is an initiation and network supporting intercultural collaboration between universities.
The projects started after long-long planning. Virtual Exchange requires a great amount of work behind the scenes because the schedule, the pedagogical design and the digital tools/platforms need to be agreed on by the teachers. The topics that we chose for the students were 1) the use of English (Waseda collaboration 2018), 2) English language learning and teaching (Waseda collaboration 2019), 3) education systems (Singapore collaboration 2019), and 4) promotional videos in city tourism (Poznan 2019).
It felt rewarding to see my students move out of their comfort zones and start working together with students from other countries. I know this was new experience to many of them. And I also know that some of them did not like this experience (or not every part of it). Working across time zones with students from another culture can be just as frustrating as rewarding. Some of the intercultural encounters can bring unexpected situations.... one needs to be prepared! Here are some of the most memorable moments: 1) Polish students complaining that the Finnish students did not smile or talk much in the video meetings, 2) Finnish students pointing out that the Japanese students tend to send emojis instead of text in their messages, 3) The video camera breaking down in the middle of a videoconference between Finland and Japan, 4) Singaporean students making selfies with the Finnish students at the end of the video call.
What I take away from the projects is the importance of calling students' attention to the fact that VE can be very close to working life experience, and this includes a potential for frustration and hard work. But I don't think that students would learn much if everything went smoothly and as planned. One should also learn how to manage in less organized and unexpected situations. Life is like that outside the classroom walls.
Special thanks to my first collaborator and dear colleague, Irena Podlaskova (Czech Republic), who was my mentor and co-facilitator in the very first VE projects. See one of our joint publications here.
This academic year I ran four Virtual Exchange (VE) projects, which is something a teacher should never do! Way too much work! Yes, it felt crazy at times... But still worth the experience!
My English majors could volunteer for the online collaboration with Japanese, Polish, and Singaporean students. The partner universities were Waseda University, Tokyo, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, and the National Institute of Education, Singapore. I would like to thank my wonderful colleagues for joining me in this pedagogical challenge! Let me list their names here (I hope they don't mind): Mariko Kondo (Japan), Victoria Muehleisen (Japan), Katarzyna Radke (Poland), Mary Ellis and Mark Wilkinson (Singapore). Thank you all! The Virtual Exchange with the Polish University was mentored by EVOLVE (Evidence-Validated Online Learning through Virtual Exchange), which is an initiation and network supporting intercultural collaboration between universities.
The projects started after long-long planning. Virtual Exchange requires a great amount of work behind the scenes because the schedule, the pedagogical design and the digital tools/platforms need to be agreed on by the teachers. The topics that we chose for the students were 1) the use of English (Waseda collaboration 2018), 2) English language learning and teaching (Waseda collaboration 2019), 3) education systems (Singapore collaboration 2019), and 4) promotional videos in city tourism (Poznan 2019).
It felt rewarding to see my students move out of their comfort zones and start working together with students from other countries. I know this was new experience to many of them. And I also know that some of them did not like this experience (or not every part of it). Working across time zones with students from another culture can be just as frustrating as rewarding. Some of the intercultural encounters can bring unexpected situations.... one needs to be prepared! Here are some of the most memorable moments: 1) Polish students complaining that the Finnish students did not smile or talk much in the video meetings, 2) Finnish students pointing out that the Japanese students tend to send emojis instead of text in their messages, 3) The video camera breaking down in the middle of a videoconference between Finland and Japan, 4) Singaporean students making selfies with the Finnish students at the end of the video call.
What I take away from the projects is the importance of calling students' attention to the fact that VE can be very close to working life experience, and this includes a potential for frustration and hard work. But I don't think that students would learn much if everything went smoothly and as planned. One should also learn how to manage in less organized and unexpected situations. Life is like that outside the classroom walls.
Special thanks to my first collaborator and dear colleague, Irena Podlaskova (Czech Republic), who was my mentor and co-facilitator in the very first VE projects. See one of our joint publications here.
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