Virtual Study Abroad: Student Engagement & International Interaction Using Meeting & Mobile Tools

Awarded Grant: $20,000

Principal Investigator:

Lorette Pellettiere Calix, Empire State College

Only a very small percentage of students are able to take advantage of study abroad programs and many groups are underrepresented. The goal of this pilot project is to eventually provide the opportunity for all SUNY students to participate in a virtual term abroad. Researchers will analyze and try to resolve technical issues related to international collaboration and will compare a variety of tools for learner engagement and promoting cross cultural and/or international interaction. The “lessons learned” from the easily replicable pilot could help improve the quality of international collaborations and broaden student opportunities for an international experience.

Co-PI’s and Key Partners:

Patrice Prusko Torcivia, Empire State College
Oscar Leon, Quality Leadership University (QLU) – Panama

Reports and Resources:

• 2013 Sloan Blended Conference Presentation
• This report discusses the technology used to support a virtual term abroad. We hope to edit it and publish at a future date. VTA-tech-assessment-report-final.pdf
• This is a bibliography of resources related to our topic. It includes an author abstract or clip from each article, as well as some of our working notes. Bibliography-Virtual-Term-Abroad.pdf
• Pre- and post- collaboration surveys for both students and participating faculty. Bibliography-Virtual-Term-Abroad1.pdf
• DISCUSSION-ANALYSIS-SHEET-1.xlsx A form used to help analyze the blog discussions using formulas developed by:
  • Bliss, C and Lawrence, B.(2009). From posts to patterns: A metric to characterize discussion board activity in online courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, v13 n2 p15-32 http://www.cems.uvm.edu/~cabliss/Discussion_Paper_Bliss-Lawrence-2009.pdf.
• A form we used for virtual sessions to record technology used and related issues and resolutions. TECH-LOG.docx
• Project outcomes report

Publications:

• This article discusses the value of a Virtual Term Abroad. It will be published in All About Mentoring at the end of this year. The-Value-of-a-Virtual-Term-Abroad-AAM-final.pdf

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