If you don’t already have an international partner, the SUNY COIL center (http://coil.suny.edu/) is a good place to start. Other sources to locate partners are: Virtual Exchange Coalition ( http://virtualexchangecoalition.org/) and Skype in the Classroom (https://education.microsoft.com/skypeintheclassroom). You also might want to reach out to universities with whom your institution already has international agreements. A collaboration does not need to be an exact match in content. An interdisciplinary collaboration can add a lot of value for students and faculty. A collaboration does not need to be for an entire semester, however, a minimum of 2 -3 weeks is recommended. The most successful international collaborations include multiple synchronous virtual meetings, a format for asynchronous online interaction (LMS, blogs, etc.), a virtual collaborative exercise, and informal communication channels (Facebook, What’s App, etc.).
As a first step share the collaboration document with your partner. We then suggest the following steps for a sample 3 week collaboration:
WEEK 1: An asynchronous “icebreaker” discussion to build excitement and give learners a chance to informally get to know one another and learn about each other’s culture. Students voluntarily enroll in the informal communication channel.
WEEK 2: A live session focused on getting to know one another. Ask students to do some research about the other country and come prepared to ask at least one question. As you plan your live session, you can use the synchronous session checklist as a guide. Assign an exercise to be completed in pairs or teams composed of students from both countries. Some sample exercises are shared in Artifacts.
WEEK 3: Another live session to share the results of their joint exercise and their experiences working together across cultures. A concluding asynchronous discussion. An anonymous final evaluation of the experience.