Learning alone together: Emergency-mode educational functions of international virtual exchange in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Virtual exchange practices have been developed at universities for several years; however, the academic importance of VE has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic (Garcés & O'Dowd, 2020; Oswal, Palmer & Koris, 2021). As a result of the restrictions concerning physical mobility, VE has become a ‘first aid kit’ (Reiffenrath, de Louw & Haug, 2020) to continue students' international cooperation. However, at present, there is little research about the nature of students' VE practices during the pandemic COVID-19, particularly in relation to the functions of VE. Thus, the purpose of this study is to understand the characteristics of the special VE actions undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic and to map out the educational functions and their prevalence through focus group interviews involving students who study at five different universities in Europe.The article introduces the term ‘emergency-mode’ VE programmes that combine activities of traditional VEs with tailor-made solutions to accommodate the challenges posed by the pandemic. The analysis shows new directions of VE in terms of its educational functions, identifying 1) developmental, 2) social, 3) instrumental, 4) emancipatory, 5) self-reflectional, 6) motivational, as well as 7) occupational functions. The article also presents the prevalence of these functions in the specific learning environments created due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Internationalisation at Home: Developing a Global Change Biology Course Curriculum to Enhance Sustainable Development

“…Finally, it is suggested that a broad range of approaches are considered. Here, a relatively simple incorporation of contemporary media was used; however, there are a range of digital collaborative tools that are emerging, particularly following the mass online move prompted by COVID-19 (discussed further in [13,20,36,37]). The use and evaluation of a wider array of tools is worth consideration in further curriculum development.…”

“…Internationalisation abroad can also include the mobility of faculty, projects, programs, and providers. However, internationalisation abroad is not always possible due to either personal circumstance (e.g., socio-economic background), or broader issues (e.g., exchange opportunities are limited at the university; restrictions on travel have been introduced due to a global pandemic) [12,13]. As a result, it has been argued that internationalisation abroad can contribute to perpetuating social disadvantage [14].…”

“…Internationalisation at home has the potential to be an effective pedagogic approach to provide graduating students with experiences that will enhance their global competence, equip them with knowledge required to better understand universal challenges, and motivate them to take action to address the impacts of global challenges [13,21]. Such an approach could be particularly beneficial when applied to the study of global climate change and sustainable development, by enhancing knowledge of the diversity of issues that will manifest and regions that will be affected.…”