VM curriculum designing

Virtual mobility can only been understood in the bigger framework of internationalisation. In answer to the challenges brought about by globalisation, internationalisation has become one of the key issues in present day European Higher education. Internationalisation consists of a conscious integration of an international dimension into research and teaching. One way to realize learning mobility is physical student mobility. A possible alternative and addition to physical mobility is virtual mobility.

Virtual mobility is about international, collaborative experiences, i.e. the accumulation of knowledge of, skills in or observation of intercultural differences and similarities gained through active participation in an ICT supported, international event. Virtual mobility therefore aims at enlarging students international or intercultural competencies, or at least enlarging their intercultural awareness.

We talk about international competencies to refer to a more economically inspired, sector based motivation (related to knowledge about different international systems, markets etc.). Intercultural competencies are more generic and value based. They are about effective and appropriate behaviour and communication. Gaining intercultural competencies is a long and complex process. Education can initialise, support or accelerate this process, but it is not realistic for a course to have intercultural competencies as a learning outcome. Especially when this is not at least enbedded in a broader strategy to internationalise the curriculum and/or the institution. What can be done at the level of a course, is more situated in the area of creating intercultural awareness. For most students reaching this first stage is of course already an important step.

The teaching methodology used to achieve this is online international group work. This type of teaching is also referred to as virtual exchange, online intercultural exchange, globally networked learning or telecollaboration. In this context they all mean more or less the same thing: the use of technology to facilitate class discussions and do collaborative course assignments across national borders or time zones. These course exchanges can be synchronous or asynchronous or involve a combination of both.

A virtual mobility course is therefore always a course that is being organized (at least partly) in a virtual learning space. This virtual learning space can be supported through any technology, from a full flex institutional learning platform to email, web and video conference systems to social media, blogs, wikis and email. The most important issue here is to choose the right tools for your specific context. More about the tools, you can find in unit 3.

Task

• Define the scope of the international dimension of your course. Will the focus be on the ‘international’ or ‘intercultural’ dimension, on ‘compentencies’ or on ‘awareness’?