Virtual exchange in the University of Groningen: Examples from the ENVOIE project

Virtual Exchange in UG:
Examples from the ENVOIE project
Showcase session ENLIGHT Kick Off week
3 March 2021
Sake Jager
Cristina Pascual Aibar & Gerdientje Oggel
Adriaan Wahle & Laura Yska
Petra Broomans & May Wu
University of Groningen
1

What is Virtual Exchange?
https://evolve-erasmus.eu/about-evolve/what-is-virtual-exchange/ 3

Definition Virtual Exchange
Virtual Exchange (VE) is a practice, supported by research, that consists of sustained,
technology-enabled, people-to-people education programmes or activities in which
constructive communication and interaction takes place between individuals or
groups who are geographically separated and/or from different cultural
backgrounds, with the support of educators or facilitators.
Virtual Exchange combines the deep impact of intercultural dialogue and exchange
with the broad reach of digital technology.
https://evolve-erasmus.eu/about-evolve/what-is-virtual-exchange/
4

Overarching frameworks and rationales
Internationalisation of the Home Curriculum (Beelen,
2020): Facilitating international/intercultural experiences by
integrating internationalisation in the curriculum of all
students.
Limitations of physical mobility:
• < 10% mobility in Europe (Mobility scoreboard)
• Privileged access
• Specific regions and directions
• Environmental impact
• Covid-19 restrictions
Mobility Scoreboard 2018/2019 report (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2020)
5
COIL (Virtual Exchange) “combines the four essential
dimensions of real virtual mobility; it is a collaborative
exercise of teachers and students; it makes use of online
technology and interaction; it has potential international
dimensions; and it is integrated into the learning process”
(De Wit, 2013)

Integration into curriculum Proven impact on development of:
● Intercultural competence
● Digital skills
● Language skills
● Collaboration skills / 21st c.skills
Combines disciplinary skills with transversal/soft skills
Development of teacher pedagogical competencies.
See e.g. https://www.evolve-erasmus.eu/research-resources
Alignment with HEIs topics:
● International experience for all students
● Ecological footprint of mobility
● Equity, diversity and inclusiveness
● Sustainable Development Goals
● (Social) Entrepreneurship
6

ENLIGHT and VE
7
Opportunities:
● Co-creation by teachers from partner
institutions
● Collaborative problem-solving across
institutions and disciplines
● Joint training and support
● Partner finding
● Micro-credentialling for students and staff
(including endorsement)
● Combining with short-stay mobility
● Integration in research courses
● Setting up further research on VE

The New Normality: an interdisciplinary virtual exchange in times of Covid-19
1. Partnering
2. Student groups involved
3. Project design: matching
4. What the project was
about
5. Student satisfaction and
experience/perspective
6. How to improve and
repeat the project
7. Appendix: preliminary
survey results
8
Groningen, NL
Valencia, ES
RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT
GRONINGEN
Universitat de Valencia

Digital Skills
International
Skills
Foreign language
competence
Intercultural
competence
General VE benefits: development of transversal skills
Collaboration &
personal skills
Self-esteem
Self-management
Group work
10
EVOLVE project team (2020: 91)

Project design: matching
Student groups involved
UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN 67 students
Course
● 3 Spanish Proficiency courses
● Alternative/Complement to Minor Abroad
● Fall semester
Student profiles
● 2nd and 3rd year students in the BA
Degree ELC and IRIO
Language
● English /Dutch as vehicular language
● Spanish as a foreign language in the VE
UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA 71 students
Course
● Social Psychology
● Fall semester
Student profiles
● 1rst year students in the Sociology,
Psychology and Social Work BA Degrees.
Language
● Valencian/English as vehicular language
● Valencian/Spanish as a mother tongue
11

Project design: matching
SPECIFIC GOAL
Explore, compare &
research social
student issues arising
from the pandemic
across cultures and
disciplines using
social theories
SPECIFIC GOAL Develop
communication skills in
Spanish & intercultural
skills with natives around
social issues arising from
Covid19 across cultures
and disciplines.
PRACTICALITIES
Matching calendars &
integration of VE in
course (tasks,
reflection assessment
credits)
PRACTICALITIES
Matching academic
calendars &
integration of VE in
course (tasks,
reflection, assessment,
credits)
COMMON GOAL
Discuss & compare
student experiences
& select main social
issues arising from
the pandemic.
COMMON GOAL
Discuss & compare
student experiences
& select main social
issues arising from
the pandemic.
12

13
The New Normality: an interdisciplinary virtual exchange in times of Covid-19
This project aimed that students from different countries shared their
experiences with the ¨new normal¨ in their respective national contexts and
selected a problem that they thought it was of utmost importance in this time of
pandemic. The exchange was carried on via virtual media to,
➔ promote intercultural knowledge in time of limited mobility and
➔ understand to what extent this mutual problem affects different contexts.

Project design: integration in the course
Reflection and assessment
Part tertulia and oral portfolio
> 1 ECTS (28 hours)
Compulsory reflection after
each task in an oral portafolio.
14
Preparation for the course in
which students further use
different social theories to solve
the main problem selected in
the conversations during the
virtual exchange.

THREE ISSUES OF THE ¨NEW NORMAL¨
FOLLOW AND OBJECT
TO THE RULES
SOCIAL DISTANCING
AND MASKS
THE OTHER AS A
SOURCE OF DANGER
16
For the UG students, we provided them with newspapers articles in Spanish and related to the topic to make sure
that they could prepare the topic and terminology beforehand in order to be able to participate in the
conversation.

C
A B
D
Project design: tasks
EXPERIENCES EXCHANGE
Sessions 1, 2 and 3.
The other as a source of
danger
Social distancing and masks.
Follow and object to the rules
PROBLEM SELECTION
Session 4
In block B, during their first
scheduled tertulia (debate in
class), our students from
different exchange groups
share their project with their
classmates and get feedback
which they will share with
their exchange group during
their closure meeting in
November
BREAK THE ICE
Session 0.
Get to know the members of
the group. Set the days and
time for the meetings. Agree
the tool for the meetings.
EVALUATION AND GOODBYE
Session 5.
17

The student perspective:
2 types of evaluations conducted
1. In Spanish courses
General evaluation of the course through a Google forms with 2 questions
related to the VE
a. Please rate your preparation and participation in the group meetings with
the University of Valencia.
b. Participation in the virtual exchange program has helped me develop my
language and intercultural competences.
+ additional comments by students
High response rate: 40%-80% 18

The student perspective:
2 types of evaluation conducted
2. EVOLVE qualitative/quantitative pre-and post test on specific learning outcomes and
reflective portfolio submitted to all participants
a. Core protocol - measures the general perception and appreciation of the VE on students (likert-scale)
b. Disciplinary skills - an open questions which measures the disciplinary learning achieved by
students as a result of the VE
c. Language skills - measures the language skills achieved by students as a result of the VE
(likert-scale)
d. Intercultural competence - measures the level of intercultural competencies achieved as a result of
the VE.(likert scale)
e. +additional open questions
Lower response rate 20% (UV) and 27% (UG)
Pre/post analysis still to be conducted
19

Invited students
Adriaan Wahle
- 2nd year student of European Languages and Cultures
- Majoring in Spanish & European Politics as a discipline
- During VE enrolled in Spanish proficiency courses
- Plans to do a Minor abroad in Spain in the fall semester of next
academic year
Laura Yska
- 3rd year student of European Languages and Cultures
- Majoring in Spanish & European Linguistics as a discipline
- Took the VE as a complement to her physical minor abroad at
the University of Valencia, last fall semester
20

What do our participants say about
21
2. Their preparation & participation in the VE?
3. The development of course skills thanks to the VE?
1. The VE in general but also as a preparation
/complement to (physical) mobility?

EVOLVE Post-survey
General appreciation of participation in the virtual
exchange
22

How would you rate your preparation
and participation in group meetings
with the University of Valencia?
Overall results: (very) well
Plus 2A (B2)
Response rate 67%
Basis 3A (B2).
Response rate 40%
Plus 3A (B2/C1)
Response rate 80%
23

Participation in the virtual exchange
program has helped me develop my language
and intercultural competences.
Overall result: quite high levels of agreement
(50% - 70% - 90% resp.)
Plus 3A (B2/C1)
Response rate 80%
Plus 2A (B2)
Response rate 67%
Basis 3A (B2).
Response rate 40%
24

Student comments below show:
- UG What the daily life in Spain could look like, and especially with regard to the current pandemic.
- UG You need to have a broader vocabulary on the topic, so in this way I learned a lot of new things / words.
- UG To communicate better with people I don't know and about the different situations in 2 specific countries.
- UV For my discipline it is very important to listen to other people and to understand their situations so, listening to
their perspectives, about the virus in this case, helped me to practice on that.
- UV To see how young people our age think alike, who share similar situations.
- UV The project has given me prespective: about the problems de have to deal with nowadays.
1. “A close connection between disciplinary learning and transversal learning”
2. “The role of VE in establishing cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary perspectives and
promoting critical thinking and deep learning on global problems and challenges”.
(EVOLVE Project Team 2020: 102)
25
Preliminary observations
Disciplinary and intercultural learning

How to improve and repeat the VE project?
➢ Less extensive reflection
➢ More in-class follow up with the teachers
➢ Give students more tools / follow up better on how to interact with each
other.
➢ Make sure the project is integrated in all courses involved.
➢ Give a bigger variety of topics to talk about eliciting more disciplinary
learning by integrating the VE better with the UG students specific
discipline (politics/international relations, linguistics, culture/literature)
➢ Have students choose topics by themselves. For example, discuss social
issues and solutions coming from the pandemic related to their discipline
26

References
EVOLVE Project Team (2020). The Impact of Virtual Exchange on Student Learning
in Higher Education: EVOLVE Project Report.
27

Appendix
What do our participants say about
SEE SLIDES 29-35 FOR GENERAL SURVEY RESULTS
28
2. Their preparation & participation in the VE?
3. The development of course skills thanks to the VE?
1. The VE in general?

What did you like best about the Virtual Exchange?
UG exemplary comments
● Hearing their opinion on matters like
Coronavirus.
● You get to know the people from the exchange
quite well
● Practising my listening and speaking without a
lot of pressure
● I liked the fact that you could learn in a fun way.
● Engage with people from Spain was quite cool.
● The opportunity to talk to people who actually
spoke Spanish as their mother language,
● To be able to organize and structure it as we all
liked.
29

Preparation and participation
Exemplary comments UG students
● I prepared myself by reflecting upon the questions and the articles
provided by my teacher and noted down some vocabulary that could
prove useful in the discussion.
● I think that I participated well by preparing for class and taking part by
sharing my own opinions and responding to the opinions of others.
● We've had three conversations which lasted for a complete hour and
was quite interesting.
● We talked about everything that was necessary, and we learned
much about Spain and could talk about a lot of themes
● I was motivated, since I HAD to speak.
● They are very nice and it is nice to practice with people who come
from Spain and are not your teacher.
30

Development of disciplinary skills
Language skills related to the topic
UG Exemplary comments
● Listen to "regular" Spanish
● The correct pronunciation of new words.
● Experience a multi-cultural environment wherein I had the opportunity to improve
my communication skills.
● What the daily life in Spain could look like, and especially with regard to the current
pandemic.
● To be able to express yourself well, you need to have a broader vocabulary on the
topic, so in this way I learned a lot of new things / words.
● To communicate better with people I don't know and about the different situations in
2 specific countries.
● To see how Spaniards communicate with each other
● Copy the forms and language they used.
● More confident in talking in a foreign language with foreigners and more
comfortable in talking online
31

Intercultural competence experience
UG exemplary comments
● Recognize differences and similarities between cultures and
know how to work with them.
● Learning about the cultural differences within the other
culture, such as the fact that our exchange partners would
speak Valencian at home, and Castellano at university and the
Spanish directness of communication amongst themselves.
● To disagree with someone and to let that be okay
● To understand other peoples concerns about safety in relation
to Corona.
32

What did you like best about the Virtual Exchange?
UV Exemplary comments
● The opportunity to talk to students of other countries
● It was like being with friends.
● Meeting people from other country and realize how
they lived this past months.
● It was very interesting to talk with people like us
about this topic
● The different points of view, not only from the foreign
group but also from my partners
33

UV: Development of disciplinary skills
Social psychology
● Above all, you acquire social skills, such as learning to communicate, despite
the language.
● For my discipline it is very important to listen to other people and to
understand their situations so, listening to their perspectives, about the virus
in this case, helped me to practice on that.
● To see how young people our age think alike, who share similar situations. it
helped me to improve my ability to see the world from the eyes of others.
● The project has helped me to be more confident and talk with everyone
without being shy.
● The project has given me prespective: about the problems de have to deal
with nowadays.
34

UV Intercultural competence experiences
Exemplary comments
● There are a lot of difference between how we perceive the pandemic, so I learned
there is not only one point of view in anything.
● I discovered some of my stereotypes about people from other cultures,
● I can understand the feelings and concerns of other people
● The way we interact in our country
● When I learnt about the kind of relation there is between the citizens and the
government
● so we learned to have patience and to help the other student as much as we could
(because sometimes she didn’t understand us)
● The use of the mask is not mandatory there
Young people do not violate the mandatory norms of the pandemic as much as in
Spain
● the differences of things we do during the day and schedules
35

Dialogues on World Literature in the Virtual International and
Intercultural Classroom
- World literature is possible by means of
translations; supports intercultural
understanding (Goethe)
- Translations a way of mediating ideas and
images from one cultural and linguistically
area to another;
- Cultural transmitters and gatekeepers
influential, though they often are invisible
in the cultural transfer process
Why World Literature,
Translations and
Cultural Transfer?
36

Departments and Staff
Translation studies, College of Foreign Languages. Sichuan
University (stable partner 2017-2021)
European Languages and Cultures (Swedish), University of
Groningen
Department for Literature, Uppsala University, partner in
2018; will join the project again next study year
Three assistants: 2017-2021
Trainee in 2019
37

Preparing Online International Exchange (OIE)
The goals of the OIE project
Matching the syllabuses
The groups of students
...
38

The OIE Project
Motivate the students
- Project rationale
- Expected outcomes
- Experience of
previous students
- Literature
Design tasks
- Ice breaking(Padlet)
- Personal blog
- "Class Library"
- "Conjectures on
World Literature"
- “Genres in Motion”
- The comparison of
a poem
Testing tools
- Available tools for
collaborating
- VooV, WeChat, Zoom,
Edmodo, etc.
39

TOOLS
Padlet, Easyclass in the first year.
Padlet and Edmodo in the second and third year.
› Edmodo: e-learning platform
– available for all
›Padlet:
students and staff wrote short
introductions: personal interests;
interests and preferences in (world)
literature. Expectations from the
collaboration and what they would like
to learn from it.
›https://padlet.com/n_a_boon/worldlitera
tureintroduction
›https://padlet.com/y_wu_47/hapa043m
xagj
› Communication tools:
E-mail, Skype, WeChat, VooV
40

Learning goals for students
The aim mains are to:
- Deepen your knowledge about topics discussed during this
course (world literature, cultural transfer, translations)
- Provide you with multiple perspectives on the course content
- Enhance your learning process
- Improve your intercultural communication skills
44

Assignments
- Assignments: readings on world literature, cultural transfer,
translation studie
- Final assignment: The comparison of the poem “Storm” by
the Swedish poet and Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer
(1931-2015) in English, Dutch* and Chinese translation.
Discuss the differences and similarities. Show the
translations the soul of the poem? Are there any influences
of the different cultures in which the translations were
produced?
- After each assignment students wrote a personal blog with
observations about the intercultural process.
Tomas Tranströmer
45

The Chinese Experience
1. Deeper understanding of the subject knowledge
2. Intercultural communicative competence
3. Language ability
4. E-literacy
5. Positive attitudes towards culture differences
6. Motivation of improving subject knowledge and linguistic ability
7. Broaden horizon
8. Social network: friendship
*
| 46
● Interaction in larger groups
● In-time feedback on tasks (time difference)
● Examples from previous years
● Platforms/materials
● Achievements in the course (FB)

The European Experience
- The course created more awareness on cultural differences and similarities.
- The students did learn a lot about world literature and translation.
- The first tasks were evaluated as good and useful for to get to know each
other.
- The task on secondary literature on world literature was perceived as
intellectual and academically inspiring. Some students experienced the texts
as difficult.
- The last task (comparison of the poem) was perceived as the best and
interesting by the majority of the student group.
| 47

Comments on used tools, organisation, guidance
- Very different communication tools: VooV, Zoom, Messenger, WeChat,
WhatsApp, Google meet, email and Skype.
- Time difference. This was also the case in the previous VE courses.
- Smooth organization.
- Some students need more guidance than others
- Some students asked also for more feedback
| 48

Outcomes
- Challenges and opportunities for learned societies in the Humanities,
especially within the disciplines of literary studies and digital humanities.
- By supervising and reading the students’ work, the staff members got new
insights into students’ ways of working and learning in other cultures.
- In the evaluations of the students this was also an important outcome:
learning from other students about the other culture, but also about getting
aware of one’s own culture and the own intercultural classroom (UG)
| 49

Spin-off
The teaching team in the first edition (Chengdu, Groningen and Uppsala)
wrote a scholarly article: “Views on ‘World Literature. Cultural Transfer and
Translation in the Context of an Online International Exchange (OIE) Project
— Case Study China, Netherlands and Sweden”, will be published in Beyond
Babel - Learned Societies and the Global Renewal of the Humanities, FILLM
Studies in Languages and Literatures / John Benjamins Publishers
| 50

Discussion
Comments! Questions! Interesting ideas
51

References
Beelen, J. (2020). Deploying virtual exchange in your institution. Presentation at EAIE 2020 Community
Exchange, together with R. O’Dowd.
Beelen J. & Jones E. (2015) Redefining internationalization at home. In A. Curaj, L. Matei, R. Pricopie,
J. Salmi, & P. Scott (Eds.), The European higher education area: The impact of past and future
policies (pp 59-72). Springer.
de Wit, H. (2013, June 1). COIL - Virtual mobility without commercialisation. University World News.
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20130528175741647
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2020. Mobility Scoreboard: Higher Education Background.
Report 2018/19. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Helm, F. & Van der Velden, B. (2019). Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Impact Report 2018. Publications
Office of the EU. doi: 0.2797/668291
Helm, F. & Van der Velden, B. (2020). Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Impact Report 2019. Publications
Office of the EU. doi: 10.2797/513584
Hudzik, J. K. (2015) Comprehensive internationalization: institutional pathways to success. Routledge

Resources on Virtual Exchange and Internationalisation
Organisations supporting VE:
● SUNY COIL Center: coil.suny.edu
● Stevens Initiative:
www.stevensinitiative.org
● UNICollaboration:
www.unicollaboration.org
● Soliya: www.soliya.net
● Sharing Perspectives:
sharingperspectivesfoundation.com
Resources for International Relations Officers:
● Stevens Initiative:
https://www.stevensinitiative.org/resource/guide-for-sios/
● Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange:
europa.eu/youth/sites/default/files/eyp/eve/attachments/ev
e_-_handbook_for_iros_1.pdf
● Forum Education Abroad:
forumea.org/resources/guidelines/virtual-exchanges-and-g
lobal-learning-online
● COIL VE Directory: https://coilconnect.org/

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