By its nature, COIL is equitable because it provides this opportunity to engage with students in international exchanges regardless of the constraints that many students have, such as financial issues, health problems, family obligations, and many other constraints and barriers.”
At its best, technology can connect people from disparate places and cultures.
Nowhere is this truer than with Collaborative Online International Learning, (COIL). As defined by author and researcher Betsy Leask, COIL refers to “online learning in an international setting, with interactive involvement of students and faculty from different international and intercultural backgrounds in and outside the classroom.”
COIL predates the pandemic, but those challenging years represented its coming out party.
“When COVID hit, people found ways to continue international exchange programs,” said Dr. Alexandra Balconi, a 51Թ associate professor of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), and COIL coordinator. “This became a stand-alone form of international exchange after the pandemic eased. It just continues, and it’s developed and expanded around the world.
COIL has been available at BSU for three years. And it’s more than simple Zoom calls between BSU students and those from other countries. While online communication tools are central to COIL, much work goes on behind the scenes. BSU professors connect with international peers, design the student experience and content, define student-learning goals, create activities to promote student collaborations and monitor student progress.
Dr. Balconi said COIL can be used in any discipline and last anywhere from three to 15 weeks. It also promotes teamwork, as well as cross-cultural interactions and understanding. The COIL component can run the entire length of a course, or as a module of shorter duration.
As for the social justice and equity benefits of COIL, Dr. Balconi said, for starters, it can open doors for disadvantaged and minoritized students. There is no cost for COIL, making it easily accessible.
“By its nature, COIL is equitable because it provides this opportunity to engage with students in international exchanges regardless of the constraints that many students have, such as financial issues, health problems, family obligations, and many other constraints and barriers,” she said.
Indeed, it is not only an accessible alternative to study abroad, but that it democratizes the international possibilities at BSU. The cultural connections COIL provides allow students the chance to collaborate in heterogeneous teams. Further, fans say international studies show that COIL “has a relevant impact on the personal and academic development” of students, and that where it is well established, COIL “is valued by various stakeholders, including teachers, students and employers.”
While there is no substitute for an actual study abroad experience, the COIL alternative has much to offer, Dr. Balconi said.
“It’s still a great way to allow all students, including minority students, to practice crucial career-readiness skills, improve their intercultural competence and practice cross-cultural communication,” she said. “As we know, minority students are greatly underrepresented in study abroad, so COIL can help close that gap.”
Most semesters there are about 15 COIL projects around campus; last semester, 240 students participated in them. Dr. Balconi has two current courses where her students are regularly using COIL to connect with peers in Japan and Cambodia. Other nations BSU students have virtually collaborated with include South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Germany, England, and Trinidad and Tobago.
As COIL practices evolve, Dr. Balconi envisions more equity-minded features and benefits.
“If we look at COIL, there are still some ways to enhance the equity component,” she said. “For example, if we in the United States collaborate on a COIL project with an underdeveloped country, then maybe students could explore the traditional power dynamics at work… put aside stereotypes and express genuine curiosity about differences and really engage in these interactions in an equitable way.”
As COIL coordinator at BSU, Dr. Balconi welcomes faculty inquiries. She can be reached at abalconi@bridgew.edu