1. An Introduction to COIL,
Collaborative Online
International Learning
Sarah Guth
Program Coordinator for International Collaborations
SUNY COIL Center

2. What is COIL?
Collaborative Online International Learning is not a technology, but a new
teaching and learning paradigm that aims to develop intercultural awareness and
competence across shared multi-cultural online learning environments.
COIL bring students and teachers in geographically distant locations, from
different lingua-cultural backgrounds together.
The COIL model does not merely promote courses where students from different
countries share an online classroom. Rather, it aims to create co-equal teamtaught learning environments where teachers from two cultures work together to
develop a shared syllabus, emphasizing experiential and collaborative student
learning. The courses give new contextual meaning to the ideas and texts they
explore.
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3. COIL-like terms
2003
2006
2007
2008
2013
• Telecollaboration (Belz)
• collaborative online international learning (Rubin & Wilson)
• virtual mobility (VM-BASE)
• online intercultural exchange (O’Dowd)
• globally networked learning (Starke-Meyerring & Wilson)
• exchange 2.0 (Soliya, iEarn, Global Nomads)
3

4. Goals of the SUNY COIL Center
The SUNY COIL Center’s Mission Statements:
•
To Encourage and support the development and implementation of collaborative
online international courses around SUNY and the world
•
To build bridges between the instructional design, international programs and
teaching faculty communities
•
To promote, integrate and enhance international education experiences across the
curriculum
Focus on Student-to-Student Interactions promote:
•
experiential & collaborative student learning
•
learning course content through one’s own
and others’ unique cultural lenses
•
development of intercultural awareness and
online communicative competence
•
opportunities to build diverse personal relationships
•
experience working in multicultural virtual teams
4

5. COIL Courses
•
Use technology to bridge the distance between students around the world
•
Involve faculty working in partnership to bring their students together online
from two or more countries
•
Can be built from new or existing courses
•
Require teachers from each country to
develop a shared syllabus and design tasks and
activities that promote intercultural awareness
and collaboration
•
Do not require course with an international
specific focus
•
Are usually hybrid with a F2F component in each school and the COIL
component online
•
Last from 4-12 weeks
•
Can be from almost any discipline
5

6. Any Discipline
Agriculture
•
Dairy Production and Management
Belarus
Use technology to bridge the distance between students around the world
Business & Finance
Global Citizenship & Corporate Social Responsibility
Ghana
• Involve faculty working in partnership toConstruction Management
Engineering
International Collaborative bring their students together online Brazil
Turkey, Israel,
from two or more countries
Foreign Languages
Japanese and American Culture
Japan
• Can be built from Feminisms in Comparative Perspective
new or existing courses
Gender Studies
• Require teachers Religion and Conflict in Europe
from each country to
History
develop a sharedScience Fiction and Modern Society
syllabus and design tasks and
Literature
activities that promote intercultural awareness
Media Arts & Film
and collaboration Cross-Cultural Video Production
Music
Jazz! with an international
• Do not require courseBorn in America, Created Internationally
Performing Arts
Voice and Movement for Actors
specific focus
Mexico
Turkey
Germany
Belarus
S. Africa - Denmark
Australia
Political usually
European Politics
Belgium
• Are Science hybrid with a F2F component in each school and the COIL
Psychology
Early Childhood & Adolescence Education
England
component online
Social Work
Advanced Social Work Practice with Communities
• Last from 4-12 weeks
South Africa
Teacher be
Introduction to Exceptional Children Education
• CanEd from almost any discipline
Taiwan
Writing
Belize
Global English Composition
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7. Positive Feedback from Students
•
Enthusiasm
– I was honored to be a part of this pilot course and I firmly believe the collaboration
between the two universities should be continued. I think that there should be more
conferences under this course and they should be more extended.
•
Perspectives: see their own culture in a different light; a high level of
awareness of „self‟ and „other‟ and reflection on the experience.
– It was fascinating to see the different perspectives concerning the topics we discussed
in the course. It was interesting to see how we generalize our opinions while in reality
they might be just exclusive to us.
– It challenged me to think in new ways.
•
Skills
– language skills (I practiced my English in speech and writing)
– communicative competence (how to interact with strangers that live overseas and be
close friends with them)
– overcoming technophobia (I still hate technology but I have come away with a much
bigger realization of the world.)
•
Team teaching
– As a team the teachers were great. It was fun to watch them exchange ideas and
theories about a given piece of literature because their knowledge is so encyclopedic.
Individually, they are still excellent professors.
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8. Recommendations from Students
There was one keyword that appeared in the recommendations more
than any other: “more”. Students wanted more:
– time for collaborative work;
– months (2 semesters rather than one)
– time for class discussion
– time to talk with [the international] students mas interacciones
entre los alumnus
– video chats
– class time
– oral sessions
– comparisons between both cultures
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9. Impacts for Faculty
Professional development opportunity for faculty/staff
I gained new perspectives from my international partner from the
outset, as well as confidence in my own approach toward my students
at our institution.
I am more convinced than ever that, with proper institutional and
technical support, these collaborations are invaluable for students and
instructors around the world.
Particularly for students with limited opportunities to travel abroad, the
opportunity to share an educational experience with students from
other cultures and countries is very important.
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10. Impacts for Institutions
•
Creates goodwill and interest in campus among prospective exchange or
international students
•
Bring international experiences to wider range of students
•
New internationalization vector to meet strategic goals
•
Cost-effective pathway to internationalize curricula
•
Reduced administrative complexity
•
Students are usually enrolled, charged tuition, and awarded grades only
at their home institution.
•
Avenue to develop new partnerships
•
Option to invigorate new or moribund MOUs
•
Opportunity for Dual Degree student interactions
•
Can support existing education abroad programs
•
Increase student interest and comfort in studying abroad
•
Help better prepare students for going abroad
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11. What do COIL courses look like?
11

12. You can COIL any course
Discipline A
Film Studies
ESL
Civilization
Sequence
Discipline B
Interdisciplinary
Teacher Ed
Honors English US
Country
(LOI*) A
US (English)
Italy (EFL)
Lebanon (ESL)
Country
(LOI) B
Belarus
(Russian)
LEVEL A
Undergraduate
LEVEL B
Mixed
Turkey (Turkish)
Interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinary
Asynchronous
Synchronous & Asynchronous
Germany (ESL) US AsynchronousIsrael (Hebrew) &
(English)
Synchronous
Language Tutor – Language Learner
Video Exchange
Course created from
6-week module
Undergraduate Undergraduate scratch
Course created from Brazil (Portughese)
scratch
Graduate
Undergraduate Mixed
Asynch
Video
wiki
LMS
Discussion Forum/
File sharing
Synch
N/A
Skype
N/A
Video conferencing
LOI = Language of Instruction
Civil Engineering

13. You can COIL any course
Discipline A
Film Studies
ESL
Civilization
Sequence
Discipline B
Interdisciplinary
Teacher Ed
Honors English US
Country
(LOI*) A
US (English)
Italy (EFL)
Lebanon (ESL)
Country
(LOI) B
Belarus
(Russian)
Germany (ESL)
LEVEL A
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
LEVEL B
Mixed
Graduate
Turkey (Turkish)
Interdisciplinary
Asynchronous
SynchronousIsrael (Hebrew) &
& Asynchronous
US (English)
Synchronous
Language Tutor – Language Learner
Course created from
6-week module
Undergraduate Brazil (Portughese)
scratch
Undergraduate Mixed
Asynch
Video
wiki
LMS
Discussion Forum/
File sharing
Synch
N/A
Skype
N/A
Video conferencing
LOI = Language of Instruction
Civil Engineering

14. You can COIL any course
Discipline A
Film Studies
ESL
Civilization
Sequence
Discipline B
Interdisciplinary
Teacher Ed
Honors English US
Country
(LOI*) A
US (English)
Italy (EFL)
Lebanon (ESL)
Country
(LOI) B
Belarus
(Russian)
Germany (ESL)
LEVEL A
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
LEVEL B
Mixed
Graduate
Turkey (Turkish)
Interdisciplinary
Asynchronous
US (English)
Israel (Hebrew) &
Synchronous
Course created from
Undergraduate Brazil (Portughese)
scratch
Undergraduate Mixed
Asynch
Video
wiki
LMS
Discussion Forum/
File sharing
Synch
N/A
Skype
N/A
Video conferencing
LOI = Language of Instruction
Civil Engineering

15. You can COIL any course
Discipline A
Film Studies
ESL
Civilization
Sequence
Discipline B
Interdisciplinary
Teacher Ed
Honors English US
Country
(LOI*) A
US (English)
Italy (EFL)
Lebanon (ESL)
Turkey (Turkish)
Country
(LOI) B
Belarus
(Russian)
Germany (ESL)
US (English)
Israel (Hebrew)
LEVEL A
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate Brazil (Portughese)
LEVEL B
Mixed
Graduate
Undergraduate Mixed
Asynch
Video
wiki
LMS
Discussion Forum/
File sharing
Synch
N/A
Skype
N/A
Video conferencing
LOI = Language of Instruction
Civil Engineering

16. What Have We Learned
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17. Keys to Success
Partnerships
Learning
First
• Create close partnership between
faculty and technology and
international support on campus.
• Set clear educational goals and
objectives before planning the
technology to be used.
Relationships
• Build strong working relationships
with teams locally and abroad.
Flexibility
• Assess effectiveness and have
the flexibility to adjust as needed.
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18. Questions?
email
coilinfo@suny.edu