This document discusses telecollaboration as a way for university students to gain intercultural skills even if they are not mobile. Telecollaboration involves virtual collaborative projects between distant classes guided by educators. It develops language skills and intercultural competence. Examples provided include classes in different countries collaborating online or interacting before study abroad. Resources like UNICollaboration.eu can help teachers find partners and training for telecollaboration projects.

1. What is Telecollaboration?
How can your university get started?
Robert O'Dowd
Universidad de León,
Spain
robert.odowd@unileon.es

2. In 2020, at least 20% of those graduating in the European Higher Education
Area should have had a study or training period abroad.
(Communiqué of the Conference of European Ministers Responsible for
Higher Education, Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve, 28-29 April 2009)
But what happens to the remaining 80%?
European Commission Report: “European Higher Education in the world”:
Higher education policies must …ensure that the large majority of
learners who are not mobile… are nonetheless able to acquire the
international skills required in a globalised world (2013:6)”

3. Telecollaboration: Intercultural Online Collaborative
Learning in the classroom
Telecollaboration involves virtual
intercultural interaction and
collaboration projects between
classes in geographically distant
locations under the guidance of
educators.
What’s in a name?
•Virtual Exchange
•COIL (Collaborative Online
International Learning) -
•OIE (Online Intercultural Exchange)
•eTandem, eTwinning

4. Telecollaboration –
Online Intercultural
Exchange
Develops intercultural
competence, FL skills and
e-literacies
Internationalisation of the
classroom
Authentic Intercultural
Experiences for
non-mobile
students

5. Different set-ups which Telecollaboration can take
1. A Class of learners in Germany carry out collaborative tasks online
with a class of learners in Ireland – using German and English
2. A class of students in Spain collaborate online with a class in USA.
This is combined with week-long study visits by both groups to partner
universities.
3. Before leaving on mobility programmes to the UK, students from
Italy are ‘matched’ and interact online with British students
planning to travel to Italy.

6. Example 1: A Bilingual Exchange between Foreign Language
Learners

7. Example 2: Sharing Perspectives: Content & Exchange
http://www.sharingperspectivesfoundation.com/

8. Example 3: Virtual International Partners (VIPs)
• Students planning Erasmus
mobility are ‘matched’ with
partners in country of
destination
• They interact with their partners
based on task-sheets provided
by International Office.
• They submit final report on
exchange.
• Credit given in Erasmus
application form

9. Where can your teachers find partners and get training in
telecollaboration?

10. UNICollaboration.eu
The Home of Telecollaborative Exchange for University Classrooms

11. If you choose ‘classes’ then you’ll be able to search or browse a list of
classes which are interested in taking part in online exchange projects...

12. To learn more about how online exchanges work:
Click on the ‘Training’ tab in the top menu bar. Here you’ll find accounts of
different exchanges (‘Sample projects’) and information on how to set up and
run an exchange (‘Training modules’)

14. Interested in finding out more about
telecollaboration…
• Contact:
– robert.odowd@unileon.es
– See this presentation again: http://www.slideshare.net/dfmro
• Read our Report on Telecollaboration in Europe:
– http://www.scoop.it/t/intent-project-news
– INTENT Project news: http://www.scoop.it/t/intent-project-news