The document discusses the ENVOIE project at the University of Groningen, which aims to promote online international exchange (OIE) as an institutional practice. 11 courses across different faculties participated in OIE projects, with tasks including comparing carbon footprints between countries and developing collaborative research projects. Initial results found that technology support is critical, intercultural skills need more emphasis, and OIE should be better integrated into learning outcomes and assessment. The university aims to continue funding OIE and establish permanent support structures.

1. 1|10-04-2018faculty of arts envoie
Cross-disciplinary application of OIE
From strategy to implementation - first project results
UNICollaboration Conference, Krakow 24 April 2018
Sake Jager
Nadine Boon
University of Groningen

2. 2|10-04-2018
Outline
› Introduction to ENVOIE project
› Background UG:
▪ Internationalisation
▪ Blended learning
› Project rationale
› Implementation strategy
› Examples of projects
› Tasks and experiences
› Results completed projects (teacher and student experiences)
› First lessons learnt
› Continuation

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About ENVOIE
› ENVOIE
▪ Enabling Virtual Online
International Exchange
▪ www.rug.nl/envoie
▪ Teaching and learning innovation
project, University of Groningen (NL)
▪ September 2017-December 2018
› Promote OIE as institutional practice
▪ Tool for educational innovation
▪ Tool for internationalisation
› Participation:
▪ 11 disciplines (courses)
▪ Arts, Economics and Business, Spatial Sciences, Behavioural and Social Sciences,
Theology and Religious Sciences, University College Groningen
› Support:
▪ Multidisciplinary support team
▪ Central university level and faculty level

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Internationalisation at UG
› International university:
▪ International programmes
(100+ English-taught MA, PhD; 20+ BA courses)
▪ Student mobility (5000 international students)
▪ Strategic partners and networks
▪ International branch campus in China (plan)
› Focus on:
▪ Internationalisation at home
▪ Internationalisation of the curriculum
▪ Shift from “nearly exclusive focus on mobility for the elite to a focus on curriculum and
learning outcomes for all students, mobile or not” (De Wit and Leask 2015, p. xi)
▪ Internationalisation must be integrated at task and assessment level, requires teacher
professional development
› International Classroom project (rug.nl/internationalclassroom):
▪ Aim: to set up forms of “Inclusive, activated learning in which we use diversity as a resource
through purposeful interaction, based on a program vision on internationalization, aligned in
a meaningful curriculum design with internationalized learning outcomes”
▪ Implement IC in each faculty
▪ Regular workshops and seminars by Betty Leask, Darla Deardorff, Janet Bennett

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Blended learning at UG
› Actively promoted,
but term BL not used
▪ Every course in Blackboard
▪ Strategic budget for technology
Innovation
(c. 8 m. Euros 2016-2020)
› In support of UG strategic
plan for teaching and learning innovation
▪ Focus: Active Learning, Collaborative Learning, Assessment
› e-Learning / Blended learning:
▪ Hardly considered as option for internationalisation
▪ Cf. survey European University Association (Gaebel, Kupriyanova, Morais, &
Colucci, 2014), cited in De Wit (2016)

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Rationale ENVOIE
› Make OIE better known:
▪ OIE niche activity in UG
▪ Successful implementation in some language programmes
› Use potential for:
▪ Innovative learning across disciplines
▪ Multiple perspectives on content (cross-disciplinary, social justice, intercultural
understanding)
▪ Global competences (Intercultural competences, foreign language skills, digital
skills, collaboration / 21st c skills)
› Address well-known problems:
▪ Integration in curriculum
▪ Pedagogical and technical support
▪ Teacher time
› Strengthen partnerships
▪ Existing/new partnerships
▪ Initiatives at teacher and student level
› Initiate new forms of cross-disciplinary research

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Implementation strategy: Introduction
› Consider institutional dimension (vision, support, training, professional
development) (Jager 2009)
› Balance bottom-up initiatives and top-down steering and facilitation
› Adoption and implementation framework of blended learning Porter et al (2014):
▪ OIE is in stage 1:
Awareness/exploration: Institutional awareness of and limited support for individual
faculty exploring ways in which they may employ BL techniques in their classes
› Porter et al (2014) distinguish:
▪ Strategy: Addresses issues relating to the overall design of BL, such as definition of BL,
forms of advocacy, degree of implementation, purposes of BL, and policies surrounding it
▪ Structure: Addresses issues relating to the technological, pedagogical, and
administrative framework facilitating the BL environment, including governance,
models, scheduling structures, and evaluation
▪ Support: Addresses issues relating to the manner in which an institution facilitates the
implementation and maintenance of its BL design, incorporating technical support,
pedagogical support, and faculty incentives
› Reference to aspects Porter et al (2014) in overview of Implementation actions

8. 8|10-04-2018
Implementation strategy: Actions
› Invitations to university educators, pedagogy
and eLearning supporters, international officers:
▪ Explanation of what OIE is - Online
International Exchange, not Online
Intercultural Exchange (definition)
▪ Why it might be relevant to participate
(purpose)
› Meetings with stakeholders, including
administrators / managers
▪ Presentation of idea (definition)
▪ Assure faculty commitment in staff and
own funding (advocacy, governance)
› OIE Intake forms
▪ Contact, information about course and
partner course, duration and period for
exchange
▪ Use existing partnerships / collaborations
as point of departure
▪ Envisaged tasks, competences and learning
outcomes targeted, integration and
assessment (purpose)
› Set up multidisciplinary support teams
(pedagogical and technical support)
▪ Educational designers, teacher trainers,
intercultural competence trainers,
eLearning supporters, international
officers
▪ Specific support for each project
▪ Support at faculty level, central level
› Time release for teachers (incentives)
▪ 120 hrs per project
› Training for participating teachers
(professional development)
▪ Assistance in task design and assessment;
constructive alignment
▪ Workshop on Intercultural Competence
▪ Workshop on OIE by UNICollaboration
trainers
› Evaluation each OIE project (evaluation)
▪ Student evaluation, for UG and partners
▪ Teacher interview after completion
Text in italics = critical aspects of adoption following Porter et al (2014)

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Implementation strategy: Actions (cont’d)
› Steering committee (governance,
advocacy)
▪ Vice-dean responsible for education
▪ Director of studies
▪ Head of teacher professional
development
▪ Professor educational innovation
▪ International classroom coordinator
› Dissemination (advocacy, definition):
▪ Project website: www.rug.nl/envoie
▪ Team site (sharing information
between projects, e.g. learning
outcomes)
▪ Meetings with faculty stakeholders,
planned (advocacy)
▪ Meetings with project team
(developing vision and long-term
implementation framework)

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Cross-disciplinary participation
› 11 courses in 6 faculties
▪ Arts
- Euroculture
- Multilingualism
- History
- European Languages and Cultures (2)
▪ Behavioural and Social Sciences
- Environmental Psychology
- Child Abuse and Neglect
▪ Economics and Business
▪ Spatial Sciences
▪ Theology and Religious Studies
▪ University College Groningen
› Sustained interaction
› Task sequence (O’Dowd & Waire, 2009)
▪ Information exchange - Comparison and analysis -
Collaborative tasks

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Examples of tasks
› Analyse child welfare in the Netherlands and Mexico
› Setting up an art project to prevent burn-outs among
hospital employees
› Discussing and reflecting on death rituals in different
cultures
› Design virtual collections of museum artefacts with
students from Uppsala and Durham
› Students from Groningen, Krakow and Bilbao develop,
implement, evaluate a research project together

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Tasks and experiences
Environmental Psychology
› Master, 80 students
› Real-life questions & working
in international and
interdisciplinary teams
› Comparing carbon footprint
in the USA and Netherlands
▪ Intervention for reducing
footprint
› One online meeting
(Skype/Google Hangouts)
› Difficulties with meeting
online
Economics and Business
› Bachelor, elective honours, 5
students
› Gain experience as consultant
› Students act as business
consultant in Indonesia
▪ Virtual team
▪ Writing report detailing
feasibility of solution
› WeChat
› Already existing teams in
Indonesia
▪ Dutch students were
minority and felt
discriminated

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Reflections of an International Business student

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Tasks and experiences
Cultural Geography
› Bachelor, 40 students
› Improving research proposal
› Interview with local students
→ Chicago ‘experts’
▪ Preparation for fieldwork
› Two video-conferences
› Informal talks were
informative for intercultural
experiences
Scandinavian Literature
› Bachelor, 7 students
› Different perspectives
(Chinese and Swedish) and
more in-depth knowledge on
world literature, genres and
cultural transfer
› Introductions via Padlet
› WeChat
› Three video-conferences
› In progress
▪ “Warming-up” assignment
finished

15. 15|10-04-2018
Perceptions of difference (Cultural Geography)
› Mainly similarities: “We’re all students”
› But, also:
“I don’t find really big differences [...]
Although it seems that the way they
present themselves (clothes,
location etc.) was more informal and
maybe even a bit sloppy.”
“The word “like” is used
a lot by our American
counterparts. The
confirm to American
stereotypes in their way
of speaking. Very
friendly, almost a bit too
friendly for a ‘nuchtere
Groninger’ (down-to-
earth), which confirms
to the American
stereotype.”
“Neither of our peers from DePaul seemed to
have seen much of Europe. Which made
their questions as to life here a little
depthless.”
I was expecting that at some
point our Dutch bluntness
would not be received well.
But we all for the most part
seemed cognizant of that
possibility and got along okay.
You do get a different
perspective on your own
culture. This influences the
way you look at your own
perspective. You notice it is to
great extent influenced by the
culture you grow up in. we
think guns are bad, they think
guns are essential for
protecting their homes.

16. 16|10-04-2018

17. 17|10-04-2018
First lessons learnt
› Collaboration should be necessary to complete the task
› Technology choice and support is critical for success
› In case course coordinator ≠ instructor, more effort to
organise
› Global competences often implicit:
▪ Intercultural skills
▪ Language competences
▪ Digital literacy
▪ Language educators more used to making these explicit than other
disciplines
› Focus on:
▪ Preparing students for intercultural learning before exchange
▪ Making students reflect and link to classroom work
▪ Integrating intercultural learning at programme level
▪ Making the interaction sustained

18. 18|10-04-2018
Conclusions
› Exchanges bring out aspects of intercultural learning
› Students should be made aware of the opportunities for
international learning
▪ Exchanges should not be ‘mere’ transactions
› The exchange projects should be aligned with learning
outcomes, tasks and assessment at programme level
› There is an interest in further exploring the potential of
OIE / VE for global learning
▪ Teachers are positive; want to continue or extend
› A common vision or strategy for implementing OIE / VE
should be developed

19. 19|10-04-2018
Continuation
› Continue ENVOIE
▪ Find more funding for continuing
and extending OIE in UG
▪ Establish more permanent
support structure
› Provide training through EVOLVE:
www.evolve-erasmus.eu
› Invite educators to participate
in external programmes run
through
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange:
https://europa.eu/youth/erasmusvirtual_en

20. 20|10-04-2018
References
De Wit, H., & Leask, B. (2015). Foreword: Internationalization, the curriculum and the disciplines. In W. Green
& C. Whitsed (Eds.), Critical perspectives on internationalising the curriculum and the disciplines:
Reflective narrative accounts from Business, Education and Health (pp. ix–xv). Dordrecht:
SensePublishers.
De Wit, H. (2016). Internationalisation and the Role of Online Intercultural Exchange. In R. O’Dowd & T. Lewis
(Eds.), Online intercultural exchange: policy, pedagogy, practice (pp. 69-82). New York: Routledge.
O’Dowd, R. & Waire, P. (2009). Critical issues in telecollaborative task design, Computer Assisted Language
Learning, 22(2), 173-188. DOI: 10.1080/09588220902778369
O’Dowd, R. (2016). Emerging Trends and New Directions in Telecollaborative Learning. CALICO Journal,
33(3), 291–310. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v33i3.30747
Porter, W., Graham, C., Spring, K., & Welch, K. (2014). Blended learning in higher education: Institutional
adoption and implementation. Computers & Education, 75, 185-195.
https://doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2014.02.011
Richardson, S. (2015). Cosmopolitan Learning for a Global Era: Higher Education in an Interconnected World.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315871004

21. 21|10-04-2018
Thank you!
Thank you for your attention!
Sake Jager: s.jager@rug.nl
www.rug.nl/staff/s.jager
Nadine Boon: n.a.boon@rug.nl