Collaborative Online International Learning
COIL at FIT
COIL is Virtual Exchange, and it provides faculty and students an opportunity to interact with international peers, from their home campus. COIL gives faculty new experiences in co-teaching and research and students the opportunity to gain global awareness and intercultural competencies in cross-cultural teamwork and intercultural communication.
In COIL courses, faculty from two countries and often from different disciplines, co-teach and work together in a virtual environment from their respective campuses. COIL faculty develop shared syllabus and lessons based upon solid academic coursework emphasizing experiential and collaborative student learning. Collaborations range from 4 to 12 weeks and may be fully online or offered in blended formats through the use of virtual exchange and online technologies.
The SUNY COIL Center is a leader in the emerging field of collaborative online international learning. The COIL Center has developed an approach to fostering faculty and student exchange through the co-taught multicultural online and blended learning coursework, linking classrooms around the world.
The COIL Center is a unit of SUNY Global at the State University of New York. Visit the SUNY COIL Center's website above for more information.
A new iKudu COIL Handbook has been published by the iKudu Project (2024). The iKudu project was a capacity building project funded by the European Commission, as a Capacity Building in Higher Education project. It was cofounded by the ten consortium partners, five from South Africa and five from Europe. It focused on transforming curricula through internationalisation and virtual exchanges. The project transcended traditional power relations in North-South partnerships by establishing structures which enable equal co-creation of knowledge as well as education and professional development methods. At the heart of the iKudu project was the advancement of contextualised curriculum internationalisation within the broader discourse of transformation, using Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as a specific virtual exchange approach to achieve such.
SUNY COIL Professional Development Workshops
Training to develop and implement a COIL course at FIT is available from the SUNY COIL Center and also on campus. SUNY COIL training includes the suite of three online workshops: COIL Foundations, COIL Elements, and COIL Design. Unless otherwise noted, all online workshops are three weeks in duration, conducted asynchronously, with one hour weekly synchronous meetings. These are interactive workshops requiring 2-4 hours of work per week.
COIL Foundations
Highly effective COIL collaborations require an active learning approach that supports students’ online professionalism, project management and development of intercultural skills. COIL Foundations provides tools that you can use to develop and facilitate a successful and rewarding COIL collaboration for you and your students. You will examine issues of culture, language, virtual team building, partnership and the importance of reflection to develop skills. The workshop will specifically address how to support students’ intercultural skills online, considerations for finding and maintaining a strong relationship with your COIL teaching partner, when and how to use reflection activities, options and approaches to bridging language differences, and how to approach team building and developing trust.
COIL Elements
COIL opens a world of possibilities for active, applied, collaborative activities that interest and motivate students while invigorating your teaching practice. Making good design choices for your COIL Collaboration takes careful consideration and an open mind. Preparing students to work with peers in another country online can enrich the experience and help ensure its success. The COIL Elements workshop explores what makes a compelling COIL Collaboration, roles of students and professors, online behavior, creating active student teams, matching technology choices to activity design, preparing students for COIL, and developing your COIL resource bank.
COIL Design
You’ve found your partner, you’ve considered your options, and now you’re ready to design your COIL Collaboration. The COIL Design workshop will walk you and your teaching partner through each part of the development process. At the end of the workshop you should have a blueprint of your COIL Collaboration, ready for implementation. Topics will include COIL pedagogy and flow, developing common and course-specific goals, setting expectations for partners and students, logistical aspects, designing your COIL activities, assessment, and troubleshooting. This workshop will bring together topics from COIL Foundations and COIL Elements and apply them to your particular COIL Collaboration. Both teaching partners should take the COIL Design workshop at the same time.
To discuss interest and confirm registration, contact Dr. Helen Gaudette at [email protected]or in the Office of International Programs, Business & Liberal Arts Center, Room B119.
Current FIT Faculty Members Teaching with COIL
EOP Pre-College Summer Program part-time faculty and Professor Taur Orange worked with professors from Fluminese Federal University (UFF), in Brazil.
They had to wait until a strike at Brazilian federal universities was over! Students then connectd for 2 weeks of asynchronous communication in Padlet followed by a synchronous session pairing with the local PULE Program, focusing on foreign language teaching for students.
The theme of this year’s project was to approach local community action, student political agency and impact. Members shared their local work, activism and arts. As part of the asynchronous activities, each student picked a song that had a special meaning to them concerning their local communities, heritage, or social challenges faced by them. At the end of the COIL, they compiled a Spotify playlist for all students to listen to and have a little reminder about what we approached and the people they met through COIL.
Robin Baxter: FM144-202 Product Knowledge; Partner: Juliana Sissons; Partner Institution: Nottingham Trent University, UK
Nurhayat Bilge: EN 245 - Intercultural Communication; Partner: Eva Haug; Partner Institution: Amsterdam School of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam), The Netherlands
Larry Delson: IN313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Virginia Bonofiglio: CM 423 - Cosmetic and Fragrance Product Development Workshop; Partner: Pinky Bazaz; Partner Institution: Nottingham Trent University
Kyunghee Pyun: HA 271- Japanese Art and Civilization and HA 383 - Art of the Silk Road: Cross Cultural Encounters; Partner: Ruiling Feng, Tianjin Normal University, China
Larry Delson: IN 313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
In July 2022, four EOP Pre-College Summer Program part-time faculty and Professor Taur Orange worked with professors from Fluminese Federal University (UFF), in Brazil, to talk about language, higher education, different cultures, values and identity.
Robin Baxter: FM 144-202 - Product Knowledge; Partner: Juliana Sissons; Partner Institution: Nottingham Trent University, UK
Larry Delson: IN 313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Delphine Horvath: CM 423 - Cosmetic and Fragrance Product Development Workshop; Partner: Pinky Bazaz; Partner Institution: Nottingham Trent University
Yoko Katagiri: SS 244 - Fashion Economics: Partner: Yoko Sugimae: Partner Institution: Professional Institute of International Fashion, Japan
Marianne Klimchuk and Sandy Krasovec: PK 319 -Packaging Design Studio II; Partner Institution: ESEPAC, France
Larry Delson: IN 313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
In July 2021, four EOP Pre-College Summer Program part-time faculty and Professor Robin Baxter worked with professors from Fluminese Federal University (UFF), in Brazil, to talk about language, higher education, different cultures, values and identity.
Nurhayat Bilge: EN 245 - Intercultural Communication; Partner: Eva Haug; Partner Institution: Amsterdam School of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam), The Netherlands
Larry Delson: IN313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Praveen Chaudhry: SS 151 - Introduction to World Affairs; Partner: Dr. Céline Merheb; Partner Institution: American University of Technology, Lebanon
Steven Cutting: FF113 - Fashion Art; Partner: Sofia Esqueda; Partner Institution: Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA), Venezuela.
Larry Delson: IN313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Yuni Kawamura: SS374-OL1 - Cross Cultural Studies; Partner: Simona Maria Segre-Reinach; Partner Institution: Bologna University, Italy
Kyunghee Pyun: HA 214 - Art in New York; Partner: Angelica Sterling; Partner Institution: Universidad del Caribe, Mexico, and HA211 - Asian American Art and Design; Partner: Ruiling Feng, Tianjin Normal University, China
Nurhayat Bilge: EN 245 - Intercultural Communication; Partner: Eva Haug; Partner Institution: Amsterdam School of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam), The Netherlands
Larry Delson: IN313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Kyunghee Pyun: HA271 - Japanese Art and Civilization, Partner: Ruiling Feng, Tianjin Normal University, China
Steven Cutting: FF161 - Fashion Art Studio; Partner: Sofia Esqueda; Partner Institution: Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA), Venezuela
Larry Delson: IN313 - International Business Transactions; Partner: Guadalupe Arredondo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico
Yuni Kawamura: SS376 - Clothing and Society; Partner Simona Maria Segre-Reinach; Partner Institution: Bologna University, Italy
Kyunghee Pyun: HA229 - Korean Art and Civilization; Partner: Ruiling Feng, Partner Institution: Tianjin Normal University (TJNU), China
Praveen Chaudhry: SS 151 - Introduction to World Affairs; Partner: Dr. Céline Merheb; Partner Institution: American University of Technology, Lebanon
Marianne Klimchuk and Sandy Krasovec: PK 319 -Packaging Design Studio II; Partner Institutions: Politecnico di Milano, Italy and Instituto Superior de Diseño, Cuba
Nobuko Kodama: JA223 - Japanese Conversation II; Partner: Elvita Wiasih, Partner Institution: Kansai University, Japan. Kansai University was awarded the Japanese government grant "Inter-University Exchange Project" using the COIL pedagogy.
Kyunghee Pyun: HA271 - Japanese Art and Civilization: Partner: Ruiling Feng, Partner Institution: Tianjin Normal University (TJNU), China and HA204 - History of East Asian Costume: Partner: Sara Xiaodan Guo; Partner Institution: Tianjin Normal University (TJNU), China
Vincene Collura: FF111 - Visual Concepts 1 taught at SUNY KOREA; Partner: Benigno Pena Ramos; Partner Institution: Universidad De Monterrey, Mexico
Steven Cutting: FF161 - Fashion Art Studio; Partner: Pitti Palacios; Partner Institution: Duoc UC, Chile
Susanne Goetz: TD313 - Advanced Photoshop and Illustrator and in TD203 Textile Arts in India; Partner for both: Antonio Maurizio Grioli; Partner Institution: Pearl Academy, India
Kyunghee Pyun: HA229 - Korean Art and Civilization; Partner: Sara Xiaodan Guo; Partner Institution: Tianjin Normal University (TJNU), China and HA211 - Asian American Art and Design; Partner: Angelica Sterling; Partner Institution: Universidad del Caribe, Mexico
Joseph Antee: FM 424 - Global Merchandising; Partner: Thomai Papathanasiou (Textile Design); Partner Institution: Universidad De Monterrey, Mexico
Praveen Chaudhry: SS 151 - Introduction to World Affairs; Partner: Dr. Céline Merheb; Partner Institution: American University of Technology, Lebanon
Kyunghee Pyun: HA271 - Japanese Art and Civilization: Partner: Ruiling Feng, Partner Institution: Tianjin Normal University (TJNU), China and HA311 - Medieval Art: Partner: Yinjie Li, Partner Institution: TJNU, China and HA221 - East Asian Art and Civilization: Partner: Shoko Nagata, Partner Institution: Kansai University, Japan and HA211 - Asian American Art and Design; Partner: Angelica Sterling; Partner Institution: Universidad del Caribe, Mexico
Joseph Antee: FM 424 - Global Merchandising; Partner: Thomai Papathanasiou (Textile Design); Partner Institution: Universidad De Monterrey, Mexico
Praveen Chaudhry: SS 354 - Comparative Political Systems; Partner: Shoko Nagata; Partner Institution: Kansai University, Japan
Kyunghee Pyun: HA229 - Korean Art and Civilization; Partner: Yingjie Li; Partner Institution: Tianjin Normal University (TJNU), China and HA211 - Asian American Art and Design; Partner: Angelica Sterling; Partner Institution: Universidad del Caribe, Mexico
Joseph Antee: FM 424 - Global Merchandising; Partner: Thomai Papathanasiou (Textile Design); Partner Institution: Universidad De Monterrey, Mexico
Praveen Chaudhry: SS 151 - Introduction to World Affairs; Partner: Dr. Céline Merheb; Partner Institution: American University of Technology, Lebanon
Emre Ozsoz: SS 394 - Global Financial Markets; Partner: Neveen Ahmad; Partner Institution: American University of Cairo, Egypt
Kyunghee Pyun: HA 271 - Japanese Art and Culture; Partner: Ruiling Feng; Partner Institution: Tianjin
Normal University (TJNU), China and
HA 221.OLI - East Asian Art and Civilization; Partner: Shoko Nagata; Partner Institution: Kansai
University, Japan
Sean Sullivan: CG 251 - Basic Editing; Partner: David Van Ginhoven; Partner Institution: The Hague University, The Netherlands
Renee Cooper: FBM Leadership Online; Partner: Jorge Salcedo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM), Mexico
Kyunghee Pyun: HA211 - Asian American Art and Design; Partner: Angelica Sterling; Partner Institution: Universidad del Caribe, Mexico
Renee Cooper: FBM Leadership Online; Partner: Jorge Salcedo; Partner Institution: Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM), Mexico
Sean Sullivan: CG 251 - Basic Editing; Partner: David Van Ginhoven; Partner Institution: The Hague University, The Netherlands