Presentation by Robert O'Dowd at the University of Limerick about the INTENT project

1. Robert O’Dowd
University of León, Spain

2.  Grandin & Hedderich :
 In reference to 21st century Engineering graduates “...the future belongs to
those who learn to work or team together with other groups without
regard to location, heritage, and national and cultural difference” (2009:
363).
 US Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan
2010:
 How we need to learn includes using the technology that professionals in
various disciplines use. Professionals routinely use the web and tools such
as wikis, blogs, and digital content for the research, collaboration, and
communication demanded in their jobs. ...For students, using these real-
world tools creates learning opportunities that allow them to grapple with
real-world problems…(2010b, p. vii).
 EHEA Ministerial Conference:
 We call on higher education institutions to develop other possibilities for
mobility such as virtual mobility and enable non-mobile students to have
an “international experience at home (2012: 5)

4.  Telecollaboration/ Online Intercultural Exchange
(OIE) involves virtual intercultural interaction and
collaboration between classes of Foreign Language
(FL) learners in geographically distant locations

5.  Future Primary-School teachers in Uni León
(B1 level) work with Students of Spanish in
Missouri, USA:
 Task 1: Upload a photo or video which tells
the other group something about your home
culture
 Task 2: Participate in two discussion forums
– one in English and one in Spanish.
 Task 3: Make a short video teaching your
partners some expressions in your language
 Task 4: In groups of four, create a blog with
images, text and links about an aspect of life
in Spain/USA. Post your reactions and some
language corrections to your American
partners’ blogs.
 Task 5: Write an essay reflecting on what
you have learned from the exchange.

9. Making short videos for their
partners…

10. Writing and designing blogs about their local
culture for a foreign audience

11.  My opinion about this Exchange is very positive; it has made me consider to
use it in my future English classes with my students. These months sharing
opinions have given us a very different view of the United States, which we had
idealized, and that, from this we have taken note that are not so different to our
countries and that American films us had deceived with respect to reality. The
most important thing I've learned in this Exchange has been not to judge a
society without first speak with one of its citizens…
 I really enjoyed meeting new people and talk with them. I think it
was a good experience. I also think that learning English with this
online exchange is fun for people who don’t like English and it is an
alternative way of learning English.

12. For Students: Development of FL competence,
For Students: Development of FL competence,
intercultural awareness, electronic literacies
intercultural awareness, electronic literacies
For University Educators: Opening up of classroom /
For University Educators: Opening up of classroom /
Authentic communication and project work /
Authentic communication and project work /
Developing international network of collaborators
Developing international network of collaborators
For Mobility Officers: Preparation for physical
For Mobility Officers: Preparation for physical
mobility/ Alternative to physical mobility
mobility/ Alternative to physical mobility
For University Management: ‘Low cost’
For University Management: ‘Low cost’
internationalisation strategy / Opening up new
internationalisation strategy / Opening up new
university partnerships
university partnerships

14. INTENT
Integrating Telecollaborative Networks Into Foreign
Language Higher Education
Financed By The European Commission - Lifelong Learning
Programme
October 2011-March 2014
 Objectives:
 Establish a clear overview of the
use of telecollaboration in
European HE and identify practical
barriers to the take-up of
telecollaboration.
 Develop a set of tools,
telecollaborative models and
partner networks to overcome
barriers and facilitate
telecollaboration practice.
 Develop a set of workable solutions
to address the lack of academic
integration in Europe.

16.  Online surveys from December 2011 - February 2012
 Language versions: English, German, French and Italian
 Three surveys:
 Experienced teacher telecollaborators (102 responses)
 Inexperienced teacher telecollaborators (108 responses)
 Experienced student telecollaborators (131 responses)
 Qualitative Case studies:
 7 representative examples of telecollaboration around Europe
 Aims:
 Identify types of telecollaborative practices undertaken by
European university educators
 Explore the barriers to telecollaboration and the strategies used to
overcome these barriers

18.  In your opinion, what are the reasons why
telecollaborative exchange is not more popular in
university education?
 __________________________________
 (Mentioned by 49/ 98 practitioners)
 __________________________________
 (Mentioned by 28 / 98 practitioners)
 __________________________________
 (Mentioned by 20/ 98 practitioners)
 __________________________________
 (Mentioned by 19 / 98 practitioners)
 __________________________________
 (Mentioned by 9/ 98 practitioners)

19.  In your opinion, what are the reasons why telecollaborative exchange is
not more popular in university education?
 Time necessary to set up and run exchanges
 (Mentioned 49/ 98 practitioners)
 Difficulties in integration & assessment due to institutional requirements
 (Mentioned by 28 / 98 practitioners)
 Lack of pedagogical knowledge about how to run and integrate
exchanges
 (Mentioned by 20/ 98 practitioners)
 Teachers lack e-literacies/ required technological knowledge
 (Mentioned by 19 / 98 practitioners)
 Difficulty in finding appropriate partners
 (Mentioned by 9/ 98 practitioners)

20. • Because teachers are not trained and insitutions are not aware
of its potential and of teachers’ needs. Those teachers who are
carrying out innovative teaching practice are not in a position
of power and cannot make decisions which impact on their
institution.
• First, it is difficult to organize such exchanges at institutional
level. Second, the idea sounds interesting, but the teachers
involved need to dedicate much time and energy to the
exchange, so finally they won't do it. Third, the student's
motivation won't last long since it is not a credited course.
• It is essential to find a partner with similar aims, able to adapt
programs to different institutional expectations (amount of
homework done by students for example), willing to adapt to
technical disturbances (network disturbances, computer
crashes), and to some extent lose or share control of class
dynamics. The partners must build a program that satifies
needs, levels and interests of both classes.

22.  What are practitioners doing to overcome these
barriers and to ensure successful, on-going
exchanges which involve recognition of teachers
and students’ work?
 Case studies of practitioners in
 Trinity College, Dublin
 Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
 The University of Padua, Italy
 University of Manchester, UK
 Arhus Universitet, Denmark
 University of Riga, Latvia
 University of Warwick, UK

24.  Telecollaboration is not only for ‘pure’ language students –
Engineering students in Sweden, Business Studies students in Trinity,
Dublin
 Senior Management – view OIE as a positive international activity
but are often unwilling to provide adequate staff and technical
support
 OIE can contribute to educators’ academic careers – new academic
networks, staff mobility – e.g. Riga & Grenoble / Warwick &
Clermont sign ‘Memory of Understanding’
 No ‘one size fits all’ -Different levels of integration are possible:
 Claivier at Warwick takes place independently of academic
courses
 SpEakWise at Trinity is integrated into a course but does not carry
credit
 Manchester and Latvia – course marks are based completely on
OIE activity

25.  Sign written contracts with participating partner classes – provide
security to include exchanges in study guides etc.
 Ensure that students see relevance and value of exchanges – e.g.
through providing academic credit for OIE
 Try to maintain steady partners - Functioning partnerships gather
momentum
 Ensure awareness and support of department heads – If
necessary, coordinating staff can be replaced
 Raise prestige and awareness through press releases and prize
winning (e.g. Trinity award)
 Ensure internal department collaboration and sharing of good
practices (e.g. Padova – tool sharing)

26.  ‘Loose networks’ of partners are gaining in popularity
 TransAtlantic Network (Translation students around Europe &
technical writing students in USA)
 Soliya – Connects students from 100 HEI’s in 27 countries in
Western-Eastern dialogue
 Cultura – bilingual bicultural exchanges through comparative task
types
 AUSJAL DUAL IMMERSION PROJECT - 21 Jesuit universities
from eight different countries in North and South America
 Byram’s Intercultural Citizenship project – 25 practitioners looking
for partners to carry out a project on intercultural citizenship
Advantages:
 Common themes of interest
 Not obliged to work with same partner constantly - flexibility
 Activities, solutions and ideas are shared and developed

28.  Contact and suggestions welcome:
 robert.odowd@unileon.es
 Read our Report on Telecollaboration in Europe:
 www.intent-project.eu
 Upcoming platform for collaboration and networking:
 www.uni-collaboration.eu
 This report and its related project have been funded
with support from the European Commission. This
report reflects the views only of the authors, and the
Commission cannot be held responsible for any use
which may be made of the information contained
therein.

29. Name of Exchange Participating Institutions Student Profile
The SW-US Exchange Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Engineering students in Sweden and
Sweden & Clemson University, South Carolina, English students in the USA
USA
SpEakWise Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland & University of Students of German and Business
Hildesheim, Germany studies in Ireland and students of
International Information Management
and of International Communication in
Germany
Telecollaboration at The University of Padua, Italy & various partner Students of foreign languages in Italy
Padua universities and telecollaborative networks with students from various study
backgrounds
V-PaL University of Manchester, UK & Universities of Students of Modern Languages in the UK
Cagliari and Macareta, Italy and in Italy
The Trans-Atlantic Vasa Universitet, Finland; Università degli Studi Students of Translation Studies in the
Network di Trieste and Università degli Studi di Padova, European institutions and students of
Italy; Université Paris—Denis Diderot, France; technical writing in the American
Århus Universitet, Denmark; Hogeschool Gent, institutions
Belgium; North Dakota State University and
University of Wisconsin, USA
Le Francais en University of Riga, Latvia & University of Students of French in Latvia with
Premiere Ligne Grenoble, France students of foreign language education
in France
The Claivier Project Université Balise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, Students of Sports Sciences in France
France & University of Warwick, UK and students of various undergraduate
degrees in the UK