Online Conference
Key note: Virtual Exchange and Blended Mobility in European University Alliances: Opportunities and Challenges
Forms of online collaborative learning, such as Virtual Exchange and Blended Mobility, are becoming increasingly popular in European university education. Virtual Exchange (VE) refers to the numerous online learning initiatives and methodologies which engage learners in online collaborative learning and interaction with partners from different cultural backgrounds as part of their study programmes. Blended Mobility combines stages of online collaboration with short periods of physical mobility.
Although VE has been employed in foreign language education for over 25 years, it has received much greater attention since the recent COVID-19 pandemic and many practitioners are exploring its potential to develop intercultural competence and global citizenship in their classrooms (Porto, 2018; Ramirez, 2019; Trapé, 2018). In the context of European University Alliances, VE has enormous potential to promote opportunities for multilingual collaborative learning and exchange between partners and also to function as a complement and preparation for physical mobility programmes between member institutions (O’Dowd, 2023).
In this presentation I will use key publications from the literature to explore how VE and Blended Mobility can promote foreign language learning as well as global citizenship. I will also outline how VE and Blended Mobility can be integrated effectively into European University Alliances. Finally, I will reflect on the challenges educators face as we try to use this activity to deal with issues of diversity and inclusion and to establish equitable relationships with partners from other countries.
About the speaker
Rober O´Dowd is specialist in virtualexchange and blended mobility
Robert O’Dowd is full professor for English Studies at the Universidad de León, Spain. He has taught at universities in Ireland, Germany and Spain. He has published extensively on the application of Virtual Exchange in higher education and has coordinated 3 Erasmus+ projects, including the European Policy Experiment ‘Virtual Innovation and Support Networks for Teachers’ (VALIANT) (2021-2024).
He collaborates with organizations on the promotion and integration of Virtual Exchange in higher education and his most recent book is Internationalising Higher Education and the Role of Virtual Exchange (2023, Routledge). He was recently listed in Stanford University’s ‘Ranking of the World Scientists: World´s Top 2% Scientists’.
Date: 22 November, 2024
Time: 11:00 – 12:00 CET
Location: online (WebEX)
Target: language teaching and pedagogical staff working at any EUNICE university (chek list here) and EUNICE Mobility Task Force team members. People who are not included in these groups may be welcome too, depending on conference room capacity.
A Networking Event on Languages within EUNICE
This key note takes place in the framework of the 2nd EUNICE Network Meeting Language Teaching and Learning Community (10h – 15h CET online).
EUNICE is committed to multiculturality, and thus, to miltilingualism. So, the EUNICE Language Teaching & learning Community is organising an online get-together meeting for participants to learn about the current status of EUNICE alliance and the work carried out during the last two years, especially in the strategic areas of development. The meeting will create the space for sharing perspectives, best teaching practices and future collaborations. It will is also aimed at enhancing the networking within this Community and at starting thinking about potential joint projects between the ten EUNICE universities in the area of languages and transcultural skills.
