Virtual Exchange Guide
designing and facilitating gloBal virtual exchange
Sustained peer-to-peer connections are a powerful way to teach global competency, and there are many ways to use technology to create virtual exchange experiences for learners. Educators can participate in an existing program or collaborate with colleagues to create their own exchange experiences. Many online platforms offer communication features that enable rich peer-to-peer exchange, such as discussion boards, video chats, or the ability to include multimedia.
Drawing on our cumulative 20 years of experience operating successful virtual exchange programs, Global Cities, Inc. and Project Zero’s The Open Canopy offer this list of practices to help you design and guide meaningful virtual exchange experiences with your learners.
11 effective virtual exchange practices
①
Design for learning outcomes. Identify intended learning outcomes in advance of engaging learners in a virtual exchange experience. For inspiration, see the Codebook for Global Student Learning Outcomes developed by Global Cities in partnership with Project Zero’s The Open Canopy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
②
Focus exchange on an accessible, real world topic. Select a relevant topic that students will be curious to learn more about. Be sure to choose a topic all participating learners can observe in their daily lives to provide common ground for exchanging perspectives and stimulate curiosity.
③
Establish a diverse and authentic peer community. Create learning groups that represent multiple locations and contexts so learners gain insight into diverse experiences and viewpoints on the topic they are studying. Learners are motivated by the opportunity to present and exchange their ideas with an authentic audience.
④
Plan for sustained peer interaction. Give learners repeated opportunities to interact with the same peers. Sustained connections help learners comfortably evolve in their conversations from introductions to inquiry to dialogue.
⑤
Combine offline activities with online engagement. Facilitate interactive and project-based learning experiences with learners offline. Then have them share what they create (e.g., writing and projects) with their virtual peers for their questions, comments, and feedback.
⑥
Guide learners’ engagement with their local community to generate new primary sources of learning. Build in activities that encourage learners to observe, document, and/or engage with their own communities or neighborhoods so that they can develop a more expansive understanding of local geography, history, and cultures. By sharing what they learn with peers, they bring unique local perspectives into the conversation.
⑦
Encourage learners to connect the local to the global. Prompt learners to notice and be curious about connections between their local communities and global issues. Invite learners to consider how their local communities and experiences of the topic they are studying are similar to and distinct from their peers’.
⑧
Create and maintain a safe online learning community. Establish community guidelines to help maintain a safe and respectful online space for learners.
⑨
Support active and respectful dialogue. Encourage learners to comment thoughtfully on one another’s ideas and work.
⑩
Incorporate multiple modes of expression. Guide learners to consider what type(s) of media will best help them illustrate their perspectives for their peers. Encourage them to use multiple modes of expression—combining text, video, photo collages, drawings, and/or digital tools—to demonstrate their learning.
⑪
Document and celebrate student learning. Use resources such as the Codebook for Global Student Learning Outcomes to analyze where and how students demonstrate progress towards learning outcomes in their exchanges. Highlight examples of progress and provide learners with feedback to support continued growth.