Helen Jones, Manchester Metropolitan University

28th November 2008

Paper Session 2, Princes Room, 10:45 - 11:15 am

The full presentation can be viewed or downloaded from this link:

Doing Internationalisation on the Cheap: Transforming the Classroom

Keywords: Internationalisation, e-learning, collaboration, communication, Internet, social networking

As student fees bite ever harder, can we expect students to take on more debt to travel abroad during their under-graduate years or should we be providing no-cost ways in which they can add an international dimension to their studies? The ease at which we can communicate across the traditional barriers of time and space through the use of email, social networking sites and Second Life should provide the mechanisms to make the stuff of science fiction an educational reality.

It has been argued that economically oriented rationales for internationalisation have become the dominant drivers of Higher Education internationalisation policy. Without doubt, internationalisation often equates to making profit and university managers are alert to the benefits that can bring. But what if, instead of economic rationales, we could prioritise pedagogic rationales; research informed rationales and student focused rationales?

In 2004, colleagues at Manchester (UK) and Florida (USA) initiated the development of an innovative international collaboration, combining students on similar programmes (see Jones et al 2005 ). In 2006 the initiating universities were joined by other universities from the UK & US and in 2008, the International E-communication Exchange (IEE) now has seven partners in different geographical locations.

A virtual learning environment (WebCT) is used to bring students together. Students access content and communicate through this virtual learning space. Research by the collaborating universities shows online participatory experiences help students to understand cultural differences in theory, policy and practice and to think critically about racism, classism, sexism, ageism, and xenophobia. The format combines content delivery and interaction via WebCT, video, podcasts and synchronous chat to make real time connections between the seven international locations. Through this combination of learning technologies, an international experience is achieved.

The academic team form an international instructional base and, in addition to demonstrating a successful learning model, the scheme has provided an innovative forum for research on international exchange programs through technology mediated learning. Over ten years ago the European Commission (1996) outlined the benefits of technology integration, which included developing habits of independent learning, innovative thinking and co-operative group working. The IEE demonstrates how the provision of access to new technologies and the integration of such technologies into the learning environment through a blended approach improves the quality of the student experience. A technology-rich learning environment holds the potential to communicate and collaborate with other educational institutions, at local, national and global levels.

So join the seminar for a taste of how asynchronous communication can work to provide an international dimension for you and your students. The argument is not 'this is the answer' but simply 'this is one of the possibilities' within an ever globalising higher education sector.