This page contains links to more information about Virtual Exchange, including facilitator guides, handbooks and training opportunities. They are largely aimed at formal education settings, mostly in further or higher education, but they provide a useful background.
Resources
The Collaboratory – from the USA Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, this initiative focuses on educational and cultural exchange programmes, including Virtual Exchanges. They maintain a number of resources you might find helpful, including the Virtual Exchange for public diplomacy toolkit.
SUNY COIL – the pioneers of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL, a type of Virtual Exchange), State University of New York maintains a number of useful resources such as a global network of practitioners, and offers training and consultancy.
Stevens Initiative – a USA-based organisation that advocates for and invests in Virtual Exchange opportunities for young people. Their focus (and grant funding) is primarily on connecting youths in the USA and MENA regions, but they also produce a yearly report about VE and have curated many useful resources on their website.
EVOLVE (Evidence-Validated Online Learning through Virtual Exchange) was a project aiming to support universities in Europe and beyond with developing Virtual Exchange. Although the project has come to an end, the website is still a useful resource. A full training course is available to work through at your own pace.
COIL Connect – an online community aiming to support Higher Education institutions who are engaging in Collaborative Online International Learning (a type of VE). It is free to join the site as a general member, and you will then be able to view courses seeking VE partners, and access useful resources and case studies.
Training opportunities
Many of the websites above offer a variety of resources free of charge. If you are looking for a bit more support and have access to funding, there are some organisations out there providing training opportunities.
COIL SUNY offer a variety of interactive workshops on a range of topics including COIL design and facilitation.
Soliya dialogue facilitation (limited scholarships available)
Soliya is an organisation which facilitates VE experiences that institutions can buy into. They also run facilitation training specifically designed to support constructive and respectful intercultural communication.
True North runs a 12-week training and coaching programme in intercultural communication, to support in designing and facilitating effective intercultural experiences.
Featured image by Marcel Eberle on Unsplash
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