Online+International: How Virtual International Programs Can Foster Global Learning in Online Classrooms

• In Event: Developing and Sustaining Strong Online Learning Programs

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive disruptions in higher education, and innovative responses to the pandemic provide an opportunity to address many of the long-standing challenges in international education. The purpose of this study is to explore one of those innovations – Virtual International Programs, online courses that integrate cross-cultural interactions and collaborations with people from other areas of the world – and how these courses can contribute to students’ global and intercultural learning. Findings point to the importance of social, cognitive, and instructor presence in these courses, and how each contributes to student learning and development. This study has important implications for how online learning can be used to further the international missions of higher education institutions.

Authors

• Elizabeth Niehaus, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Angela Bryan, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Ashley Light, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Gudrun Nyunt, Northern Illinois University