What is a Virtual Exchange?

Study abroad is a term many of us have heard and some of us have even taken part in. It has a major emphasis at many schools, as it is often encouraged that students gain international experience at some point in their academic careers. Long considered a high-impact practice, study abroad can be an eye-opening, enriching, enlightening experience and one that can academically, professionally, and personally sets students apart. However, due to the financial burden, time constraints, and other limiting resources, many IUPUI students may never experience one. Also, with pandemic worries and past traveling restrictions, further constraints have been placed upon our students for any study abroad opportunities.

This is where virtual exchanges come in. A virtual exchange is an education program that uses technology to allow geographically separated people to interact and communicate. It increases cultural understanding, global citizenship, digital literacies, and international learning, all done at no extra cost to the class! It is primarily made up of three parts:

1. The initial meeting of the two partnering institutions, done synchronously or asynchronously, using either a video conferencing tool or some sort of discussion board. Icebreakers work nicely here, as it allows the students to get to know each other in a fun, more personal way.
2. Learning activity: This can be done by students meeting and discussing a topic related to their courses, taking part in online discussions, and/or reading literature to gain more information.
3. The students then create a course asset, which can include a paper, poster, video, presentation, website, social media campaign, or any other artifact that showcases what they have learned over the previous weeks of the virtual exchange.

More in-depth detail on these three aspects can be learned in this presentation.

The purpose of this blog is to showcase the virtual exchanges that are taking place in the School of Health and Human Sciences KINE N220 Nutrition for Health course since Fall 2020. Through a fall partnership with the United Kingdom and a spring partnership with the Netherlands, students have been able to participate in this high-impact practice, showcase their digital literacy skills, and partake in cultural and global learning that will create more informed, engaged, and global literate professionals.