Students at Krste Petkov Misirkov in Bistrica, Macedonia connect online with students in Pensacola, Florida.
A student in Macedonia holds a pair of handcrafted leather shoes in front of a computer screen, engaging in a cultural “show-and-tell” with a class in America. Her teacher explains, “These shoes are part of our traditional dress. Do you have anything like them?” Next, the American class describes the game of lacrosse. “We will send you some videos of the game,” their teacher promises. Later that afternoon, she sends videos through an online forum where students can easily communicate and collaborate with their international friends. This is a classroom that spans an ocean — thanks to technology.
Like traditional educational exchanges, their virtual counterparts also seek to connect students from different parts of the world through experiential learning. Admittedly, nothing can replace the experience of learning about a culture by living in it. However, virtual exchanges have proven to be an exciting, effective, and desirable option for adding an international dimension to classroom education.
In contrast to traditional exchange programs, virtual exchanges might seem to be at a disadvantage in the excitement department. A chat with the participants in Dreams and Friendship Exchange, however, tells a different story. The Dreams and Friendship Exchange is an initiative designed by the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia in collaboration with Julijana Georgievska, a primary school teacher at Krste Petkov Misirkov in Bistrica, Macedonia. The project, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State, is a year-long virtual exchange that partners Julijana’s classes in rural Macedonia with classes lead by Catherine Bauer in Pensacola, Florida. As evidence that virtual travel has its thrills, students in the Dreams and Friendship Exchange consistently report that online meetings are one of their favorite parts of the project and something they look forward to each month. In fact, it is not totally off-base to compare the students’ enthusiasm before an online meeting with the excitement of boarding a plane.
When students are intrinsically motivated, learning happens effortlessly, which is an exciting and practical reason to put classroom learning in the context of a virtual exchange.
The students in the Dreams and Friendship Exchange will never actually board a plane as part of the project, of course, but they will have the opportunity to experience another culture firsthand. Even through the window of a computer screen, students soak up what they see in unexpected ways. For example, after the first online meeting, one of the favorite topics of discussion amongst students in Macedonia was the library that the American class was sitting in. The library made an impression in the same way it might have if they had actually been there. Realizing that students are affected by their virtual surroundings in this way challenges preconceived notions and doubts about the effectiveness of online exchanges.
Students participated in a cultural show-and-tell during January’s online meeting, in which they addressed the topic My Culture.
In addition to giving students a firsthand experience of another culture, virtual programs are especially effective at aiding language acquisition. Ann Tran, the Education and Youth Outreach Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia and a supervisor for the Dreams and Friendship Exchange, explains that improving students’ facility with the English language was a main impetus for the development of the project.
“The idea for the Dreams and Friendship Exchange,” she says, “evolved from Julijana’s previous experiences connecting with one or two classes abroad. These connections, while fun and engaging for her students, were one-off and ineffective at improving students’ English language skills. We proposed the idea of a more substantive exchange experience. By giving the students one full year, they have the luxury of time to develop relationships, [which is] the key to the success of the project. The kids in Macedonia will be intrinsically motivated to improve their English in an effort to better communicate with their new friends.”
A local television station interviewed students after an online meeting in January.
Tran and team have the right idea making language learning a central goal of their initiative. Improvement of language skills seems inevitable. Through media such as video conferences, online forums, and blogs, virtual exchanges require students to use their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in order to communicate with their international friends. As Tran points out, the learning that happens as a result is set apart from classroom learning by the source of motivation, which comes, not from teacher or performance pressure, but from the students’ desire to connect. When students are intrinsically motivated, learning happens effortlessly, which is an exciting and practical reason to put classroom learning in the context of virtual exchanges.
Borka Taneska, a Cultural Affairs Assistant at the Embassy who has also been involved in the development and execution of the Dreams and Friendship Exchange, speaks to how the educational impact and benefits of virtual exchanges and technology in the classroom go beyond language acquisition. “As students make visual connections and combine pictures, text, numbers, and spoken word,” she explains, “they build fundamental skills not only in reading and writing, but also in math, science, and social studies.”
She also agrees that while “nothing can replace the richness of face-to-face classroom dynamics…video eliminates distance, invites collaboration, and increases opportunities for both the student and the teacher.” Taneska makes a significant point about the role of video in projects like the Dreams and Friendship Exchange. The video platform is the consummate interactive teaching tool. It is the reason why students in Florida have seen traditional Macedonian shoes. It is how classes in different countries can read a poem or sing a song together. Video makes the virtual exchange experience immersive, encouraging students to apply all their senses and engage with learning on a personal level. Taneska also notes video’s ability to put students in different countries in the same room, closing the physical gap. It likely closes a psychological gap, too. Interacting with someone in real time, even if that someone is on a screen, cannot help but suggest that it is, in fact, a small world after all.
According to the Exchange 2.0 website, “evaluations have already demonstrated that virtual exchange programs can increase participants’ empathy for other cultures and perspectives, develop their willingness to engage constructively with peers of diverse backgrounds and views, and provide participants with the experience of being heard and respected.”
Video also has the pragmatic—and revolutionary—function of significantly reducing the cost of international exchanges. Decreased cost means increased participation. Tran affirms that the possibility of including more students is a major advantage of online programs. She says, “[Traditional exchange programs] are very effective, but because they are costly, we are limited with the number of people we can send each year. The virtual exchange concept addresses this issue because aside from start-up expenses related to technology and equipment, it doesn’t cost much to sustain. [The U.S. Embassy] is able to ‘send’ one hundred students on a year-long exchange.”
The potential impact of these numbers is huge. The Exchange 2.0 Coalition, a group of organizations that facilitate and support virtual exchanges, and the Saxelab Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at MIT are currently working to quantify just how huge. According to the Exchange 2.0 website, “evaluations have already demonstrated that virtual exchange programs can increase participants’ empathy for other cultures and perspectives, develop their willingness to engage constructively with peers of diverse backgrounds and views, and provide participants with the experience of being heard and respected.”
Empathy, engagement, respect, having your voice heard, and constructive collaboration with peers from diverse backgrounds — this is the stuff of a true education…and a robust case for virtual exchanges.
* Read this article on the official blog of the Dreams and Friendship Exchange here. To learn more about the Dreams and Friendship Exchange, please read our initial blog.
* The views expressed on this site do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations. They are the observations and reflections of someone who likes good stories.