Virtual exchange

Virtual exchange[edit | edit source]

Virtual exchange in a broad context means any form of exchange through media.

In educational technology, virtual exchange is a field that promotes

• exchange between students from different cultures
• in a (at least somewhat) formal context
• aiming to achieve some precise learning goals, e.g. language skills, intercultural competence, Digital literacy.

This understanding is also known under other terms, e.g., e-tandems or tele-collaboration.

Here is a definition presented by Robert O'Dowd (University of León) in a talk (9/2018): “‘Virtual Exchange’, also referred to in foreign language education as telecollaboration, refers to the application of online communication tools to bring together classes of language learners in geographically distant locations with the aim of developing their foreign language skills and intercultural and digital competences through collaborative tasks and project work (Lewis & O’Dowd, 2016; O’Dowd, 2013).”

Links[edit | edit source]

• EVALUATE is a European Policy Experiment project funded by Erasmus+ Key Action 3 “The guiding research question for the study is: “Will participation in telecollaborative exchange contribute to the development of competences which future teachers need to teach, collaborate and innovate effectively in a digitalised and cosmopolitan world?”” (source: researchgate)

• Emerging Trends and New Directions in Telecollaborative Learning