Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)

Sheridan’s approach to COIL recognizes international and intercultural education as a key learning experience that supports individual transformation and empowerment. It serves to sharpen the direction and purpose for our strategic vision through its emphasis on the following six key focuses:

1. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization (EDID) is a focus that is at the heart of Sheridan’s approach to COIL. Sheridan views COIL itself as a tool for the advancement of EDID in its high accessibility, inclusion of and engagement with diverse perspectives, and capacities for decolonization.

2. Sheridan’s usage of COIL is with the express purpose to build Sheridan students’ S-Sense capacities. Within Sheridan’s approach to COIL as a Signature Learning Experience, thinking, relating, and innovating come seamlessly together to enable students’ academic, intercultural, professional, and personal evolution.

3. COIL allows Sheridan to further diversify our international partnerships and expand virtual mobility opportunities across all Faculties with the goal of offering our community ample opportunities to engage with diverse world views and knowledges and expanding our global impact.

4. COIL at Sheridan is significantly aligned with its approach to sustainability. Sheridan uses COIL by emphasizing multiple dimensions of community and ecological well-being, Western and Indigenous foundations, and respectful partnership.

5. Sheridan views COIL as a catalyst for accelerated impact through enhanced interdisciplinarity providing a key structure through which multiple disciplines can critically engage with one another across the borders to create synergistic and innovative outcomes.

6. Sheridan uses COIL to unleash the potential of its students and faculty by creating a structure for increased experiential learning through professional opportunities, research collaborations, and work-integrated learning experiences.

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2023

• March 15: COIL projects at Sheridan - Interview with Hee-Seung Kang
• March 8: COIL projects at Sheridan - Interview with Peter Galambos
• February 28: COIL projects at Sheridan - Interview with Genevieve Amaral
• February 22: Growing global mindsets at Sheridan through COIL - Central
• February 14: Growing global mindsets through COIL at Sheridan
• January 17: Sheridan student project ‘Layers of Loneliness’ selected as finalist for Canadian Online Publishing Awards

2022

• September 2: Collaborative Online International Learning helping PSB students see business from a global perspective
• Spring edition: Our Changing Climate (article published by FHNW School of Business in Switzerland mentioning their COIL collaboration with Sheridan - p.17 & 18)
• May: Riara, Canadian college share online classes
• February 1: COIL-ing has never been easier: Rich resources at your fingertips

2021

• December 6: New material on SOURCE from COIL, CEI and Theatre Sheridan
• November 24: Introducing COIL 101: Your step-by-step guide
• November 8: New federal funding to help more than 600 Sheridan students gain career-boosting international experience
• November 8: Federal funding helps Sheridan students gain international experience
• October 28: Collaborative online learning between Switzerland and Canada
• April 5: New COIL resources for the Sheridan community
• February 5: New COIL webinars coming this March

2020

• December 2: Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) coming to Sheridan

Ethics, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

Semester: Fall 2024 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: During this COIL projects, students will cover topics including sustainability, systems thinking and corporate social responsibility. Students will interact in-class in full class discussions and breakout groups and outside of class in online discussions and preparing a written group assignment.

International Partner: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (Switzerland)

ACE Biology

Semester: Fall 2024 Faculty: CAPS

Project Description: This COIL project is focused on raising awareness about cultural aspects in health care. By sharing information about their personal cultural backgrounds, students will become aware of what is unique in people’s lives across cultures present in Ontario, Canada and in Finland. Students will apply those concepts into their professional contexts by collaboratively developing and conducting health examination dialogues with respect and sensitivity. Group work findings will be shared using padlet. Follow-up individual reflection activities are built into each session.

International Partner: Turku University of Applied Sciences(Finland)

Introduction to Spanish Culture (Section 86068)

Semester: Fall 2024 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Project Description: This four-week COIL project will allow Sheridan students the opportunity to learn more in-depth about a specific Latin country with the collaboration of students from Bío Bío University Chile. This collaboration will include weekly mini-assignments that allow both schools to participate in an educational cross-cultural exchange. Chilean students will practice their English while learning about advertising, and customer service in Canada. Sheridan students will get hands-on exposure to some Latin culture such as what a routine day looks like, and comparing civic holidays. Both institutions are committed to exploring cultural differences and collaborating for education.

International Partner: Universidad del Bío Bío (Chile)

Introduction to Spanish Culture (Section 86067)

Semester: Fall 2024 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Project Description: Together with their international peers, students exchange information about literature for children and young adults. Students get to analyze Brazilian and Canadian tales and books belonging to the category of children and young adult literature. Students will also get to know and discover more about Brazil and Brazilian culture, and discuss Canada and Canadian culture with each other.

International Partner: FCL (Brazil)

Quantitative Methods in Finance

Semester: Winter 2025 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: This course will offer PSB students the opportunity to collaborate with students from Saxion University of Applied Sciences on an advanced trading simulation exercise where they will participate in joint decision-making in an active, time-constrained, international marketplace. The activity provides connections that reinforce theoretical knowledge, afford collaboration in a cross-cultural teaming environment, and then apply both in a simulated international decision-making environment. The overall experience will be capped by a reflective learning assignment to capture the students’ takeaways from the project.

International Partner: Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

ACE Biology

Semester: Winter 2025 Faculty: CAPS

Project Description: This COIL project is focused on raising awareness about cultural aspects in health care. By sharing information about their personal cultural backgrounds, students will become aware of what is unique in people’s lives across cultures present in Ontario, Canada and in Finland. Students will apply those concepts into their professional contexts by collaboratively developing and conducting health examination dialogues with respect and sensitivity. Group work findings will be shared using padlet. Follow-up individual reflection activities are built into each session.

International Partner: Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland)

COIL in Architectural Technology

Semester: Winter 2025 Faculty: Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology

Project Description: In this 7-week mini course, students will participate in a COIL experience. They will connect with a pre-determined international partner class (students and professor) that is also studying buildings science and architectural technology and will articulate their home-country’s architectural landscape. Together, students will explore differences and similarities in construction, material, building code, project delivery and environmental between the two host locations. Students will present sustainably-relevant solutions for reusing and adapting existing buildings in their respective contexts.

International Partner: KEA Copenhagen (Denmark)

Global Business Environment

Semester: Winter 2025 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: The COIL project is a blended learning experience allowing the students to explore the cross-cultural implications of a contemporary global issue (the utility of the North West Passage (NWP) between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans). The two classes of students will be assembled in groups of 5-6 students (equal number from each university) and each group will be given the task to explore the issues and potential challenges of development of the NWP from differing cultural perspectives (Indigenous Canadians, Canadians in general, Americans, Russian/Chinese, and SWISS (European)). Each group will work collaboratively over a two week period and compile a report/or video presentation of their findings. Subsequently each class will be tasked with completing a Reflection of the experiential learning.

International Partner: FHNW University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland)

Ethics, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

Semester: Fall 2023 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: During this COIL projects, students will cover topics including sustainability, systems thinking and corporate social responsibility. Students will interact in-class in full class discussions and breakout groups and outside of class in online discussions and preparing a written group assignment.

International Partner: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (Switzerland)

The Creative City and Culture

Semester: Fall 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Project Description: The partnering class is on architectural sketching. The project will aim to deepen students’ understanding of their relationship with their community and the built environment, more generally. Over the span of several weeks, students will be placed into mixed groups and asked to complete a series of activities that emphasize community research. Corresponding to themes assigned to each group, students will work together to complete a mixed-media community research workbook. While UDEM students will work primarily with sketches, Sheridan students will explore a variety of critical and creative methods, including public life study, photography, and creative writing. The community research workbooks will then be shared and presented as part of a joint synchronous session. Finally, students will complete a series of reflection exercises to review and reflect on their collaborative experience.

International Partner: University of Monterrey (Universidad de Monterrey) (Mexico)

ACE Biology

Semester: Fall 2023 Faculty: CAPS

Project Description: This COIL project is focused on educating the public about selected health aspects, specifically, general population well-being, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and other chronic conditions. During the first and second sessions, students will share approaches to education, treatment and prevention of the diseases at the national level in both countries. The third session is designated to a discussion during which students will discover similarities and differences between approaches to population health and public health education in Ontario, Canada, and in Finland. Group work findings will be shared using padlet. Follow-up individual reflection activities are built into each session.

International Partner: Turku University (Finland)

ACE Biology

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: CAPS

Project Description: This COIL project is focused on educating the public about selected health aspects, specifically, general population well-being, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and other chronic conditions. During the first session, students will share approaches to education, treatment and prevention of the diseases at the national level in both countries. The second session is designated to a discussion during which students will discover similarities and differences between approaches to population health and disease prevention in Ontario, Canada, and in Finland. Group work findings will be shared using padlet. Follow-up individual reflection activities are built into each session.

International Partner: Turku University (Finland)

Ethics, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: PSB

Project Description: During this COIL projects, students will cover topics including sustainability, systems thinking and corporate social responsibility. Students will interact in-class in full class discussions and breakout groups and outside of class in online discussions and preparing a written group assignment.

International Partner: SAXION University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

Quantitative Methods in Finance

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: PSB

Project Description: This course will offer PSB students the opportunity to collaborate with students from Saxion University of Applied Sciences on an advanced trading simulation exercise where they will participate in joint decision-making in an active, time-constrained, international marketplace. The activity provides connections that reinforce theoretical knowledge, afford collaboration in a cross-cultural teaming environment, and then apply both in a simulated international decision-making environment. The overall experience will be capped by a reflective learning assignment to capture the students’ takeaways from the project.

International Partner: SAXION University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

Leadership Development

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: PSB

Project Description: Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of how to develop personal potential and different leadership styles to be a more effective leader or follower. Students will develop a project in an international team as a global citizen that explores possible solutions to a global problem.

International Partner: Ahram Canadian University (Egypt)

Creative Writing Pedagogy

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: FHASS

Project Description: This creative writing pedagogy course is partnering with students at the Universidad de Sonora who are studying English language education. Students will collaborate to brainstorm research topics related to the teaching of language and literacy. Then Sheridan students will teach lessons in creative writing to the students in Sonora, and the students in Sonora will teach our students about language education, grammar, and literacy.

International Partner: Universidad de Sonora (Mexico)

The Creative City and Culture

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: FHASS

Project Description: The partnering class is a class on architectural sketching. The project will aim to deepen students’ understanding of their relationship with their community and the built environment, more generally. Over the span of several weeks, students will be placed into mixed groups and asked to complete a series of activities that emphasize community research. Corresponding to themes assigned to each group, students will work together to complete a mixed-media community research workbook. While UDEM students will work primarily with sketches, Sheridan students will explore a variety of critical and creative methods, including public life study, photography, and creative writing. The community research workbooks will then be shared and presented as part of a joint synchronous session. Finally, students will complete a series of reflection exercises to review and reflect on their collaborative experience.

International Partner: Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico)

Language Learning and Culture

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: FHASS

Project Description: In the Language Learning and Culture (EDUC53243) course, students will engage with four weeks of collaborative online international learning (COIL) intended to provide them with rich intercultural and international experiences and raise their critical awareness of language, culture, and communication. During these weeks, students and professors at Sheridan College will virtually collaborate synchronously and asynchronously with students and professors in Brazil. In addition to engaging with topics such as the concepts of Culture, non-verbal communication, world Englishes and others, students will also have the opportunity to develop competencies for working virtually and multiculturally with international peers.

International Partner: Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brasil)

Digital Solutions Journalism

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: FAAD

Project Description: In this Digital Solutions Journalism course journalism students from Sheridan College, Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK and Riara University in Kenya work together synchronously and asynchronously to produce a website rich with stories from various perspectives, interactives and data.

International Partner: Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom) and Riara University (Kenya)

COIL in Architectural Technology

Semester: Winter 2024 Faculty: FAST

Project Description: In this 7-week mini course, students will participate in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience. They will connect with a pre-determined international partner class (students and professor) that is also studying buildings science and architectural technology and will articulate their home-country’s architectural landscape. Together, students will explore differences and similarities in construction, material, building code, project delivery and environmental between the two host locations. Students will present sustainably-relevant solutions for reusing and adapting existing buildings in their respective contexts.

International Partner: KEA Copenhagen (Denmark)

COIL in Architectural Technology

Semester: Spring/Summer 2024 Faculty: FAST

Project Description: In this 7-week mini course, students will participate in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experience. They will connect with a pre-determined international partner class (students and professor) that is also studying buildings science and architectural technology and will articulate their home-country’s architectural landscape. Together, students will explore differences and similarities in construction, material, building code, project delivery and environmental between the two host locations. Students will present sustainably-relevant solutions for reusing and adapting existing buildings in their respective contexts.

International Partner: KEA Copenhagen (Denmark)

Human Resource Management

Semester: Spring/Summer 2024 Faculty: PSB

Project Description: Main learning objectives of this COIL collaboration are: International perspectives/impact of culture on HRM related topics, Reflecting skills on the international collaboration, Intercultural communication competencies.

International Partner: SAXION University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

Ethics, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

Semester: Fall 2022 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: This four-week COIL project is focused on ethics and sustainability. At the beginning of the COIL project students will engage in an insightful and lively discussion on the ethics of mandatory vaccination at colleges and universities at their countries. Following that, students will virtually collaborate to manage simulated fishing companies in Canada and Switzerland. Through this game-based exercise, students will experience firsthand the “tragedy of the commons” in which individuals’ pursuit of short-term gain leads to long-term loss for everyone. In the end, the professors will build upon the learning from the simulation exercise by exploring how systems thinking can help individuals understand sustainability challenges.

International Partner: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (Switzerland)

Ethics, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: In this COIL initiative, PSB students along with students at Riara University in Kenya will explore current issues in business ethics. PSB Professor Wayland Chau and Riara Professor Zephania Opati will lead classes on offshore manufacturing and the use of artificial intelligence in small consumer loans. Students will gain a broad international perspective of these issues. They will share and learn from each other’s personal views. Students will collaborate in and outside of class. Everyone will be enriched by this cross-cultural learning experience.

International Partner: Riara University (Kenya)

Quantitative Methods in Finance

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: This course will offer PSB students the opportunity to collaborate with students from Saxion University of Applied Sciences on an advanced trading simulation exercise where they will participate in joint decision-making in an active, time-constrained, international marketplace. The activity provides connections that reinforce theoretical knowledge, afford collaboration in a cross-cultural teaming environment, and then apply both in a simulated international decision-making environment. The overall experience will be capped by a reflective learning assignment to capture the students’ takeaways from the project.

International Partner: Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

Canadian Politics

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Project Description: Students will collaboratively examine how their two nations have evolved to reach the point that we are at now. The class will be using comparative theories and concepts to think and talk about politics critically so that they can better understand each others’ countries. Finally, this project will also allow students to critically reflect on the assumptions they hold of their own countries, which is a critical component of this project.

International Partner: Riara University (Kenya)

The Creative City and Culture (Section 1)

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Project Description: The partnering class is a seminar in marketing. The notion of “city branding” has been an essential component of the Creative Cities movement globally. Cities around the world compete to attract the young, mobile, educated, and highly creative workers that have become the backbone of emergent creative and knowledge-based industries. To greater explore this phenomenon, the COIL project will explore the idea of city branding. Students from the partnering institutions will create a creative city branding strategy for the city of Mississauga/Hong Kong that is targeted at students from the partnering institution. The project will unfold over a series of weeks as students complete activities related to market research (interviewing each other to learn what factors matter to them when deciding where to live/work), design research, and community research. Working in mixed groups, students will produce a marketing strategy document to be presented as part of a joint synchronous session. Finally, students will complete a series of reflection exercises to review and reflect on their collaborative experience.

International Partner: Hong Kong Baptist University (Hong Kong)

The Creative City and Culture (Section 2)

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Project Description: The partnering class is a class on architectural sketching. The project will aim to deepen students’ understanding of their relationship with their community and the built environment, more generally. Over the span of several weeks, students will be placed into mixed groups and asked to complete a series of activities that emphasize community research. Corresponding to themes assigned to each group, students will work together to complete a mixed-media community research workbook. While UDEM students will work primarily with sketches, Sheridan students will explore a variety of critical and creative methods, including public life study, photography, and creative writing. The community research workbooks will then be shared and presented as part of a joint synchronous session. Finally, students will complete a series of reflection exercises to review and reflect on their collaborative experience.

International Partner: Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico)

Digital Solutions Journalism

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design

Project Description: In this second-year program elective course, students pitch and vote on a project that the entire class will work on for the semester. Students use data and original content and decide where their skills will be best used and how the content should be displayed on a website. The partner students will receive a brief from our student project coordinator and have the opportunity to contribute to the project.

International Partner: Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom), Riara University (Kenya)

Architectural Studio

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology

Project Description: This course will offer Architectural Technology students the opportunity to collaborate with students from KEA Copenhagen University in Copenhagen, Denmark. Groups will explore an adaptive reuse scenario of an existing building and its site within an urban context. The activity will engage learners in a collaborative classroom that will see teams prepare and present scenarios that not only provide a unique design, they will also explore local building codes and energy targets that focus on sustainable retrofits and carbon neutrality. Assessments will culminate in a reflective exercise that will also serve as a central piece in their portfolio.

International Partner: KEA Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (Denmark)

Project Management

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: This International Online Collaboration project comes to bridge a gap and provide solutions to problems and challenges in international project management. More than 25% of the world’s GDP is spent on projects, however, more than 50% of all projects implemented worldwide fail. This interdisciplinary project idea will bring together project management students from the PSB BBA program at Sheridan with BBA students from UV Mexico to work on an international project idea. Therefore, this international partnership will avail our students the opportunity to apply best practices in project management to an international project. This is an elective course and students are in their 3rd-4th year of the BBA Degree Program. Students are at a mature academic stage to engage in this international collaboration experience.

International Partner: Veracruz University (Universidad Veracruzana) (Mexico)

Inclusion In Early Learning Settings

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Applied Health and Community Studies

Project Description: This four-week COIL Project provides opportunities for Sheridan ECE students to collaborate with students from Howest University of Applied Sciences in Belgium. The project will be delivered in both synchronous and asynchronous online format guided by two professors from both institutions. The students will work collaboratively in groups to explore and compare how different disabilities are defined and how children with disabilities in each country are supported in different early year and educational systems. At the end of the project, the students will collaboratively create a more effective system to support children with disability based on their analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of different educational systems in two countries.

International Partner: Howest University of Applied Sciences/ Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen (Belgium)

ACE Biology

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: CAPS

Project Description: This COIL project is focused on selected health aspects, specifically, asthma and diabetes, and approaches to their treatment and prevention at the national level in both countries. During the first session, students will engage in comparative information sharing about asthma, and asthma treatment and management in both countries. During the second session, students will compare information about diabetes, diabetes treatment and management of the disease in both countries. The third session is designated to a discussion during which students will discover similarities and differences between approaches to population health in Ontario, Canada, and in Finland. Group work findings will be shared using padlet. Follow-up individual reflection activities are built into each session.

International Partner: Turku University (Finland)

Introduction to Spanish Culture

Semester: Winter 2023 Faculty: FHASS

Project Description: This four-week COIL project will allow Sheridan students the opportunity to learn more in-depth about a specific Latin country with the collaboration of students from UV Mexico. This collaboration will include weekly mini-assignments that allow UV students the ability to practice their English and show off their culture while Sheridan students get hands-on exposure to a bit of Latin culture.

International Partner: Veracruz University (Universidad Veracruzana) (Mexico)

Human Resource Management

Semester: Spring/Summer 2023 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: This COIL project will focus on the three fundamental human resources management concepts: recruitment, selection, and training and development. These three foundational concepts are mostly universal, but are interpreted and applied in many different ways, especially from country to country and culture to culture. To encourage the sharing of cross-cultural perspectives, students from Sheridan and Saxion will engage in group discussions and collaborative activities. Participating students will also collaborate within cross-cultural teams to explore the foundational theories and exercise actions within the selected case studies. Summary reflections at the end of the session (such as mini-reports) will embrace the course theory in the application and cross-cultural learning.

International Partner: SAXION University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

Language Learning and Culture

Semester: Spring/Summer 2023 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences/TESOL

Project Description: In Language Learning and Culture course, four weeks of COIL project is integrated to raise critical awareness in language, culture and communication among TESOL Plus students. During these weeks, students and professors in Sheridan College will virtually collaborate with students and professors in Brazil. The first week is asynchronous class, which includes introducing each other virtually. The following two lessons will be led by professors in Brazil and Sheridan respectively; all students will meet synchronously online and engage with topics such as World Englishes and relationship between language and culture. On Week 4, all students will reflect on their perceptions and attitudes toward language and culture together asynchronously and write a reflection paper as an assignment. By participating in discussions and collaborating with students abroad, this COIL module attempts to broaden Sheridan students’ perspectives on language, culture and communication.

International Partner: Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil)

Quantitative Methods in Finance

Semester: Winter 2021 Faculty: Pilon School of Business

Project Description: The activity provides connections which reinforce theoretical knowledge and afford collaboration in a cross-cultural teaming environment. Over the month of March, PSB students will be introduced to the COIL project with overseas partners and exercise joint decision making in an active, time constrained, international marketplace. The overall experience will be capped by a reflective learning assignment capturing the student’s takeaways and learnings.

International Partners: SAXION University (The Netherlands), University of Manchester (United Kingdom), Fulda University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (Romania), Cambridge Institute of Technology (India), Farook Institute of Management Studies (India)

Read more:

• COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) comes to PSB

Creative City & Culture (Sheridan), The City as Text (UTMN)

Semester: Winter 2021 Faculty: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Project Description: Both courses are designed to turn student’s attention to the city as a site of cultural activity, political contestation, and creative possibility. The first half of the COIL project will involve theoretical and historical reading on topics of urban studies. In the second half of the project, students will engage in an international collaborative experiment, including weekly inter-university group discussions and presentations, and complete two collaborative projects – an interactive map and placemaking exercise.

International Partner: University of Tyumen (Russia)

Co-op Internship

Semester: Spring/Summer 2021 Faculty: Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design

Project Description: In collaboration with Open University, 3rd year Sheridan Interaction Design students were engaged in a challenge to create a virtual court room proof of concept over a period of approximately 3 months. This project will serve as an educational resource available at the Open University to support students who are studying in areas related to legal services such as law, social work etc.

International Partner: Open University (United Kingdom)

• View samples of the project

“COIL is an invaluable addition to Pilon’s internationalization efforts. This form of learning offers students, who otherwise may not be able to study in our Mobility Program, to experience a cross-cultural learning experience. By working with student and faculty partners from locations around the world, our students will establish bridges, experiences and learnings that will enhance their Sheridan education while making them more culturally sensitive and internationally appreciative.” Stan Kamzol, Professor and International Co-ordinator, Pilon School of Business.

“My students are excited by the opportunity to work with partnering, university students from The Netherlands, Germany and the UK in making financial decisions in a fast-paced simulation environment. This experience offers them a chance to apply their learning while also building collaborative, cross-cultural bridges that expand their international understanding.” — Mark Weaver, Pilon School of Business.

“We are excited about the introduction of COIL into the Pilon School of Business (PSB) as part of our ongoing commitment to deliver innovative, collaborative and transformative learning experiences. Our initial pilot will form an important base from which to expand and add further COIL learning opportunities in support of, and to foster the increasingly important global, cross-cultural, and international competencies needed by learners in the 21st century.” — Anne-Liisa Longmore, Dean, Pilon School of Business.

“COIL offers students a unique and vital opportunity to expand their intellectual and creative horizons and establish new international connections. ‘The Creative City & Culture’ is a class which strives to equip students with tools that enable them to explore and empower their communities through the application of creative thought and practices. By partnering with students abroad, COIL affords students the chance to learn in a highly international and collaborative setting that deepens both their understanding of cross-cultural differences and their appreciation for what makes their own communities special.” — Peter Galambos, Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“COIL and the humanities and social sciences are a perfect fit. We always strive to create curriculum that is outward-looking and dedicated to advancing intercultural competence and understanding; COIL further opens the door to rich, direct international exchanges for so many students, including those who would or could not have engaged in a traditional study abroad experience. We’re excited to discover all the ways COIL might help us connect our students to the wider world.” — Genevieve Amaral, Associate Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“Our cooperation has been incredibly enriching for me and the students. I especially enjoyed our chats during our preparation sessions and cross my fingers that we can continue next year. Thank all of you for taking this risk and trusting me to put a memorable learning experience together for our students. Together, in our spheres of influence, we are taking little steps forward to, hopefully, a better world.” - Nikolina Fuduric, Professor, FHNW School of Business, Switzerland.

“For the first time, my BBA-HR students were given the opportunity to connect with international students across the pond in the Netherlands. My students were connected in the COIL program this Spring 2022 with the Saxion University of Applied Sciences. It was amazing to see from Day 1 that my students engaged in the program with full enthusiasm and excitement. I guided and gave my students complete freedom to express themselves and take the lead. To my best satisfaction, I saw my students grab the opportunity with both hands to lead and represent Sheridan and, above all, Canada. This experience is unique, and looking forward to having more COIL partnerships with other institutions.” - Sathy Sritharakumar, Professor, Pilon School of Business.

“The Layers of Loneliness website was part of our Digital Solutions Journalism course. In the course the students pitch, vote and work on a project throughout the semester. In Winter 2022 the students pitched a variety of stories - homelessness, seniors, people addicted to social media, COVID, and what the topics being pitched had in common was the idea of loneliness. Students from Manchester were then invited to contribute their own story ideas under the loneliness umbrella topic or to contribute a story we were working on but from a UK perspective. This allowed for some rich collaborations between the students. We are so proud that the work they produced is being recognized by the Canadian Online Publishing Awards.” - Cheryl Vallender, Professor, Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design.

“I believe the experience I gained by working collaboratively with someone I have never met before will transition well into the workplace. There are times you are required to work with other areas of your organization, and it bodes well to break the ice, determine a common goal, and achieve success as a team. I appreciated the opportunity to expand my horizons and I look forward to many more opportunities if they are presented to me during my time at Sheridan College.” - 3rd year BBA Finance student.

“This experience will help me in various aspects of my life. It will help me collaborate with people with ease. I would also apply this experience into my career. It will also help me in my real-life relationships. While collaborating with my partner, I also came to know about his culture and lifestyle. This has increased my curiosity so much that I want to work and live in another country just to increase my knowledge and experience with other cultures.” - 3rd year BBA Finance student.

“Simulations like COIL help students make the transfer of learning from classroom to the workplace more efficiently. Additionally, dealing with a student from another country increased my curiosity about other cultures; I asked M many questions about life and culture in India. COIL has given me the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with international students, which I think was my most important learning experience.” - 3rd year BBA Finance student.

“This experience was one to remember. I had the honor of establishing a life-long relationship with a very unique, interesting, and diverse persons all the way from the other side of the world (we still keep in touch and will continue to do so). I am appreciative to have found a new interest in learning about other cultures, in other parts of the world, that are very different from the culture that I was born and raised in. I am very thankful to all of the staff at Sheridan College, and all the other international schools, for organizing this [COIL] activity. This was truly a well thought out and memorable experience.” - 3rd year BBA student.

“Interacting with students who are from another country made me view the world as something that is so beautiful.” - student, The Creative City and Culture course.

“I want to explore different places around the world and see the difference between the places that I have lived and what might be different between the ones I visit. See famous places in that country as well as their food. Take all of those things and see what the difference the places I am exploring and the place that I currently live in.” - student, The Creative City and Culture course.

“I just want to say thank you for the very nice course. I loved the experience with … Sheridan… as … it was a proof and perfect way of being in contact with people around the world online instead of always meeting in person and flying thousands of miles just for it” - student, FHNW School of Business, Switzerland.

“It was interesting to understand where our experiences overlap and differ according to our countries’ cultures and teaching contexts. Through our discussions, I learned more about the importance of intercultural interaction and its impact on classrooms.” - student, TESOL Plus Program.

“Every week brought a new topic that allowed me to explore new features in depth and hear both domestic and international perspectives. This raised my cultural awareness and showed me where, as person and more importantly a teacher, I had blind spots. Through raising my awareness, I now have a deeper understanding of the people (including students) I have/will have around me. I feel more prepared to continue my own research and have more realistic expectations for a multicultural classroom. This has made me more aware of things that my students may not be getting from the lessons I plan in the future and has reinforced the importance of cultural differences in my classroom.” - student, TESOL Plus Program.

“It was really nice to collaborate on a project with so many different students, especially since we were working with the Canadian students at Sheridan College” - student, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.

“I found it really interesting to hear what they were doing with their university. It was very interesting to explore the similarities between loneliness in the UK and Canada and our approaches to it on different sides of the Atlantic.” - student, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.

“It was great meeting other students from Manchester Metropolitan and learning their views on the topic we worked on. It was great networking. It was also a great opportunity to learn from each other.” - student, Digital Solutions Journalism course.

“It was interesting to work with people in another country, which brought more cultural knowledge and a great sense of teamwork. This intercultural interaction gives you the knowledge and confidence to be out of your comfort zone, it improves your communication and increases the sense of community and equality.” - student, Digital Solutions Journalism course.

Collaborative International Online Learning (COIL) projects virtually connect two or more classrooms across the globe. COIL aims to enhance dialogue and collaboration between people and classrooms. COIL provides peer to peer experiential learning opportunities with a focus on teamwork. COIL meets Sheridan’s goals to build students’ global outlook and fluency though curricula internationalization. It offers new modalities for international mobility that are more inclusive and accessible.

Other Names for COIL

COIL is also called (or is similar to) Globally Networked Learning (GNL), Virtual Exchange, Virtual Mobility, Telecollaboration, Teletandem, and Global Learning Virtual Experience.

Two (or more) instructors based in different cultures and/or locations collaborate on the project design, development of materials, and shared learning outcomes with activities promoting interaction and collaboration between students. COIL projects are carefully designed to encourage students to work, collaborate and learn from and alongside each other. It is important to incorporate virtual social and cultural programming within a COIL project.

COIL projects vary in length from a module to a full course. However, it is recommended that a COIL project lasts between 4-8 weeks.

Benefits for Students

• Engage in conversations with global peers.
• Learn about their discipline from another perspective.
• Develop digital literacy skills and competencies for working virtually.
• Encourage appreciation of diversity and multiple viewpoints.
• Prepare for physical mobility and/or increase interest in study abroad.
• Offer an international experience to those who do not have the opportunity to go abroad.
• Offer opportunities to develop rich cultural connections.

Benefits for Faculty

• Offer an opportunity to collaborate with international partners.
• Provide professional development opportunities.
• Be informed of discipline knowledge, practices, and pedagogies in international contexts.
• Enhance internationalization of curricula.
• Create opportunities for international connections that could translate to further collaborations (e.g., research).

Communication between classrooms could be asynchronous, synchronous, and/or hybrid to accommodate different time zones.

Students can use videoconferencing such as Teams or WebEx or any platform of their choice. They can also use chat platforms such as WhatsApp for group discussions. As for project collaboration, they can use Google Docs, Padlet and other platforms of their choice.

Students engaging in a COIL project have multiple resources available to guide them through the process and provide them with the support needed to succeed. Visit the Student COIL Libguide for more information.

Yes! Actually, COIL is typically embedded into pre-existing courses or modules. It does not involve offering new courses, but rather redesigning (part of) an existing course with your partner. COIL modules generally enrich and extend existing course learning outcomes, rather than introduce new outcomes to a course.

Disciplines

COIL projects can be implemented in any discipline, subject or course, yet most COIL projects are interdisciplinary.

• Some Faculties already have partnerships in place (Mobility, Research, Virtual Exchange, COIL). Connect with your dean/associate dean/faculty international coordinator for support.

• Some instructors are able to identify partners from their own professional and academic networks.

• SUNY COIL, through ImmerseU, provides access to profiles of COIL instructors around the world. Visit the ImmerseU platform, create your account, upload your profile information, and connect with more than 600 members worldwide. Here is a step by step guide to create your profile. Contact CGEI for support.

• Visit COIL Connect to browse a list of institutions engaged in COIL, once you identify an institution of interest, connect with the CGEI team to explore available options within that institution.

• The CGEI at Sheridan supports faculty/staff members in identifying potential partners.

Yes, instructors are responsible for preparing their own project materials in collaboration with their partner instructor. Please reach out to the Sheridan Centre for Academic Excellence (SPARK) if you need support in designing activities and assessment tools.

Language fluency of teachers and students in each cohort should be discussed and agreed upon ahead of time. While it is expected that one group will usually have home language advantage, it is important that language support services are available.

Sheridan has many resources to guide you through the COIL project from planning, to delivery to post delivery of the project. To access those resources, information, guidelines and more enrol in the COIL 101 module by filling out the form on this page or by sending an email to coil@sheridancollege.ca.

The Sheridan Centre for Academic Excellence (SPARK) is here to support you in making your COIL experience a success. The SPARK team offers the following types of support:

Educational Technology & Instructional Design

SPARK has a variety of resources and programs to support faculty in educational technology and instructional design. Faculty can register for workshops as part of the Digital Learning and Innovation Program, or they can opt for the self-directed approach and visit our Teaching with Technology webpage. Faculty will find a variety of resources/tutorial content on the website that can get them started in areas such as:

Virtual Classroom Tools - Bongo, Teams etc Creating video assignments using Kaltura Creating interactive digital content If you have additional questions or require more specialized support, such as creating immersive experiences or designing COIL course assets or activities, please reach out to the team at slatehelp@sheridancollege.ca. In your email subject please specify that your inquiry is related to COIL.

Digital Teaching and Learning Program - https://ltsa.sheridancollege.ca/apps/dli-program/

Teaching with Technology Resource Page - https://ltsa.sheridancollege.ca/learning-technology-portal/

Learning Outcomes Alignment

Faculty undertaking a COIL project will receive guidance on aligning existing course learning outcomes with the COIL component of their course. Information about this support will be available in early fall 2022. If you require information prior to fall 2022, please email coil@sheridancollege.ca.

• Determine at least two or more existing learning outcomes for your course that could be met with a COIL project you intend to build.
• Include an evaluation component for the COIL project that aligns to your course evaluation matrix and will assess your selected course learning outcomes.
• Consider if you will still be able to cover all your course learning outcomes throughout the term if you undertake a COIL project, depending on its length of time.

To learn more enrol in the COIL 101 module by filling out the form on this page or by sending an email to coil@sheridancollege.ca.

For support in aligning your existing course learning outcomes to a COIL project please connect with the SPARK team at ctlinfo@sheridancollege.ca referencing COIL in the subject line.