The UCOILD project has strived to complement large scale projects addressing structural challenges within HEIs towards implementation of COIL by contributing to the next important step: The identification of didactical challenges and possibilities needed to develop strong COIL didactics that can unfold the learning potentials related to a digital and international learning environment. The overall objective has been to dvelop and strengthen COIL didactics to meet the need for strengthening intercultural and digital competences and critical reflection for students by: - exploring inclusive, student-centered, experiential and reflective didactics within COIL projects with students as co-developers to support didactical innovation processes - translating the didactical innovations into a COIL toolkit, hereby supporting lecturers’ capacity to facilitate quality COIL projects - contributing to quality COIL projects as an inclusive instrument for international, digital learning environments by producing a COIL curriculum design for local implementation of the participating partners, - as well as submitting a scientific paper on the exploration and implementation of the UCOILD project.
The UCOILD project, “Unfolding Collaborative Online International Learning Didactics”, has addressed the challenge and paradox of maintaining international openness and sustain internationalization in a time where we also need to strengthen a digital, inclusive and sustainable age as prioritized by the European Education Area. To do so the UCOILD project has focused on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). This virtual exchange instrument holds great promise, as it is potentially strengthening both intercultural, digital and critical learning for all students. However, the learning potential is often underutilized due to a lack of knowledge and focus, not least within the Early Childhood and Care Educations represented in this project by partners from Spain, Netherlands, Norway and Denmark. To upscale and implement COIL projects, strong didactical tools for lectures are required. The aim of The UCOILD project has therefore been to support the ECEC higher educational field and HEIs in general by creating a didactical toolkit to support lecturers in promoting stronger digital, intercultural and critical competences for Early Childhood and Care students and beyond, hereby sustaining HEI interconnectedness.