Abstract
A plethora of literature has reported the positive impacts of Virtual Exchange (VE) on learners’ cultural knowledge and foreign language skills (e.g., Stevens Initiative, 2019; EVOLVE Project Team, 2020; Helm & Van der Velden, 2020, 2021). However, as commented by Colpaert (2020, p.654), comparatively little research has been conducted on the “affordance of online exchanges”. Affordance, according to Colpaert (2020, p.654), does not refer to the “actual activity” but the “learner and teacher’s” perceptions towards the activity. It also does not equal to “learning goals” (2020, p.654) but the “concrete actions and activities” that may lead to the realisation of the goals. Therefore, the current paper aims at understanding the affordance of employing MS teams as the mediating platform and related tasks design for a VE module.
With the Design-based Research (DBR) approach in mind, the current project documented the implementation process of the Teacher/Researcher administering the learning tasks using MS teams and corresponding written reflections. Participants’ interactions with MS teams and learning tasks, written reflections and feedback survey on the VE module were also collected to understanding their learning experience. This process was conducted twice as the VE module was administered twice in 2021 and 2022 respectively. In the second cycle of the module, minor revisions were made based on the reflections and observations of the first cycle.
By examining the experiences of the Teacher/Researcher and the participants, the current paper reports on 1) the affordance of MS teams in mediating learning tasks for a VE module; 2) related challenges faced by the teacher and learners; and 3) insights on how to tackle those challenges.
References
Colpaert, J. (2020). Editorial position paper: how virtual is your research? Computer Assisted Language Learning, 33(7), 653–664.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1824059
EVOLVE Project Team. (2020). The impact of virtual exchange on student learning in higher education: EVOLVE project report. http://hdl.handle.net/11370/d69d9923-8a9c-4b37-91c6-326ebbd14f17
Helm, F., & van der Velden, B. (2020). Erasmus + virtual exchange impact report 2019. In Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/513584
Helm, F., & van der Velden, B. (2021). Erasmus + virtual exchange impact report 202. In Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/870428
Stevens Initiative. (2019). Virtual exchange impact and learning report 2019. https://www.stevensinitiative.org/resource/virtual-exchange-impact-and-learning-report/#:%E2%88%BC:text=The%20Steven%20Initiative's%202019%20Virtual,and%20common%20challenges%20for%20implementers
With the Design-based Research (DBR) approach in mind, the current project documented the implementation process of the Teacher/Researcher administering the learning tasks using MS teams and corresponding written reflections. Participants’ interactions with MS teams and learning tasks, written reflections and feedback survey on the VE module were also collected to understanding their learning experience. This process was conducted twice as the VE module was administered twice in 2021 and 2022 respectively. In the second cycle of the module, minor revisions were made based on the reflections and observations of the first cycle.
By examining the experiences of the Teacher/Researcher and the participants, the current paper reports on 1) the affordance of MS teams in mediating learning tasks for a VE module; 2) related challenges faced by the teacher and learners; and 3) insights on how to tackle those challenges.
References
Colpaert, J. (2020). Editorial position paper: how virtual is your research? Computer Assisted Language Learning, 33(7), 653–664.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1824059
EVOLVE Project Team. (2020). The impact of virtual exchange on student learning in higher education: EVOLVE project report. http://hdl.handle.net/11370/d69d9923-8a9c-4b37-91c6-326ebbd14f17
Helm, F., & van der Velden, B. (2020). Erasmus + virtual exchange impact report 2019. In Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/513584
Helm, F., & van der Velden, B. (2021). Erasmus + virtual exchange impact report 202. In Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/870428
Stevens Initiative. (2019). Virtual exchange impact and learning report 2019. https://www.stevensinitiative.org/resource/virtual-exchange-impact-and-learning-report/#:%E2%88%BC:text=The%20Steven%20Initiative's%202019%20Virtual,and%20common%20challenges%20for%20implementers
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Not published / presented only - 5 Jul 2024 |
| Event | International Conference on Technology-enhanced Language Learning and Teaching & Corpus-based Language Learning and Teaching - The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Duration: 3 Jul 2024 → 5 Jul 2024 |
Conference
| Conference | International Conference on Technology-enhanced Language Learning and Teaching & Corpus-based Language Learning and Teaching |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | TeLLT & CoLLT 2024 |
| Country/Territory | China |
| City | Hong Kong |
| Period | 3/07/24 → 5/07/24 |
Keywords
- Virtual Exchange
- Intercultural language teaching and learning
- Design-based Research
- Affordance