What is COIL?
Virtual Exchange, also known as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), is a way to interact and work with students and faculty members from universities around the world right here at PSU!
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a form of virtual exchange between faculty and students in countries across the world.
At PSU, we are linking regularly taught PSU courses with partner classrooms in Japan, Germany, Algeria, Mexico, South Africa and Qatar. Faculty and students collaborate on shared or complimentary assignments using Zoom, Facebook, Google Docs or other applications.
This video explains how COIL works:
Employers are looking for graduates with 21st century skills. These include the ability to work virtually, to communicate well across cultures, and to collaborate to find solutions to shared problems.
COIL offers PSU students the opportunity to practice these skills simultaneously in a regular PSU course while creating meaningful connections with their peers abroad. Most importantly, it does not require travel to participate or to benefit from. It is truly global learning for all!
COIL Scholars Program
The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Scholars Program was launched at PSU in 2019. It is a special collaboration of the Provost, Internationalization Council and Office of International Affairs.
The scholars program is cohort-based and offers five workshops and a stipend to eligible faculty. The 2020 Program is closed. However, any interested faculty can implement COIL in their class without participating in the cohort. Resources are here.
PSU COIL Faculty Scholars
COIL Champions at PSU
Lindsay Benstead, Assistant Professor, Political Science
Kimberly Brown, Professor, Applied Linguistics and International Studies
Christine Cress, Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy, College of Education
TC Dale, Director, Business Minor program, School of Business
Bernd Ferner, Associate Professor, Education
Matthew Gebhardt, Associate Professor, Urban Studies & Planning
Jacen Greene, Assistant Director, Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative
Jen Hamlow, Director, Education Abroad
Tien James, Assistant Professor of Management, School of Business
Vandy Kanyako, Conflict Resolution, CLAS
Ted Khoury, Associate Professor, School of Business
Noah Kurzenhauser, Political Science Student with a minor in Community Development
Piman Limpaphayom, Associate Professor, Finance, School of Business
Julia MacRae, Instructor of ESL, Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science
Sally Mudiamu, Director, Office of International Partnerships - main administrator
Maureen O’Connor, Instructor, Advertising, School of Business
Yoko Sakurauchi, Faculty, International & Global Studies
Steven Thorne, Associate Professor of Second Language Acquisition, World Languages and Literatures
Yasin Tunc, Assistant Professor of Practice, Curriculum & Instruction, College of Education
Janelle Voegele, Office of Academic Innovation
William "Harry" York, Humanities Faculty, University Honors College
Testimonials
"The COIL program at PSU is a fantastic learning and growth opportunity. ... It builds on and enriches PSU's existing courses and programs in a way that makes many of the benefits of an international field study accessible to a much broader range of students. The program also created a fantastic learning community of fellow faculty and administrators I will continue to look to for support and inspiration for years to come." -Jacen Greene (pictured below)