Global Education
Intercultural Learning
Intercultural learning is a lifelong developmental process that promotes intercultural skills, which are essential for an interconnected yet fragmented world today. These skills include the targeted knowledge, skills and attitude leading to behaviour and communication that is both effective and appropriate in intercultural interactions.
Virtual Exchanges
A virtual Exchange (VE), also known as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), is a format that helps facilitate the acquisition of intercultural competence through intercultural learning and prepares students for real-life workplaces.
Classes from different contexts or geographical locations interact and collaborate online as part of syllabus and under the guidance of educators. Through this format of intercultural learning, students gradually acquire and enhance global competence skills necessary for life in an interconnected world.
CCSSO & Asia Society (2011)
By engaging in VE's, students develop communication, collaboration and digital literacy skills that will help them navigate an interconnected world as re global citizens.
My journey in VE
My constant pursuit of authentic and meaningful learning as a teacher led me to the field of Educational Technologies. In 2009 I began connecting my own classes with others around the world through virtual exchanges (VE's) and have continued to engage students of all ages in VE's since then. Since 2019 I have served as |COIL counselor advising on strategy and helping implement the internationalization of education in Higher Education in Israel. I have worked with Kibbutzim College and am now currently advising Achva Academic College as they set up their internationalization programme. In addition I am a member of the Advisory Board for GlobalEd.
Hot tips for COIL
Internationalization of Higher Education
As consultant for Internationalization Department from Research Unit at Kibbutzim College of Education (2020-2022)
As independent counselor, I crafted a techno pedagogical vision statement for international courses at Kibbutzim College. The document was shared with Council of Higher Education of Israel and the Forum for Internationalization of Education, and featured on Erasmus site.
As COIL counselor, I also wrote a handbook for practitioners, edited in collaboration with Dr. Anya Glickman. For the handbook, click on the image or HERE.
Selected Projects
Virtual Exchanges in EFL Teacher Training
Over the years I worked at Kibbutzim College of Education, I embedded virtual exchanges in the courses I taught at the English Department- as lecturer (see the examples below), and also coached lecturers from other departments in the design and implementation of COIL in their courses- as consultant and member of the Digital Pedagogy Unit (see a sample COIL in the page for Digital Pedagogy: Switzerland and Israel as partners, conducted in a Literature course on Sholem Aleichem.)
"Teaching English in a Technologically Enhanced Environment" course, English Dept. at Kibbutzim College (2017-2022)
COIL for inductive experiential learning and modeling for pre-service teachers of English in my course "Teaching English in a Technologically Enhanced Environment", Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences:
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"Professors without Borders". A community of practice for authentic learning , in collaboration with Dr. Beth Ritter-Guth from NCC.
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"Digital Tours of Our Lives". In partnership with Dr. Beth Ritter-Gutt, Northampton Community College (NCC), Pennsylvania, US. Sample images from the interactions can be seen below. These tasks were followed by individual and group reflections.
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"Our Real Lives". In partnership with Dr. Beth Ritter-Guth, DeSalles University, Pennsylvanya, US: How can Realism help us understand our changing reality now? Virtual exchange conducted during CoVid crisis. The American group studied Literature.
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"Sharing Realities: Connecting and Learning through Words Associated with Images". In partnership with Dr Shea Kerkhoff, University of Missouri in St Louis: Exchanging the essential essence of our daily current lives with a single image and one evocative word. Using collaborative interactive images on Genially, students develop skills such as critical thinking, visual literacy and intercultural competence. Students add words to interactive hotspots based on associations they each make with the provided images (chosen collaboratively by both teachers) or selected pictures (images chosen by each group to illustrate their country and reality). Furthermore, images, videos, or quotes can be added to the words selected by each student. My pre-service English teachers can explore how this activity may be used in class to enhance vocabulary learning while the American class, studying a course on Literacy in Education, could explore ways to promote literacy.
"Shared Education" with JHS Students
Three-layered collaboration: Arab and Jewish pre-service English teachers in practicum, mentor EFL teachers, and students led by pedagogical advisor| Partners: Beit Berl College & CET (2016-2017)
As Head of pedagogical team (student teachers, teachers and principals) in collaboration with Dr. Rim Bshara, I was responsible for training, coordination, and supervising design. Students from Tira and Ruppin engaged in shared learning activities through virtual exchange and mutual visits.
"Hangouts for Negotiation (HFN)" with HS students
English and key 21st century skills to develop responsible future leaders and promote a shared life in Israel, developed through partnerships between Arab and Jewish schools | Ort Israel school network ( (2015-2016) supported by US and Google.
Co-founder (with Dr Tziona Levi and Alonit Bar from Ort's R&D Unit), designer and project manager of interdisciplinary multicultural project implemented in Ort school network and fully funded by US Embassy through a grant for innovation from the US State Department. Also supported by Google. See videos of final event with US Ambassador present- in Google Campus below.
Through self-directed learning (with carefully designed scaffolds) in mixed teams (of 8 students each with and equal number of students from each class) and coached by respective teachers in class partnerships, students learn about negotiation and collaborate on shared products to promote tolerance- for the community, while honing English (as a neutral language for communication) and digital skills. Future leadership nurtured as students developed through collaboration, creativity, and autonomy.
"The Road to Literature" for Learning of English Literature in HS
Two-layered (global and local) computer-supported knowledge-building collaborative learning community (KB CSCL) for Israeli & Dutch HS students (2014)
This is my concluding design-based research project for my MA in Educational Technologies at Haifa University, supervised by Prof. Yael Kali and Dr. Ornit Sagy. It centers on Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," with the goal of bringing literature to life and fostering critical thinking skills among Ort Kiryat Bialik (where it was implemented) students as they prepare for the Matriculation English Exam.
The design of a KB CSCL for learning the poem encompasses two layers of collaboration:
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Local. The class functions as a KBC (Knowledge Building Community) throughout the learning process.
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International. A class from the Netherlands does the same activities, using the same materials designed to learn the poem, and connects with the Israeli class for specific tasks within the framework of a virtual exchange that helps learn in an authentic way and better understand these two HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills): Different Perspectives and Comparing and Contrasting.
The research conducted focused on the adoption of an alternative culture of learning and teaching (CLT). based on internal values (making connections for deep learning, various sources of knowledge, inner motivation, etc.).
"ePals" School Partnership
A two year COIL combined with delegations exchange | Ort Kiryat Bialik & Ort Marseille (2011-2013)
Founder of School Partnership in collaboration with Ms Eveline Zarhi from Ort Marseille, and under the leadership of the school principals- Mr. Rami Porat and Mr Cohen; Designed and conducted virtual exchange for English classes for 2 years; Managed delegation of Israeli students and responsible for hosting French delegation in mutual visits of delegations of students
Delegation from Ort Kiryat Bialik hosted by ePals from Ort Marseille in France
"ePals" Projects
International Collaborations for Authentic Learning of English at Ort Kiryat Bialik High School (2009-2015)
Food for Thought
"I am conscious of myself and become myself only while revealing myself for another, through another, and with the help of another.", (Bakhtin, 1984)