The Wiley Handbook of Collaborative Online Learning and Global Engagement

16 Expanding Our View of Global Learning Outcomes

Deirdre Johnston¹ and Irene López²

¹ Hope College, USA

² Kenyon College, USA

The opportunity to connect learners from higher educational institutions across the globe is a truly phenomenal education opportunity. Now, thanks to technological advances, the possibilities for mutual interactive learning are virtually infinite. Within this new teaching landscape, where education can now extend beyond the physical walls of a traditional classroom, global course connections are a way to bring new perspectives on disciplinary content, allow for collaboration on significant issues, and provide for the extension of classroom boundaries across geographical and cultural locales. Globally-connected courses, in particular, incorporate interactive learning that extends pedagogical and learning opportunities beyond a reliance on traditional modes of teaching, such as shared lectures, texts, or conference presentations. Underlying these endeavors is the hope that globally-connected courses can promote understanding and goodwill, and prepare future problem-solvers to address global sustainable development goals. Toward this end, we embrace the role of education in preparing learners to engage with diversity for the ethical pursuit of global equity and justice.

Yet, to realize the educational impact of globally-connected courses, we need to (re)evaluate what we mean when we refer to global learning. As discussed in the first chapter of this volume, ...