Impacts of International Telecollaboration on Student Learning and Teacher Competence

Dr. Gyeong Mi Heo & Dr. Alain Breuleux (McGill University, Canada)
Rhea Febro & Amelia Buan (MSU-IIT, Philippines)
Dr. Jonghwi Park (UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education)
2014 AERAAnnual Meeting, April 6, 2014, Philadelphia, PA.

2014 AERA Annual Meeting, April 6, 2014, Philadelphia, PA.
Purposes of the Study
a) To report the processes of design and implementation of
the International School Project (ISP)
b) To examine the impact of the ISP on student learning and
teacher competence; and hence
c) To discuss meaningful implications for future
implementation of this kind of international
telecollaboration project.

The ISP was initiated by UNESCO Asia Pacific Regional Bureau for
Education in line with the "Capacity Building Workshops on
Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Telecollaboration."
International School Project (ISP)
a) To provide teachers and students
with opportunities to collaborate
with other groups from different
countries, and
b) To build an online learning
community for teachers and
students to promote PBL-
Telecollaboration.

Study Context
 Participants from China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Canada,
and Republic of Korea.
 ISP leadership team: UNESCO staffs, Teacher Education Institutions (TEI)
coordinators and lead teachers.
 Education Community portal and Voice/Video conferencing system (e.g.,
Skype and Adobe Connect)

 Phase 1: Digital story (Project Initiation and Preparation)
 A video production showcasing the school and a sample of current
student activities.
 Phase 2: National project
 Phase 3: Weather calendar project
 Multi-national group project: Each group consisting of students from
different countries produced a calendar of the assigned month by
using Popplet (http://popplet.com/).
(For more details, see http://unescokisp.wikispaces.com )
Implementation of the ISP

 Impact on student learning
a) Digital literacy: 21st Century Skills (Trilling & Fadel, 2009)
• Ways of thinking (e.g., critical thinking, problem solving, and
creativity),
• Ways of working (e.g., communication and collaboration) and
tools for working (e.g., ICTs), and
• Skills for living in the world (e.g., cross-cultural interaction and
self-directed learning)
b) Intercultural competency
“The ability to step beyond one’s own culture and function with
other individuals from linguistically and culturally diverse
backgrounds” (Sinicrope, Norris, & Watanabe, 2007, p.1).
Conceptual Framework (1/2)

Conceptual Framework (2/2)
 Impact on teacher competence
a) Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK)
It presents the complex, multifaceted and situated knowledge
required by teachers when integrating technology into their
classroom practice (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).
b) Professional Learning Communities (PLC)
It is characterized by "shared beliefs, values, and vision; shared and
supportive leadership; supportive structural conditions; supportive
relational conditions; collective learning; and peer sharing"
(Bausmith & Barry, 2011, p.175).

Research Questions
1) What are the benefits of the international PBL-
Telecollaboration for students and teachers?
2) What are the main challenges of the international PBL-
Telecollaboration for teachers and students?
3) What are implications for designing and implementing an
international PBL-telecollaboration project?

Methods: Participants
 Recruitment of participation
 Thirteen elementary schools from six different countries (i.e., Canada,
China, Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia and Bangladesh)
participated in the ISP.
 Initial qualifications of participating teachers: one is active, motivated
in using ICT, confident in communicating in English, and willing to
participate in the project.
 Since only five schools from Canada, China, and the Philippines
submitted their pre- and post-survey responses, the results will be
discussed mostly based on the data from Canada, China, and the
Philippines.

Methods: Data Sources (1/2)
1) Student Pre & Post-surveys: Students' background information
and intercultural understanding
 Level of English; Experience in international communication &
collaboration; ICT access, usage, and skills
 Conceptual change in intercultural understanding: Students'
perceptions of other countries through their descriptions and drawings
1. Describe what you think of each of the ISP participating countries.
• What do you know about:
• What would you like to know about:
2. Draw an image that represents to you each of the ISP participating countries.

Methods: Data Sources (2/2)
2) Teacher Pre & Post-surveys: Teachers’ background information
and their experiences, understanding, and knowledge
 Years of teaching experience and level of English; Experience in
international communication & collaboration; ICT access and usage;
Familiarity with / Competence in project-based learning (PBL)
 Teachers' approaches to teaching and learning: Technological,
Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK)
 Expected learning outcomes for teachers and students from the ISP
project
3) Project reports by TEI coordinators

Results: Benefits for Students (1/2)
 Digital literacy
a) Essential learning skills (e.g., observation skill, question skill and science
skill in the learning process; self-directed learning; ICT literacy; critical
thinking and inquiry-based learning; 21st Century skills),
b) Skills for communication and collaboration (e.g., learn how to
communicate with others online; proficient in the use of technology
and how to work in a group; how to use cooperation to solve the heavy
and difficult problem; cooperative learning; communication), and
c) Value of cultural diversity (e.g., appreciation of cultural diversity;
(inter)cultural awareness).

Results: Benefits for Students (2/2)
 Intercultural understanding
 Student's descriptions on what they know about other countries were
analyzed by adapting the “cultural literacy rubric” (Metiri Group, n.d.).
 The results revealed that students were still at the basic level of
intercultural understanding. Statements of their knowledge were of
basic concepts (e.g., political events, world trends, flags), basic
knowledge about history, and mostly focused on mainstream
cultures, such as food, clothing, sports and dances.
 To view the students' conceptual change of the other countries, their
descriptions were presented visually by using a word cloud
application (http://www.wordle.net).

Canadian students' conceptions of China
in the Pre-survey

Canadian students' conceptions of China
in the Post-survey

Filipino students' conceptions of Canada
in the Pre-survey

Filipino students' conceptions of Canada
in the Post-survey

Drawings by a Canadian student in Pre- and Post- Surveys

Drawings by a Chinese student in Pre- and Post- Surveys

Drawings by a Filipino student in Pre- and Post- Surveys

Results: Benefits for Teachers
 Technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK)
 Fifteen teachers self-rated their approaches to teaching and learning
in relation to TPACK.
 The teachers indicated what they had learned in terms of pedagogical
knowledge (e.g., How to guide students to collect materials in
different ways; How to guide students to get along with each other
during group work; Students' self-monitoring of their own learning is
very important) and technological knowledge (e.g., How to use ICTs,
such as Blog, E-mail, Moodle, Forum, and Skype).
 Learning in a professional learning community (PLC)
 There was a lack of interaction between the ISP participating teachers
to share their beliefs, knowledge, experiences, and practice-related
issues as a professional learning community.

 The ISP provided the teachers and students a meaningful
opportunity:
a) To communicate and collaborate with others from different
countries at different levels;
b) To learn from others with different background, knowledge, and
skills;
c) To use various ICT tools for communication and collaboration as well
as presentation and media production; and
d) To increase awareness and appreciation of different countries and
cultures.
Results: Benefits of the ISP

Results: Challenges for Students
 Challenges for students to participate in telecollaboration
activities
a) Limited time for working on the EC
• Limited time for students to spend online as there are restrictions from parents who
think that internet may have bad effects on students achievement.
b) Students' limited English proficiency
• Students cannot use the English learning platform-EC without the help of teachers
or coordinators.
c) Technical problems and lack of skills in using ICTs
• The IT equipments available was not good enough, for example, just opening up
one website may cost several minutes.
d) Disconnected interaction
• The teacher and the students discouraged by the small number of replies to their
postings on the EC groups.

 The ISP participating teachers indicated challenges:
a) Different school calendars (i.e., semesters, vacation and holidays)
across countries and schools make it difficult for participants to plan
a timeframe of project activities.
b) Lack of proficiency in English could inhibit the teachers from
interacting actively with other teachers.
c) Technical problems in relation to technological infrastructure (e.g.,
Internet access, availability of computers and/or laptop, and IT
equipments) and ICTs used for implementing specific project
activities related to their TK.
d) Lack of knowledge and skills (e.g., TPACK) in implementing an
innovative approach to teaching and learning in the classroom.
Results: Challenges for Teachers

Conclusions
 The international telecollaboration project allowed the
participating students and teachers to gain benefits:
 Learn some aspects of curriculum from other countries.
 Learn to work with others from different countries and cultures at
different levels
 Learn to use ICTs
 Develop cross-cultural communication skills
 Appreciate one’s own culture and increase intercultural understanding
 Recommendations
 Clarify participation structures at the project design and planning
stage based on mutual agreements (e.g., curriculum priorities, access
to ICT, English language proficiency, school calendar, and so on).
 Build sustained and close relationships among participants.

Thank You !!
 Contacts:
 Dr. Gyeong Mi Heo (gyeongmi.heo@mcgill.ca)
 Dr. Alain Breuleux (alain.breuleux@mcgill.ca)
 Rhea Febro (rhea.febro@g.msuiit.edu.ph)
 Amelia Buan (amelia.buan@g.msuiit.edu.ph)
 Dr. Jonghwi Park (j.park@unesco.org)
 Acknowledgement:
 The International School Project (ISP) was supported by the “Korean
Funds-in-Trust (KFIT)” provided by the government of the Republic
of Korea to the UNESCO Asia Pacific Regional Bureau for Education.

Impacts of International Telecollaboration on Student Learning and Teacher Competence

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