SUNY COIL
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) increases access to global learning for all students by connecting faculty and students from around the world for discussions, exploration, and collaborative project work.
“My COIL work has been transformative to my teaching and scholarship. My COIL partnership has added depth and dimension to the curriculum and my teaching has become more active and intersectional.” —COIL instructor
What is COIL?
COIL is a pedagogical approach that is integrated into the curriculum of classes—in any subject area, at any level—and engages students and faculty in significant intercultural interactions through meaningful online engagement and collaborative, applied, and project-based learning, thereby bringing international experiences and their attendant skills development into the reach of all students, at any institution.
Who is COIL?
The SUNY COIL Center was established in 2004 as part of SUNY’s Office of Global Affairs to promote and professionalize the practice of Collaborative Online International Learning and Virtual Exchange. The Center serves the institutions of the State University of New York, along with offering services to higher education institutions around the world.
Visit the the COIL website to learn even more.
Why Integrate COIL?
A well planned COIL Collaboration can boost student engagement students and enhance your teaching.
COIL benefits students by:
- Developing intercultural awareness, communication competencies, and a deeper understanding of their own and other cultures
- Encouraging curiosity about the world and an appreciation for diverse backgrounds and perspectives
- Broadening and strengthening students’ understanding of a discipline studied through applied projects and discussions
- Bolstering 21st century skills such as teamwork, reflection, and communication
- Preparing students to work in a multi-cultural and connected world.
Faculty can use COIL to:
- Incorporate new disciplinary and cultural perspectives into their courses
- Develop team teaching collaborations with colleagues across the globe
- Provide high-impact, high-engagement experiences to their students
- Leverage their experiences with remote and online instruction to enhance their courses
Hear directly from faculty who have participated in COIL by visiting the introduction to COIL page.
Getting Started
Incorporating a COIL Collaboration into your existing course doesn’t require an expensive technology platform or extensive redesign of your course. It only requires an interest in effective, innovative pedagogy, a bit of flexibility and enthusiasm, and some thoughtful preparation.
The SUNY COIL Center offers online workshops to get you prepared to embed COIL into your classes, and offers opportunities for you to find partners around the world. To learn about how to integrate COIL into your classroom visit the professional development page.
The global community of practice, the SUNY COIL Global Network, serves as a hub for information and idea exchange, professional support, partner matching, and resource sharing. To start connecting with faculty around the world, create a profile on the ImmerseU website.
If you would like to participate in a workshop or learn more about COIL, contact Keith Landa in Purchase’s Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center, or the SUNY COIL Center at coilinfo@suny.edu.
Sign up here to join the COIL mailing list to learn about workshops, webinars and other opportunities.
COIL Vision: We envision a world free from implicit bias, where people engage across differences to fully connect with others. We believe that an educational environment that fosters shared values, mutual understanding, and critical digital literacy, and which promotes interaction across boundaries to develop leadership, collaborative problem solving and contextualized decision making, will make this vision a reality.