Question 1

Why would we add virtual exchange when we already offer study abroad programs? How would investing in a virtual exchange program conflict with or benefit current programs?

Accepted Answer

Study Abroad and Virtual Exchange are not competitors or mutually exclusive; they’re complementary ways to bring international experiences to your students. Our surveys show that experiences with Virtual Exchange boosts the number of students interested in studying, living, and working abroad. Additionally, Virtual Exchange allows more students to participate in an international exchange than through study abroad alone.

Question 2

What is CLICK?

Accepted Answer

CLICK - Collaborative Learning for International Capabilities and Knowledge - is our virtual exchange system empowering faculty in two different countries to bring global skills to all  students by connecting their classrooms. To kick start your virtual exchange program, our CLICK system helps you start small and grow fast through our signature Explore-Connect-Design training workshop series combined with follow-up support from our coaches and assessment.

Question 3

How much time does it take to create a CLICK project? to design it?

Accepted Answer

Once teachers have connected with their international partner, the CLICK Design phase takes six hours participating in four interactive workshops on zoom plus anywhere from 2-6 hours outside the workshop refining ideas and materials with their partner. Some partners are really fast and others take more time to develop their materials and learning activities. Our examples and workbooks along with shared lessons and insights of the teachers in each training cohort provide an efficient and interesting way to design successful CLICK projects.

Question 4

How much time does it take to complete a given CLICK project?

Accepted Answer

CLICK projects run from a minimum of 4 weeks to a full semester. The teaching partners decide the duration needed to achieve their shared learning goals and also meet their course requirements. The project can be done during a specific set of weeks or spread across parts of the partner classes over a longer period. We have successful CLICK projects between campuses with semester durations that range from 8 to 15 weeks.

Question 5

Will this change the requirements for a class?

Accepted Answer

No, the partner teachers design the learning activities so that both sets of students meet their home-class requirements while also gaining intercultural and global experience by developing final projects working together in US-abroad teams. Students receive credit for the course from their home campus along with a new set of skills to add to their resumés and are recognized for their achievements with certificates from Gazelle International.

Question 6

Our teachers already have such busy schedules and you’re saying they need to spend a lot of time training to add CLICK to their classes. Why do my teachers need training in virtual exchange? They know how to create new courses, why not one of these CLICK projects?

Accepted Answer

While we understand the concern of not wanting to add to teachers already busy schedules, CLICK projects are co-taught cross-culturally and deal with a different set of roadblocks than the average class, whether in person or virtual. By completing our training workshops, teachers learn about the high impact pedagogic practices that lead to success with Virtual Exchange. We’re able to work through the potential complications between partners and with technology in real time so they’re prepared when they launch CLICK with their students. Teachers will also be working within a cohort, so can workshop their projects and take inspiration from one another. They’ll also connect with their CLICK Coach in training who will continue to support them through the running of the project. Once trained, teachers can repeat their CLICK projects without additional training or can join again in order to design additional projects!

Question 7

Some of my teachers tried virtual exchange on their own but hit roadblocks with coordinating schedules, not agreeing on grading, or just finding it hard to find a compatible partner. How are teaching partners selected or matched?

Accepted Answer

While some partnerships CLICK right away, others take time to build. In the Explore and Connect workshops, we guide teachers in discussing their goals, cultural backgrounds, and teaching practices. We explicitly discuss compatible styles and what they expect and offer in a partner. After getting to know each other, they rank their top three preferred partners with "speed-dating". We use their feedback to match the teaching partners in consultation with the campus liaisons.

Question 8

What is the optimal number of teachers to start our program with a first cohort of CLICK projects?

Accepted Answer

Ideally, a group of 3-5 teachers will form the first cohort from your campus along with 3-5 teachers from an international partner. They will be your best spokespersons for recruiting their colleagues.

Question 9

What countries and types of campuses do teaching partners come from?

Accepted Answer

In recent years, the growing CLICK ecosystem of teaching partnerships have included faculty in USA Community Colleges in AL, CT, FL, MA, TX, WA and WI, two  and four-year technical institutes in The Netherlands  and France much like US community and technical colleges. Campus partners have included community and 4-year, comprehensive colleges, universities in Mexico and France including a French Polytechnic. Our programs are open to institutions and faculty from anywhere in the world. Does your institution want to explore the possibilities? Have colleagues abroad who might want to join us? Let us know.

Question 10

We have current international partners, how can we work with them to recruit CLICK teaching partners?

Accepted Answer

We’re here to help bring you both into the CLICK network. Your collegiate partner may welcome the opportunity to deepen your relationship to reach more students through virtual exchange. We can arrange a dedicated Virtual Exchange 101 Course (VE101) for you and your international partner or schedule an initial consultation at your mutual convenience with Nancy Ruther, our Principal and Founder.

Question 11

Do partners need to match with someone in their own discipline or can this be an interdisciplinary project?

Accepted Answer

Both can work well. We have examples of both types, e.g. both partners teach marketing or engineering or biology. Or some partners teach in closely linked fields, e.g English for business collaborates with business-finance. Interdisciplinary ranges broadly, e.g. Art with English for Engineering; Health Sciences and Network Management; Communication with Spanish language; Nursing with Quality Control. The possibilities are endless.

Question 12

How many students can be involved in each CLICK project?

Accepted Answer

Most of our CLICK projects have had from 5 to 30 students from each country, for a total of 10 to 60 in a project’s “collaborative third learning space”.  Sometimes teachers start smaller in their first project and then expand as they feel more comfortable and repeat the project in another semester.  In Spring 22 we had our largest project with almost 140 students between the two teaching partners.

Question 13

How will my American students complete work with international students in a country that speaks another language?

Accepted Answer

Most international students start learning English early in their school career. CLICK projects are run in English. Non-native English speakers are both nervous and excited to speak with foreign students and often report an increased confidence in their English abilities after successfully communicating with their partners. American students have expressed an interest in learning another language after completing their CLICK projects.

Question 14

How will we know the student and faculty results of a set of CLICK projects?

Accepted Answer

Beyond ad-hoc student and teacher comments and project assessments, we provide you with the data from a well-honed set of pre-post surveys to assess student outcomes. We also provide faculty post-project surveys along with more qualitative pre-project faculty profiles. We use these results to adjust our training and share our lessons with the larger virtual exchange community.  Several faculty and campuses have used them to share results at conferences.

Question 15

How do most campus partners recognize the teachers who do CLICK projects?

Accepted Answer

Different campuses handle it differently. There are often professional and curricular development, conference support or even departmental or campus funds that may be used. We have seen teachers use release time, claim this in tenure and promotion materials, for diversity or experiential teaching contributions, or/and as part of a service segment of additional responsibilities that are part of a collective bargaining agreement.

Question 16

Are there travel funds available for students and faculty?

Accepted Answer

Several of our CLICK teachers have received grant and campus funds for themselves and their students to travel to meet a partner or bring the partner to their institution. There may be funds available through your home institution as well as individual or group-focused grant sources. Some CLICK teachers have been able to use professional development funds and some teaching and learning centers have grants or stipends that can be used for this purpose. A few teachers have even received grants from the French Embassy in the US.

Question 17

Who is the main contact? Who oversees the program and who supports the projects?

Accepted Answer

For training and CLICK project teaching support, Dr. Nancy Ruther, Principal of Gazelle International, is the main contact. We also assign a designated CLICK learning liaison to support each CLICK teaching team in a cohort. Your institution normally designates a liaison or coordinator as well.

Question 18

What is Gazelle International and what is your vision for higher and international education?

Accepted Answer

We are a US-based nonprofit created in 2015 to bring high quality international education to more students. We are based in Connecticut, near New Haven, home of Yale University where our Founder worked for many years.  See this video where she shares her vision.

Question 19

Where did the name come from?  Is there a story?

Accepted Answer

Our name, Gazelle International, evokes innovative leaders breaking out to lead!  It was seeded in our founder’s mind during a conference on developing African Higher Education at Yale. Read the quick story here.

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