As you start your search for a COIL partner, keep the following in mind:
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- COIL can involve two courses in the same or different disciplines; the goal is to find a point where the courses overlap and students can address a shared issue or topic.
- COIL assignments can be synchronous or asynchronous.
- Partners are simply expected to be available to design and deliver the project with you. A formal agreement between institutions is not required. Ideally, your partner will have support from their institution to pursue a COIL project.
Below are strategies and resources to start your search:
Draft a vision for your project
Which one of your courses has at least one learning outcome that could be addressed through COIL?
Which aspect of the syllabus would lend itself best to cross-cultural critical reflection by students?
What do you hope this collaboration will achieve for your students?
How do you envision students working together?
You can get ideas about COIL projects from our Research and Course Examples page.
Prepare a short summary
Describe your idea for a COIL project in a few sentences. Include details on the potential number of students and proposed length of project.
You may share links from the Resources tab on this site to help explain COIL.
Share your COIL idea in online communities for virtual exchange
Linkr provides a platform for faculty to connect and host virtual exchange projects. See their guide on partnering for a “linked class”.
CUNY COIL Academic Commons includes faculty and staff interested in COIL. You can post your idea to the group and ask if anyone has a lead on a potential partner.
UNICollaboration is also a great site to meet other faculty interested in virtual exchange.
Reach into your existing networks
Consider all of your professional networks, including academic communities and disciplinary associations. If they have a listserv or portal where colleagues can directly communicate with each other, you may wish to post your COIL idea there.
If you have a contact at a college or university abroad, you can also ask them to share your inquiry with their colleagues. It is very possible they have faculty interested in virtual exchange.
