• Undergraduate
• Graduate

Texas International Education Consortium’s Community Connect prepares select faculty, along with virtual exchange facilitators in Iraq, in areas including urban settings and geography to design and implement virtual exchange programs for their students. Facilitators explore resources and strategies to incorporate global communication, interpersonal competencies, and language-learning goals into their programs. After participating in a virtual exchange firsthand, facilitators incorporate their solution-themed, project-based exchanges in the following semesters for their students. Through these exchanges, students develop professional skills such as digital literacy, collaboration, and communication.

Activities

This virtual exchange includes two components. First, facilitators will learn to design and develop virtual exchange programs and best practices for delivering these programs to students. The training includes activities such as program mapping, planning and design, technology integration, and critical thinking skills. Second, they will then conduct these exchange programs with their students from Iraq and Texas, U.S., who will complete a project-based exchange to develop their professional skills and simultaneously fulfill course objectives. Examples of these activities include diving into complex topics, conducting research, and proposing innovative solutions, among many other possibilities.

Program Details