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Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Impact Study, 2019 1 2019 Impact Report Erasmus + © 2019 European Union and EACEA 2 More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (https://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020 PRINT ISBN 978-92-9484-317-3 doi: 10.2797/786285 EC-01-20-239-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-9484-318-0 doi: 10.2797/513584 EC-01-20-239-EN-N © 2020 European Union and EACEA. All rights reserved. Produced under a contract with the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency financed by the European Union’s budget. The opinions expressed are those of the contractor only and do not represent the contracting authority’s official position. CREDITS Cover photos: © Solis Images, shutterstock.com, © GaudiLab, shutterstock.com Jigsaw icon: © Nano99, shutterstock.com 3 Authors: Francesca Helm and Bart van der Velden Contributors to the editing, data collection and analysis: Stephanie Siklossy, Aurélie Durand, Giuseppe Acconcia, Katharina Ploss, Robert O’Dowd, Limou Dembele, Carlotta Fassiotti and Marine Jacob. Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Impact Report 2019 Brussels, 2020 5 Table of Contents Figures and Tables 6 Acronyms 7 Executive Summary 8 Synthèse 12 Introduction 16 1 What is Virtual Exchange? 17 1.1 Key characteristics of Virtual Exchange 17 1.2 Why is Virtual Exchange necessary in 21st century education and youth work? 18 2 Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange: origins and structure 22 2.1 Background and rationale 22 2.2 Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange: Four models of Virtual Exchange 22 3 Research aims and methodology 25 3.1 Research objectives 25 3.2 Data gathering and analysis 26 3.3 Limitations of research approach 28 4 Research Findings 30 4.1 Levels and demographics of participation in 2018 and 2019 30 4.2 Overview of 2018 impact report findings 31 4.3 To what extent do the results from 2019 consolidate the findings from 2018? 32 4.4 In what ways do each of the models of Virtual Exchange contribute to meeting the aims of the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange pilot project? 38 4.5 What are the strengths and challenges that each of the models of Virtual Exchange present? 50 5 Concluding remarks and recommendations 55 5.1 Conclusions 55 5.2 Recommendations for the future 57 5.3 Final comments 59 6 References 60 Annexes Annex 1: Literature review of learning outcomes of Virtual Exchange 62 Annex 2: Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Monitoring & Evaluation Tools 2019 66 Annex 3: Analysis of the reach of EVE in relation to GDP data. 70 Annex 4: Results of keyword analysis using TF-IFD 72 6 Figures and Tables Figure 1: Pre- and post-exchange measures 10 Figure 1: Mesures pré- et post-échange 14 Table 1: Differences between Virtual Exchange and other online learning initiatives 18 Figure 2: Priorities of 21st century education and what Virtual Exchange can offer 20 Figure 3: Example of a live VE synchronous dialogue session on the Exchange Portal and the online learning space used for asynchronous exchange, engagement and collaboration between participants 23 Table 2: Pre-exchange respondents by gender 26 Table 3: Post-exchange respondents by gender 26 Table 4: Pre-exchange respondents by age group 26 Table 5: Post-exchange respondents by age group 27 Table 6: Pre-exchange respondents by region 27 Table 7: Post-exchange respondents by region 27 Table 8: Overview of interviews and focus groups 28 Figure 4: Breakdown of participants by gender (aggregated 2018-2019) 30 Figure 5: Breakdown of participants by age (aggregated 2018-2019) 30 Figure 6: Breakdown of participants per country 31 Figure 7: 2018 Post-exchange measures 33 Figure 8: 2019 Post-exchange measures 33 Table 9: Overall satisfaction participating in exchanges 33 Table 10: Increased knowledge of relationships between societies per activity 34 Table 11: Percentage of participants who reported building positive relationships through the virtual exchange per activity 34 Table 12: Confidence in working in culturally diverse settings per activity 35 Table 13: Improved teamwork per activity 35 Table 14: Improved digital competencies per activity 35 Table 15: Pre-and post-exchange measures 36 Table 16: Increase in interpersonal competencies and attitudes per activity 37 Table 17: Increase in warmth towards people with a different ethnic background per activity 38 Figure 9: Word clouds of responses to the question: What is the most important thing you learnt? Activity 1 (top left), Activity 2 (top right), Activity 3 (bottom left), Activity 4 (bottom right) 39 Table 18: Strengths and challenges of the different models of Virtual Exchange 57 Table 19: Breakdown of participating country by GDP per capita, PPP 70 7 Table 20: Participating countries classified as Very Low and Very High 70 Figure 10: Age of participants (aggregated 2018-2019) 71 Figure 11: Participation per person per economic area 71 Chart 1: OFD TF-ID Best things about the exchange 72 Chart 2: OFD TF-IDF Most important things 72 Chart 3: OFD TF-IDF Topics 73 Chart 4: TEP TF-ID Best things about the exchange 73 Chart 5: TEP TF-ID Most important things 74 Chart 6: TEP TF-ID Topics 74 Chart 7: AT TF-IDF Best things about the exchange 75 Chart 8: AT TF-IDF Most important things 75 Chart 9: AT TF-IDF Topics 76 Chart 10: iOOC TF-IDF Best things about the exchange 76 Chart 11: iOOC TF-IDF Most important things 77 Chart 12: iOOC TF-IDF Topics 77 Acronyms AT Advocacy Training COIL Collaborative Online International Learning ECTS European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System ENP European Neighbourhood Policy EVE Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange GDP Gross Domestic product IaH Internationalisation at Home IoC Internationalisation of the Curriculum iOOCs Interactive Open Online Courses MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology MOOCs Massive Open Online Courses OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OFD Online Facilitated Dialogue TEPs Transnational Exchange Projects TF-IFD Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency VE Virtual Exchange 8 Executive Summary Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange (EVE) is a pilot project, launched by the European Commission in 2018, which provides an accessible, ground-breaking way for young people to engage in intercultural learning experiences online. Through a range of activities, EVE aims to expand the scope of the Erasmus+ programme through online collaborative learning activities known as Virtual Exchanges (VE). Virtual Exchange is defined as technology-enabled, people-to-people educational programming, facilitated and sustained over a period of time.1 Working with youth organisations and universities, the project is open to any young person aged 18-30 residing in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean. Key characteristics and relevance of Virtual Exchange A combination of common characteristics differentiate VE from other forms of virtual learning and initiatives. The focus in VE is primarily on people-to-people interaction and dialogue in contrast with many online learning programmes where the primary focus is on content. The learning goals of VE include soft skills that are generally not formally recognised in other educational contexts, such as the development of intercultural awareness, empathy and the ability to work collaboratively in groups. VE is primarily learner-centred and follows the principles of experiential learning through dialogue. The role of the educators or trained facilitators in supporting learners to explicitly address intercultural issues and to engage with difference is a key tenet of the pedagogy. In contrast to informal participation in social networks, VE initiatives are structured and intentionally designed to produce learning outcomes. Ideally, they are integrated in some way into formal and non- formal learning programmes. Young people’s participation in VE and their acquisition of competences can be recognised in the form of badges, and in some Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) also through the awarding of grades and European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits. Interest in VE within youth and education sectors has grown over the past years, as policymakers look for effective pedagogies to prepare young people for the diverse array of challenges that globalised, digital societies present. These challenges require the development of competence clusters, including the intercultural and foreign language competences necessary to be active citizens in a culturally and linguistically diverse society, the digital competences to work and collaborate successfully in online environments and networks, the critical competences and media literacy to inform oneself and take decisions in a world increasingly characterised by fake news, as well as the soft skills high demand in the modern workplace, including creativity, adaptability, and collaboration. Through its unique design and learning objectives, VE is well placed to respond to these needs in 21st-century education and youth work. Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange origins and structure EVE is the largest, most comprehensive initiative in Europe to date to promote and integrate VE as a structured and accredited form of digital international learning for young people. The rationale for pioneering VE in the European context is underpinned by a number of interconnected European Union policies, decisions and priorities, both at the political and educational levels. 1. The Paris Declaration on promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education. 2. The youth dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), revised in November 2015, which aims to foster stabilisation, security and prosperity, in line with the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy. 3. The European Commission Digital Education Action Plan which supports technology-use and digital competence development in education, and the European Parliament Report on Education in the Digital Era. 4. The European Commission Communication on European higher education in the world which calls for “internationalisation-at-home” strategies to ensure that a large majority of learners are able to build the international skills required in a globalised world.
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