Increasing proximities and reducing distances through COIL Virtual Exchanges

The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) teaching and learning methodology has gained increased recognition as a nuanced form of virtual exchange, especially in the last five years in South Africa and during the Coronavirus-2019 global pandemic era. COIL serves to connect local and global entities as strategic partnerships are developed between higher education institutions in different countries. An important condition for its successful implementation to achieve targeted learning outcomes is the active involvement, creativity, and collaboration of disciplinary teams. These teams address the epistemological (knowing), ontological (self-identity) and praxis (action) elements of the curriculum. Drawing from Boschma’s dimensions of proximity, this paper uses a concurrent nested mixed methods research approach to explicate how the integration of COIL into the curriculum increases cognitive and social proximities while reducing geographical distances among students. This integration facilitates their access to and acquisition of various digital and research literacies, in addition to cognitive, functional, and social competencies.