Virtual Global Classrooms without Walls: Collaborative Opportunities for Higher Learning Engagement

Cathy MacDonald, Debra Sheppard-LeMoine

Educational research demonstrates that conventional pedagogies are no longer effective for actively engaging learners and produces learning isolation. Alternative interpretative approaches that foster learning and inquiry from multiple perspectives and contexts, while emanating from lived experiences engages and empowers students to explore and increase their understanding about sensitive topics (such as palliative care, leadership challenges, and practicing within vulnerable environments). Encouraging students to associate their personal experiences with evidenced-based knowledge and best practices in positive learning spaces supports innovative advancement of health care with a focus on culturally safe practices internationally. This can be accomplished via virtual global classrooms by using synchronous communication implementing video conferencing. The University of Calgary Qatar (UCQ), Doha has been active in this learning approach in both their undergraduate and graduate programs. A shared teaching/ learning experience was facilitated for the undergraduate Bachelor of Science Nursing (BScN) students in Doha, Qatar and the Rankin School of Nursing, Saint Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada. This experience focused on building understanding of community nursing practices in both countries. In the UCQ master of nursing program, a palliative care course was offered for three spring sessions and a leadership course was offered for one spring session with synchronous communication via video conferencing between Nova Scotia and the Middle East. These virtual learning opportunities fostered relational and professional learning engagements that would not have been otherwise been possible. The authors contend that this work provides not only an opportunity for future higher learning engagements, but also a foundation for future global collaborative research and practice partnerships.

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