Discussions

Your Name and Title: Dr. Jami Leibowitz, Interim Director of Global Academic Initiatives and Director of Global Understanding

School or Organization Name: East Carolina University

Co-Presenter Name(s):

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: East Coast, USA (Greenville, NC)

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s): University level faculty and administrators 

Short Session Description (one line): This presentation will provide an overview of East Carolina University's award winning Global Understanding Program.

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Over the past 10 years, the Global Understanding Program has used innovative technology based learning strategies to offer all East Carolina University (ECU) students, including the 98% of ECU students who do not study abroad, access to first hand, real-time international experiences. These encounters provide students both at ECU and at our 59 partner institutions in 31 countries on five continents the opportunity to develop essential skills necessary to succeed in a global, multicultural society. Students in a Global Understanding class get the opportunity to work with three partner institutions located around the globe consecutively for approximately 3-4 weeks each during which time students lead real-time discussions about college life, family and cultural traditions, meaning of life and religion and stereotypes and prejudices. Students also complete collaborative projects with their assigned partners in which they must work together to create and present a final presentation that represents a “negotiated” solution to a “problem.” In total, approximately 60% of the class time in the semester is spent in real-time video connections. This presentation will provide an overview of the Global Understanding Program and its outcomes.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: http://www.ecu.edu/gai