Supporting International Students with Online Learning
Worlds apart but connected virtually, international students may struggle now that universities and colleges have adopted online classes. Some students may be learning from a different time zone and facing different cultural and language expectations. Others may have moved to Canada and are at risk of feeling more isolated and overwhelmed because of pandemic-related restrictions. For any international student, online learning can be exhausting and disheartening. As an instructor, you can support your international students by making targeted efforts in communication and accessibility.
Great communication is the key to any successful educational experience — particularly so for online learning. It goes further than setting clear expectations on learning objectives and course engagement. Targeted discussions about proper citation, study habits, and content access are crucial. Academic integrity is often raised as a concern for international students because different countries hold different policies. You may choose to embed a short video that explains your institution’s policies or post a list of the essential practices that students are expected to adopt. Linking to the actual policy is good practice; however, don’t rely solely on it. Those documents are often long and difficult to follow. Make it as easy as possible for your students to understand the best practices and they’ll likely adopt them quickly and more easily.
Beyond course materials, it’s crucial to ensure international students understand they’re not only welcome but encouraged to be active voices in the online class. Some students may be nervous to speak out if English is their second language or they’re used to different cultural norms. So, don’t just call for participation once at the beginning of the semester. Repeatedly encourage students to share their ideas and interpretations throughout the term. Explain why it’s valuable for you, as the instructor, to hear from students and expressly state that the class is welcoming and nonjudgmental. If students witness that encouragement in action, they’ll be able to see a greater benefit of speaking up than just “easy marks.”
To compound the importance of online class participation, international students have a greater risk of feeling isolated without regular interaction. They may have moved to Canada without the social support network that is crucial for their emotional and mental wellbeing. As an instructor you can organize the course to include study groups. Matching small groups of students together and then incorporating their discussions into the syllabus will help foster peer connection. Students separated from their loved ones by borders and time differences may feel increased satisfaction as a result of that stronger connection to the course and their peers.
You can also help students overcome feelings of isolation by scheduling dedicated office hours for international students and personally inviting each of them to attend. Ask what their challenges or worries are related to the online class and what’s working well. You can then, together, come up with solutions and best practices to make sure they are on their best foot moving forward. This will send a clear message to students that you’re invested in their success.
Meeting with international students will also clarify which students are in a different time zone. Some international students are staying up into the early hours of the morning or waking up before dawn to tune into online class. Understandably, this is exhausting. To lessen that scheduling stress, offer your class asynchronously whenever possible. You’ll improve accessibility and help out-of-country students establish a more regular schedule. Plus, using a different playback speed, pausing, skipping backwards, and re-watching lectures are features of asynchronous lectures that help students, no matter their location, take comprehensive notes and better grasp the learning goals.
Go a step further by posting the transcript from your lecture. If generating a transcript doesn’t appear as an intuitive option in your video software, contact your institution for support. The quick extra step will make the content more accessible for students with slower internet speeds or who are struggling with English as their second language.
Finally, remember that not every country has the same access to sites now seen as standard in Canada, like YouTube and Google. If you’re going to use the wealth of available digital resources in your online class, ensure they’re embedded in your LMS. And use direct links to e-books to make class readings quickly and easily accessible. You’ll be ensuring that no matter where the student is, viewing the content for your online course will be simple.
Online learning certainly has its challenges for everyone, and international students face extra difficulties. But with a bit of attention and extra effort, you can be a great support and help transform their virtual learning experience.