Global classroom collaboration glossary: key terms for K-12 teachers
This global classroom collaboration glossary defines the terms teachers meet when they connect classes in different countries to learn together. Key terms include virtual exchange, COIL, global citizenship, global competence, intercultural competence and asynchronous collaboration.
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COIL, virtual exchange, GCED, asynchronous collaboration: when you start connecting your class with classes in other countries, new terms appear everywhere. This glossary explains each one in plain words and links to a full guide when you want to go further.
Terms from A to C
Asynchronous collaboration
Work that partner classes do at different times rather than live. Students post, read and reply in their own lesson time, which makes projects possible across time zones. See how to work across time zones.
COIL (collaborative online international learning)
A structured model of virtual exchange in which teachers in different countries plan a shared unit and their students complete joint assignments online. It began in higher education and is now also used in schools. Read what COIL means for K-12 classes.
Co-teaching across borders
Two teachers in different countries plan and run a unit together, sharing the teaching while both classes take part.
Cultural competence
The ability to work and communicate well with people from other cultures, by understanding and respecting differences in values, customs and ways of communicating. Try five ways to build cultural understanding with another class.
Cultural exchange
The sharing of ideas, traditions, languages and ways of life between people from different cultures, so that each side learns from the other. Read what cultural exchange means for a class.
Curriculum mapping
Comparing the learning goals of two partner classes to find topics both teach at the same time, so that a shared project fits both curricula.
Terms from D to G
Digital citizenship
Using technology safely, responsibly and respectfully, including protecting personal information and communicating kindly online. It matters even more when students work with people in other countries.
Education for sustainable development (ESD)
Teaching that helps students understand environmental, social and economic sustainability and make informed decisions about it. Read the ESD guide for K-12 teachers.
Global citizenship
Recognising connections with people beyond your own community and acting with respect and responsibility. Read a definition of global citizenship teachers can use.
Global citizenship education (GCED)
Education that helps students build the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to act as global citizens. UNESCO uses the abbreviation GCED, and GCE is also common. See five classroom strategies for global citizenship education.
Global classroom
A class that learns together with students in other countries, usually online, while everyone stays in their own school. Read what a global classroom looks like.
Global collaboration
Two or more classes in different countries working together on a shared learning goal, guided by their teachers. Follow the five steps of a global collaboration.
Global competence
The knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students need to understand and act on local, global and intercultural issues. The OECD uses the term in its PISA studies. Read what global competence is and how students build it.
Global education platform
An online service that connects classes in different countries and gives them a shared space to learn together. See what to check before you choose a global education platform.
Glocalization
Looking at a global issue through its local effects, so that students connect what happens in their community with patterns elsewhere in the world.
Terms from H to P
Hybrid exchange
An exchange that mixes online collaboration with some in-person contact, such as a visit or a meeting at an event. Many school exchanges stay fully online because of cost and travel.
Icebreaker activities
Short activities that help students in partner classes get to know each other before deeper work begins. Try five activities for a first classroom collaboration.
Intercultural competence
The ability to communicate and work well across cultural differences, including noticing your own cultural assumptions. See five classroom strategies for intercultural competence.
Multicultural education
An approach to teaching that reflects the cultures, languages and experiences of all students and helps every student understand and respect people who are different from them. Read the practical guide to multicultural education.
Partner class
A class in another school, often in another country, that works with yours on a shared project. Partner matching means finding a class with a similar age group, subject and timetable. See how to find a partner classroom in another country.
Pen pal exchange
An exchange of letters, videos or class work between students in partner classes, usually run by their teachers. Read the classroom guide to pen pal projects.
Project-based learning (PBL)
Learning organised around a real question or problem, where students work over time and create something to share. Read what project-based learning is in a real classroom.
Terms from S to Z
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 17 goals that all United Nations Member States adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda, to end poverty, protect the planet and improve lives. Many classroom projects use them as shared themes. Read the SDG guide for teachers.
Synchronous session
A live meeting, usually a video call, where partner classes take part at the same time. Many projects keep live sessions for the start and the end because of time zones.
Teacher exchange
A program that lets teachers learn from schools in another country, in person or online. Compare in-person and virtual teacher exchange programs.
Telecollaboration
An older name for online collaboration between classes in different places. Today it usually means the same as virtual exchange.
UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet)
A UNESCO network that, according to UNESCO, connects close to 10,000 schools in 167 countries around peace, sustainable development, global citizenship and intercultural learning.
Virtual exchange
Sustained online learning between classes or students in different countries, built into the curriculum. It is more than a single video call. Read how virtual exchange works in K-12.
World Englishes
The many varieties of English spoken around the world, with different accents, words and grammar, all of them valid. See how to support language differences in an exchange.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between virtual exchange and COIL?
Virtual exchange is the broad term for classes or students in different countries learning together online. COIL is one structured model of virtual exchange, in which teachers plan a shared unit with joint assignments.
What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration?
Synchronous collaboration happens live, with both classes online at the same time. Asynchronous collaboration happens at different times, so each class works in its own lesson time.
What does GCED mean?
GCED stands for global citizenship education. UNESCO uses this abbreviation for education that helps learners become ethical, empathetic and respectful members of one global community.
Is Class2Class free?
Yes. Class2Class is free for teachers and students.
Put the terms into practice
You do not need every term to start. Choose a ready-made project, find a partner class and learn the words as you go. Class2Class is free for teachers and students.
