11 am presentations
11 am
In-person sessions in PSU 137 A (Calloway Peak room)
Co-Creation in Higher Education: A comparison of Italian and US university students' perception of learning modes
A Messy Story: The Empire and an Exploration of Colonial Colleges
Co-Creation in Higher Education: A comparison of Italian and US university students' perception of learning modes
by Pia Albinsson
COVID-19 forced schools and universities to learn from new realities and adapt quickly to change by moving from face-to-face (F2F) to online teaching. The pandemic has greatly influenced digitization and teaching practices in higher education all over the world, of course with varying intensity depending on the cultural context of the country. Online teaching is not a new issue in higher education (Martin et al., 2020), but prior to COVID-19 the use of digital technologies for educational purposes was limited to certain online education providers (e.g., online universities, or distance education/ online programs) and/or to certain geographical areas - including emerging countries (Caridà et al., 2009) - and occasionally to traditional universities offering only a few courses and some specific activities (e.g., seminars). The aim of this presentation is to present results from an investigation on whether technology can enable practices of resource integration - and thus value creation processes - in online/distance learning. More specifically, by adopting a framework that takes into account the main factors/resources identified in the literature as influencing the success of educational programs, we aim to analyze how students interact and combine resources and identify and interpret the values they co-create within and through the social context. The study benefits from an international comparison that shows whether the new RI teaching methods differ between students in Italy versus the United States.
A Messy Story: The Empire and an Exploration of Colonial Colleges
by Diane Waryold, Leigh Lessard, Nicholas Davison
The founding of US Colonial Colleges has a storied past rooted in power and privilege. Higher education has perpetuated the “othering” of non-European thinkers. Decolonizing higher education should be a goal of all institutions of higher learning. A commitment to issues of social justice necessitates that we honor and elevate a greater range of voices, ethnicities and historical perspectives. How can colleges and universities play a part in decolonizing higher education? This program focuses on a course in which graduate students examined the importance of the historical legacies of colonialism, and the impact that this has on the founding of the US higher education system. The course culminated in a road trip to four colonial colleges in the US, colleges that were founded in British Colonial era.
Graduate students will share their first hand observations of the importance of acknowledging the history of colonial higher education, the significance of reparations that they observed as institutions create a space for new systems of understanding, and on how this experience has influenced their thoughts and work as future practitioners in higher education.
11 am
In-person session in PSU 137B (Macrae Peak room)
Indigenous People, Internal Displacement, and Environmental Collapse in Neoliberal Paraguay 1992-2022
Indigenous People, Internal Displacement, and Environmental Collapse in Neoliberal Paraguay 1992-2022
by Rene' D. Harder Horst
Though rooted in teaching my courses History of Indigenous Latin America and Modern Latin America, as well as my textbook A History of Indigenous Latin America, Aymara to Zapatistas, this presentation fits best in faculty research. To discover what happened to Indigenous people since my first two books, I researched in Asunción in 2019 and 2022. I found a large migration of internally displaced people during the last twenty years. One third of the Native population have moved to large cities to beg and do odd jobs. “Development” programs for ranching and soy plantations had displaced forty thousand Indigenous people from rural communities. Internal migration forced Indigenous people into direct, often violent, conflict with Paraguay peasants who invade Native lands. The Marxist Paraguayan People’s Army has contributed to kidnappings and rural terror throughout the nation. In the cities, Native people experience drug abuse, violence, and discrimination. Indigenous women in the Mennonite colonies work as prostitutes. Native children addicted to glue line city streets. The government has done little to alleviate these conditions, beyond busing people by force back to the country and fencing off plazas to prevent occupations. Deforestation by ranchers at one of the highest rates in the world has contributed to massive forest fires and further displacement. Climate change has only made conditions worse as rivers dry up and forest fires destroy the countryside.
Grounded in Postcolonial studies and theory on Displacement, Development, and Extractivism, my research documents Indigenous displacement and ways in which they have begun to fight back, blockading national highways, international bridges and invading government offices in the capital city. These internally displaced people exemplify what science writer Gaia Vince has recently called the Nomad Century. My presentation will argue that Indigenous people in Paraguay should increase their political participation to improve their legal situation and create foreign alliances to bring international pressure on Paraguay to recognize and improve Native living conditions. Images, interviews, and archival research will illustrate this research presentation for the Global Symposium 2022.
11 am
In-person session in PSU 137C (Attic Window room)
Collaborate Virtually, Interact Globally
Collaborate Virtually, Interact Globally
by Meredith Church-Pipes, Lynn McNeil, Benjamin Souza, Lakshmi Iyer, Jill Van Horne
The global COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges to international education and collaboration. Technology became an essential tool to bridge the gap. Here on campus, faculty from a variety of disciplines found ways to provide global learning opportunities to students while travel was not an option. Others chose to enrich their on-campus courses with virtual global collaboration.
This panel will bring together some of these faculty to share about the programs and collaborative courses that they developed. They will share the challenges and triumphs of the virtual format in fostering international collaboration and learning. We will explore how others can incorporate similar virtual elements into their on-campus courses to increase global learning as well as how they can be of benefit in our study abroad courses as travel restrictions have eased.
The panel format will include brief presentations from 3 to 4 panelists from various disciplines who have incorporated global virtual learning into their faculty-led or on-campus courses. Each panelist will present highlights of their virtual program design, followed by a question and answer session facilitated by the moderator.
11 am
In-person session in PSU 122 (Roan Mt. room)
Putting the Pieces Back Together: How INTAPP, a globally focused student organization, has adapted to post-pandemic norms
Putting the Pieces Back Together: How INTAPP, a globally focused student organization, has adapted to post-pandemic norms
by Lilly Lloyd, Ellie Harris, Shea Raiola
In March 2020, campus clubs and organizations moved to a completely virtual setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and International Appalachian (INTAPP) was no exception. Moving to a virtual setting had plenty of challenges. Our main goals are to welcome international students and encourage study abroad. How could a global organization like ours stay true to its goals when international travel was restricted? How could people be connected over a Zoom screen? Would interest in our club die out? Many traditions and events needed to be scrapped or reworked entirely. Two years later we are back to the “new normal”. INTAPP has transitioned back to entirely in-person meetings and events. Throughout this presentation, we will hear from members who joined pre-pandemic, and during the height of the pandemic. We will cover how INTAPP made adjustments regarding member interaction, identity, alumni engagement, diverging from tradition, and recruitment.
