THE LIMITS OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION MOBILITY AND THE EMERGENCE OF COIL

In many ways, the history of international education over the past 100 years, its twists and turns, its setbacks and advancements, and its gradual maturation into an increasingly important dimension of the academy has paved the way for the emergence of collaborative online international learning (COIL). While its evolution was not predictable, its appearance is consistent with the growing acceptance of a commitment to internationalization at home, the sizeable and expanding footprint of globalization’s impact on the academy, and the communication technologies, having become available only within the past 30 years, that have facilitated reliable and affordable interactions among groups of students and faculty around the world. International education has fundamentally been about the exchange of ideas, and such exchange, throughout its history has often been facilitated via mobility. COIL, a more recent expression of international education, also promotes the exchange of ideas, but does so virtually, thereby eliminating the need for travel. This constitutes a fortuitous advantage, particularly in the context of a pandemic, and also at a time when the world is turning its attention to minimizing fossil fuel emissions, including that of transportation.