Collaboration, on an inter-institutional, regional, national or international level, is a strength of online teaching and learning. Using online linkages, faculty jointly develop and share resources, courses and programs, resulting in increased options for students, reduced development costs and enhancement of expertise and experience.
The models of collaboration highlighted in the Pockets of Innovation Series present a wide variety of successful initiatives, with examples ranging from joint initiatives between two institutions to partnerships with national and international contributors.
Collaboration among Ontario Colleges and Universities: All 24 public colleges in Ontario are part of the OntarioLearn consortium, partnering to develop and share more than 1,200 online courses and several online programs to make them accessible to students across the province and beyond. Also in Ontario, Durham College offers the theoretical component of apprenticeship training for Industrial Mechanics online for use at Sault College, with both colleges offering the face-to-face components of the program locally so that students can work and learn in their own communities. As part of a consortium of 6 colleges in Eastern Ontario, Sir Sandford Fleming College develops and uses online modules from other partners for faculty training on issues of classroom management. Faculty at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa worked together to create online learning materials for students studying French as a second language, available as an OER.
Ontario’s public colleges and universities work together to expand opportunities for student throughout the province. Through a collaboration between Northern College and Queen’s University, graduates of college programs in mining technology have advanced standing in an online degree program from Queen’s. Confederation College and Lakehead University cooperate to offer an online degree program in nursing to students in four communities in northwestern Ontario so they can study in their communities. Nipissing University works with 6 Ontario colleges, offering college Business Administration Diploma program graduates access to a specially design, blended program to earn a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Regional Collaboration: The University of the Highlands and Islands brings together 13 colleges and research institutes in the north of Scotland, sharing programs, services and providing a much wider range of choices and opportunities for students throughout the region. The development of the University from 13 independent centres to a full-fledged University moved through various stages as the need for centralized executive, policies, practices and support evolved. The role of the Academic Development unit at the University of the Highlands and Islands contributes to this collaborative structure by responding to such issues as organizational change, policy development, process and technology assessment and planning and development of new academic initiatives.
National Collaboration: The University of Ottawa is part of the Consortium national de formation en santé (National Consortium for Health Training), an alliance of 11 colleges and universities across Canada developing and sharing courses for French-language degree programs and professional development in health-related disciplines. In France, each of 8 Digital Thematic Universities brings together 25 to 40 partners from French higher education, with funding from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, to develop as individual institutions or in national and international partnerships, OER accessible on a shared portal. Each thematic university specializes in a specific academic field.
One of the French thematic universities, uTOP, the Multi-partner University of Technology, brought together 26 academic partners, with over 100 external partners, to create almost 40 training options and over 80 resources, including master’s degree programs, professional training courses and MOOCs.
International Collaboration: On an international level, York University in Ontario works with Australian partners to deliver a course on Global Environmental Change to refugee students on the Thai/Burma border, with collaborative work between Thai and York students as part of the design. At Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, a Globally Connected Active Learning Model is used for a course in Muslim Studies, linking students at Laurier and a university in Turkey, with online communication as the core of the teaching and learning.
Working with partner institutions in England, Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Portugal and Sweden, academics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway developed and offer a MOOC on Information Technology and Entrepreneurship, using a new course development method called Concurrent e-Learning Design.
In Italy, UNINETTUNO, International Telematic University, is an independent university built from a consortium of 43 Italian universities and private partners and now working with partners in the Euro-Mediterranean region and around the world in multiple languages to offer degree and professional development programs.
Click one of the two links below to see a list of the Pockets of Innovation under each category and a link to the specific Pocket of Innovation.
- Carleton University - VidéoTech: Creating and sharing online learning materials for French-as-a-second language students by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa
- Confederation College - From Access to Graduate Programs: An extensive array of learning opportunities for nursing and health science students
- Durham College - Linking Online and Experiential Learning: A hybrid model for apprenticeship education through a partnership between Sault College and Durham College
- Lakehead University - From Access to Graduate Programs: An extensive array of learning opportunities for nursing and health science students
- Nipissing University - Nipissing College Partnership Plan: Nipissing University’s School of Business Partners with Colleges to Deliver a Business Degree Option
- Northern College - A Collaboration Between Northern College in Haileybury, Canada and Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada Creates an Online Degree Program in Mining Engineering Technology
- OntarioLearn - OntarioLearn: 24 Public Colleges in Ontario Collaborate to Increase Student Access to and Choice of Quality Programs and Courses
- Queen’s University - A Collaboration Between Northern College in Haileybury, Canada and Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada Creates an Online Degree Program in Mining Engineering Technology
- Sir Sandford Fleming College - Before, During, and After Class: Online Resources for Students and Faculty
- University of Ottawa - Professional Development: Developing online resources for health professionals
- University of Ottawa - VidéoTech: Creating and sharing online learning materials for French-as-a-second language students by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa
- Wilfrid Laurier University - Active Learning in an Intercultural Online Environment at Wilfrid Laurier University
- York University - Intercultural Learning Online: Students on the Thai/Burma Border and at York University Share Their Learning
- Ministry of Higher Education and Research, France - Available to All – One Portal Featuring More than 34,000 Open Educational Resources Developed by Universities in France
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway - Collaborative International Development of a Massive Open Online Course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- UNINETTUNO, International Telematic University, Italy - Delivering Learning to Students around the World through the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO in Italy
- uTOP, the Multi-Partner University of Technology, France - uTOP – University Collaboration and Innovation Result in Online Learning Opportunities for Initial and Continuing Education in Engineering and Technology in France
- University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland - Building a Partnership of 13 Colleges and Research Institutes for Higher and Further Education at the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland
