Encounter and Exchange – Chances and limitations of a international online lecture series on social work to promote international relationship building among students and scholars
Encounter and Exchange – Chances and limitations of a international online lecture series on social work to promote international relationship building among students and scholars
by Johannes Kloha,Cosimo Mangione,Sarah Collins
In this discussion forum we want to address the question of international relationship building through online learning arrangements. The background is the „International Online Lecture Series on Social Work“ – a series of lectures, seminars and workshops on topics of social work and social justice. Participants and contributors came from countries like the USA, South Africa, Poland, Brazil or Germany.
The discussion forum will integrate experiences of both participating students as well as contributors. After a short introduction in the structure and the underlying conceptual and theoretic ideas we will turn first to the experiences of students: Which learning experiences were central, which encounters with students from other regions became important but also: What curbed or hampered a more intense mutual exchange. Two students from Germany and the US will discuss this perspective.
That leads to the experience of the participating lecturers and workshop leaders. The guiding question here is: Which formats were best suited to engage students in discussions? Which didactical tools or concepts were experienced as helpful? And where did we meet barriers to real encounter that were difficult to overcome. Two professors from Brazil and the United States will discuss these questions.
The forum will end with a general discussion – engaging also the barcamp participants – on the question how this format of addressing global issues and challenges of social work can contribute to an international understanding of social work?
Johannes Kloha, Technical University Nürnberg, Germany
Cosimo Mangione, Technical University Nürnberg, Germany
Sarah Collins, Concordia University Wisconsin, USA