Technological mediation in a global competence virtual exchange project: a critical digital literacies perspective

Abstract

The changing cultural and social landscape of our world today, along with the emergence of various technologies, has redefined 21st century societies. In light of these changes, new pedagogical approaches have been implemented to support civic life, education, and communication in our highly complex, digitised era (Pegrum, Dudeney, & Hockly, 2018). One such approach is virtual exchange, a technologically-mediated practice which involves engaging classes in online intercultural interaction and collaboration projects with geographically dispersed partners (O’Dowd, 2007, 2019). Many studies (Helm, 2014; Hauck & Satar, 2018; Vinagre, 2016) have examined the role of technology in virtual exchange projects as well as the development of various digital competences, along with linguistic and intercultural learning. The present study contributes to the discussion pertaining to the role of technology in the virtual exchange context adding a critical digital literacies perspective manifested in the use of technology for global competence development and as a social praxis (Ávila & Pandya, 2013). Specifically, the study aims at exploring the students’ perceptions about digital skills development through their participation in a global competence virtual exchange project, as well as the ways in which students interact with technology in order to develop global competence and active citizenship.