Towards a North American Model of International, Bilingual and Technologically Intensive Collaboration

This presentation proposes for the CONAHEC area one of the most innovative international collaborations developed in the Americas: a three-institution (two Mexican or Canadian universities and one US university), jointly taught, bilingual, technology-intensive class. Addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time is this course on Food Security and Sustainable Development. It will have, at all times, two groups of students in the classroom: a US group and a Mexican or Canadian group plus their instructors while connected to the third institution via video conference. Students and faculty must work one week on each campus. We recommend groundbreaking solutions to the academic rigor, cultural, linguistic, and technology competencies needed for our students in the 21st Century. This model is especially well suited to the North America area with the possibility of three institutions and two languages or three institutions and three languages. The team-work component for the students which must present a multimedia group’s work in a language or languages of their choosing plus a final individual research paper ensures a real connection among students and great quality contributions.