VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY

Abstract

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Due to technology and intensified processes of social, cultural, and economic globalization, Canadian university classrooms are diverse social and cultural communities, and many universities have adopted vision statements to address that diversity through teaching. The COVID-19 pandemic increased interactions among local and international students and revealed the potential for new teaching modalities that could better serve both face-to-face and distant learning. In a face-to-face classroom setting, the Spanish faculty team at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) has used project-based language learning (PBLL) as a method of teaching and assessment. COVID-19 made us to rapidly rethink PBLL to a virtual teaching environment that could address barriers to education while contributing to a more equitable learning landscape. Inspired by my work with Open education and the United Nations Sustainable Goals (UN SDGs), I co-authored an open educational textbook at no cost entitled ¡Voy en camino! (I’m on my way!) to create greater access to learning that tailor KPU students’ needs and support other colleagues’ teaching practices locally and globally. This chapter will focus on the transformation of face-to face PBLL into virtual teaching through ¡Voy en camino! (2023). I will demonstrate how PBLL activities are a source of renewable learning in a digital format and allow students to manage time and language learning efficiently and sustainably. I will also highlight pedagogical successes and challenges with ¡Voy en camino!, and I will provide suggestions that support sustainability-based language and culture instruction.