Margarita AltunaAs a USF Instructor and champion of virtual global exchange鈥(VGE), Margarita Altuna is helping connect students across the globe from inside her classroom.鈥疧riginally from Quito, Ecuador, Altuna is an Associate Instructor of Spanish and is a Doctor of Education Candidate at USF. This year, Altuna has been recognized as a鈥 for incorporating VGEs into her USF classroom. Ambassadors are selected based on their globally relevant pedagogical innovations and contributions.
For her COIL project, Altuna connects Spanish and English language learners from USF and partner institutions to promote communication, collaborating and learning experiences in both synchronous and asynchronous activities.鈥疭tudents鈥痑re able to鈥痯articipate actively in their learning, reflect on culture, and gain global perspectives.鈥淚n the beginning, students were a bit shy,鈥 Altuna says. 鈥淏ut little by little, they opened up and had wonderful projects by the end of the semester.鈥濃
鈥淚t was important that the students were working equal amounts of time in Spanish and English,鈥 Altuna explains. 鈥淭he best way to learn a language is to collaborate and learn from one another to develop the language and communication skills.鈥 Altuna goes on to explain that VGE is more than鈥痡ust about learning鈥痩anguages. 鈥淐ulture is essential,鈥 Altuna says. 鈥淚t is so important to work with another person, another human.鈥濃
鈥淏eing recognized as a SUNY COIL ambassador鈥痠s definitely an honor, one that I didn鈥檛 expect,鈥 Altuna says. 鈥淚 do virtual global exchange because I love it. So, when I received this recognition, it inspired me to collaborate more, create more and to try to use that creativity to start more projects.鈥濃
Margarita Altuna presenting at Roundtable 3: Dialogue, Language, and Intercultural Communication, IVEC 2025 Conference.
IVEC 2025 Conference. From left to right: Gorety Campos (Universidad Don Bosco, El Salvador) and Margarita Altuna (最新天美传媒) presenting their poster, "My English for Your Spanish or Your Spanish for My English: Three Cultures Through Two Languages."
Altuna got involved with鈥疺GE鈥痵lowly, initially introduced when she was a TA at the University of Maryland. 鈥淎t the time, the students only used emails,鈥 Altuna explains. 鈥淲hen I came to USF on the Sarasota-Manatee campus, we connected with our sister city in M茅rida That was the beginning of the adventure.鈥濃
Working with colleague Martha Villal贸n, English instructor at the Universidad Marista de M茅rida (UMM) in Sarasota鈥檚 sister city, M茅rida, Yucatan, Mexico, Altuna developed a VGE program that allows students from each university to learn from one another.鈥
Not only has Altuna been incorporating VGE into her own classroom, but she also helps other faculty members incorporate it鈥痠n鈥痶heir curriculum.鈥疶his past academic year, Altuna has trained 27 new faculty members鈥痠n鈥痶he VGE Academy. 鈥淚 love working with other colleagues, providing ideas and being an example,鈥 Altuna says. 鈥淚鈥檓 just grateful for the opportunity.鈥 VGEs have鈥痓ecome more popular worldwide as other institutions understand the importance of global collaboration in learning. 鈥淭he growth is amazing,鈥 Altuna says. 鈥淣ow everyone wants to connect.鈥濃