[An innovative “collaborative online international learning, or COIL” course in food science at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign uses a variety of presence-evoking and other technologies to provide students vivid and impactful experiences in international settings. Note this quote from UIUC professor Toni Gist: “Virtual reality allowed students to step into these environments and compare them directly to their own experiences in the U.S. That level of immersion creates a different kind of learning experience that moves beyond reading or watching something that isn’t interactive and reflective.” Follow the links within the story below, and the one to her YouTube channel at the end, for more information and examples. –Matthew]

AI, virtual reality give students a taste of study abroad experiences

By Sharita Forrest, Research Editor
June 8, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In an innovative food science course at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, students wandered through street markets in Veracruz, Mexico, and Taipei, Taiwan; and toured a coffee plantation and artisanal chocolate factory in a mountain village — all without leaving the Illinois campus.

By leveraging 360-degree video and virtual reality technologies along with collaborative projects by peers at partnering universities, the course immerses students in intercultural learning similar to what they might experience through study abroad. Using an approach known as collaborative online international learning, or COIL, the course creates global classrooms that allow faculty members to share teaching responsibilities, while their students work together — synchronously and asynchronously —  on learning projects.

Toni Gist, a clinical professor of food science and human nutrition at Illinois, has co-taught the course in different semesters with José Antonio Palma Jacinto, a professor of clinical chemistry, biochemistry and toxicology at Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico; and Yi-Chen Lo, a professor and the chair of the Institute of Food Science and Technology at National Taiwan University. Gist said each international partner offers a distinct type of global learning experience for the Illinois students.

Many students have personal circumstances that preclude travel and studying abroad, Gist said. However, AI and virtual reality technologies make global learning equitable and accessible for those who might not have the resources or the opportunities to experience it otherwise.

“I work with a large and diverse group of students,” Gist said. “Many are highly motivated and curious about the world, but they are also balancing jobs, family responsibilities or rigorous academic pathways. I began to realize that even though these students are deeply interested in global learning, the traditional model doesn’t always work for them. That raised an important question: How do we design learning experiences that reflect the realities students are navigating? Instead of asking students to adapt to the model, I wanted to adapt the model to the students.”

Working in teams, the Illinois students and their peers in Taiwan or Mexico created videos or used virtual reality to explore various themes such as cooking practices, local beliefs about nutrition or how urban living environments such as compact apartment kitchens influence food preparation and consumption. The Illinois-Mexico teams created media for communicating nutrition information with communities that have significant disparities in formal education and access to technology, Gist said.

“One of the most meaningful outcomes is how students begin to shift their perspective,” she said. “These experiences encourage students to reflect on their own assumptions and deepen their understanding of how food systems operate across contexts.”

“With our Mexico partnership, the focus shifted toward food systems that are closely tied to local production and community practices,” Gist said. “Students observed open-air markets, tortilla making processes and farm-to-table connections that highlight how food is sourced, prepared and shared. Virtual reality allowed students to step into these environments and compare them directly to their own experiences in the U.S. That level of immersion creates a different kind of learning experience that moves beyond reading or watching something that isn’t interactive and reflective.”

Molly Sloan of LaGrange, Illinois, a James Honors Program scholar, took the course as a sophomore in the 2025 spring semester when the class partnered with National Taiwan University. Sloan said the group she was in conducted a cultural comparison project that “explored topics such as cuisine, education, holidays, living styles and daily life. Together, we created a cultural comparison book filled with photos and videos, which we presented at the end of the semester. We also used virtual reality technology to experience what it felt like to walk through the streets of Taipei and around the university campus, which made the experience even more immersive and eye-opening.”

Learning how to transcend language, technological and temporal barriers to forge productive working relationships were significant challenges for the students. “We often relied on translation tools during email and video conversations,” Sloan said. “Another adjustment was communication differences, as the students in Taiwan primarily used WhatsApp, which I had never used before. We also had to work around the 13-hour time difference, which required us to communicate proactively and efficiently.”

The benefits for students are many. Along with cultural awareness and empathy, they learn to ground scientific literacy in global nutrition practices, develop critical thinking skills with regard to nutrition misinformation and health disparities, and enhance their global competencies without having to travel, Gist said.

“Students in my class reported high levels of satisfaction with the COIL course, which enabled them to develop key skills such as teamwork, respect, tolerance, ethics and honesty,” Palma Jacinto said. “Although being first-semester students presented a challenge — compounded by the language barrier — the experience served as a significant catalyst for their motivation to learn or refine English as a second language.”

On a survey at the end of the course, one of the Universidad Veracruzana students wrote, “I was able to improve my teamwork skills; I learned to communicate and solve problems with peers from different places, while observing the cultural differences between us.”

Palma Jacinto said that the faculty partnerships are valuable as well. “Undoubtedly, the collaboration established among faculty members goes beyond classroom instruction. It serves as a foundation for diverse academic endeavors, such as joint research projects,” he wrote.

In January, Gist was recognized with a national teaching and student engagement award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. She was one of four recipients of the award, which recognizes excellence in agricultural sciences teaching and student engagement.

However, Gist emphasized that the primary objective of the course is not innovation or honing technology skills but expanding educational opportunities and bringing people closer together. “It ensures that students who may not participate in traditional study abroad programs can still say, ‘I have engaged with the world — and I belong in it.’”

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Editor’s note:

To reach Toni Gist, email burkhalt@illinois.edu.

Some of the student projects are available on Gist’s YouTube site: https://www.youtube.com/@TRAININGWITHTONI-uu4qb.

To reach José Antonio Palma Jacinto, email jopalma@uv.mx.

To reach Yi-Chen Lo, email loyichen@ntu.edu.tw.