An Integrated Platform for Collaborative Online International Learning
Connect classes. Coordinate activities. Build meaningful international learning experiences.
Dialogbook is a web-based platform that supports Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and other forms of virtual exchange.
Rather than treating international exchange as a single video-conferencing event, Dialogbook supports the entire process of planning, coordinating, conducting, and documenting international collaborative learning.
Why Dialogbook?
COIL projects involve much more than connecting two classes on Zoom.
Teachers and students need to coordinate schools, participants, schedules, activities, meetings, tasks, consent, and outcomes—often across different countries, time zones, and institutional contexts.
Dialogbook brings these elements together in one platform.
From individual COIL projects to scalable COIL infrastructure.
Designed for Real-World International Exchange
Dialogbook has been developed through the practical experience of SMILE (Students Meet Internationally through Language Education), an ongoing international exchange initiative involving schools and universities in multiple countries.
This experience has shaped Dialogbook around the problems that actually emerge when international exchange moves beyond a one-time pilot project.
Manage participating institutions
Organize partner schools and their locations, relationships, and participation history.
Manage participants
Track students, teachers, and their relationships with participating schools.
Coordinate activities
Create and manage lessons, meetings, tasks, checklists, and other activities involved in a COIL project.
Work across time zones
Display and manage dates and times according to the relevant school and participant contexts.
Connect geographically distributed classes
Manage multiple participating schools and their locations as part of a single international learning project.
Support real-time interaction
Integrate real-time video communication directly into the learning environment, allowing participants to enter shared rooms without leaving the platform.
Manage consent
Collect and manage consent for photographs, research, and other activities associated with international educational programs.
Document learning and participation
Maintain participation records and generate certificates for completed activities.
More Than a Video Conference
Video conferencing is only one component of COIL.
A successful international learning experience requires coordination before, during, and after the actual meeting.
Dialogbook is designed around this entire workflow.
PLAN
↓
Connect schools
↓
Organize participants
↓
Coordinate schedules
↓
Prepare activities
↓
CONDUCT
↓
Meet and collaborate
↓
DOCUMENT
↓
Record participation
↓
Manage consent
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Issue certificates
The goal is not simply to provide another communication tool.
The goal is to provide infrastructure for international collaborative learning.
From COIL Projects to COIL Infrastructure
Many COIL initiatives begin as individual projects.
However, as the number of partner institutions, participants, sessions, and activities grows, so does administrative complexity.
Dialogbook addresses this transition.
One project
Two classes connect for a single international activity.
Multiple projects
Several classes and partner institutions participate in different activities.
A continuing program
Schools participate repeatedly across semesters and academic years.
A scalable international network
Multiple institutions collaborate through a common platform while maintaining their own educational contexts.
Dialogbook supports this progression.
Built from Practice
Dialogbook was not designed as a generic learning management system and adapted afterward for international exchange.
It evolved from the operational needs of SMILE, a continuing international exchange initiative.
Through repeated implementation, features were added and refined in response to practical challenges such as:
- coordinating multiple partner schools
- managing participants across institutions
- handling different time zones
- organizing collaborative activities
- maintaining participation records
- managing consent
- documenting outcomes
- supporting synchronous interaction
This gives Dialogbook a simple design principle:
Build the infrastructure from the problems encountered in real international exchange.
A Platform for Different Roles
Dialogbook brings together the people involved in a COIL project.
Teachers
Plan activities, coordinate partner classes, manage participants, and monitor progress.
Students
Access activities, participate in international meetings, complete tasks, and document their participation.
Program Coordinators
Manage participating institutions, projects, schedules, consent, and program-level records.
Partner Institutions
Participate in shared international activities while maintaining their own institutional context.
Key Features
| Area | Features |
|---|---|
| Schools & Institutions | Partner schools, locations, participation history |
| Participants | Students, teachers, school membership |
| Activities | Lessons, meetings, tasks, checklists |
| International Coordination | Time-zone-aware scheduling |
| Real-Time Interaction | Integrated video rooms |
| Consent | Consent forms and status management |
| Documentation | Participation records and certificates |
| International Programs | Support for multiple schools and recurring activities |
Designed for International Education
Dialogbook is particularly suited to programs involving:
- Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
- Virtual Exchange (VE)
- Telecollaboration
- Globally Networked Learning
- International collaborative projects
- Cross-cultural communication activities
- School-to-school international exchange
- University internationalization programs
The platform supports both small pilot projects and ongoing international programs.
See Dialogbook in Action
The best way to understand Dialogbook is to see an actual COIL workflow.
From the initial connection between partner classes to the final documentation of participation, Dialogbook brings the pieces together in one environment.
About Dialogbook
Dialogbook is developed by Jun Iio at Iio Laboratory, Faculty of Global Informatics, Chuo University, based on practical experience in international collaborative learning and virtual exchange.
Dialogbook is currently being developed and used in connection with international educational initiatives including SMILE (Students Meet Internationally through Language Education).
Dialogbook
From connecting classes to connecting learning communities.
An integrated platform for Collaborative Online International Learning.
Contact:
Jun Iio, Ph.D.
Director of WILL