Live from Tokyo: it's your next class!
U of A East Asian Studies Professor Dr. Kaori Kabata helped translate the questions and answers Tuesday at the Telus Centre
January 9, 2002 - Monday morning on a commuter train in Tokyo, Dr. James Brower noticed many new posters advertising the "third generation of cell phones." Yesterday evening in Edmonton, University of Alberta students witnessed a first-hand account of Brower's report on the evolving culture of cell phones among Japanese youths.
Only about 25 U of A students and staff watched Brower's video lecture, which was broadcast live from Meiji University via the Internet, but those who attended were glad they did.
"It was amazing," said Arrissa Wong, a fourth-year science student at the U of A and a fan of Japanese culture. "To hear a live lecture from Japan and then be able to ask questions to [Brower's] Japanese students...I never expected that. If there was another lecture like this I'd definitely go again."
"Not every student can go overseas, so this is our way of using technology to bring the world into the classroom," said Rae McDonald, director of international relations with U of A International.
The technology element of the event was a success, but the U of A students were just as impressed with Brower's lecture itself. From a survey he had done of one of his classes, Brower reported that every one of the 44 students in the class owned a cell phone.
"It's difficult to find university students in Japan that don't have one," said Brower, a professor of English and speech communication in the School of Commerce at Meiji University and a former advisor on English education and educational technology to the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science.
"I knew Japan was the leading country for technology in Asia, but I didn't know they were so far ahead of us, too...Those third-generation cell phones with video capabilities are amazing," said Thomas So, an economics student at the U of A.
Broadcast in a "smart classroom" at the U of A Telus Centre, Brower's lecture was the first of four similarly staged lectures planned this year between U of A and Meiji University. Later this month on the Internet, students and staff at Meiji University will watch a live lecture in Edmonton by U of A film studies professor Dr. Bill Beard.
Since a memorandum of understanding was signed in 1986 between Meiji University and the University of Alberta, the two institutions have exchanged students, research and cultural ideas. Each institution has committed to delivering up to three presentations using a variety of online learning tools, including web casting, building multimedia Web sites and collaborative tools.
"Meiji University is an excellent private university that has a lot of tradition and a very good reputation," said Akira Nakamura, an exchange student at the U of A who attended Brower's lecture and who also studies law at Shizuoka University in Japan. "It is a great thing for the U of A to have a partnership with Meiji University."
The Meiji University and U of A International Distance Learning Initiative has been made possible through the support of Academic Technologies for Learning and the office of U of A International.
Related links – internal
The U of A/Meiji University Partnership Web site: http://www.creative.ualberta.ca/atl_meiji/
Learn about the technology involved to make this live video lecture possible: http://www.creative.ualberta.ca/atl_meiji/lev02.cfm?ID_nav02=1007&ID_nav01=105
The University of Alberta International Web site: http://www.international.ualberta.ca/
The U of A Academic Technologies for Learning Web site: http://www.atl.ualberta.ca/
Related link – external
The Meiji University Web site: http://www.meiji.ac.jp/cip/english/
Experts mentioned in this article
