It was a difficult year to all of us, but today we should celebrate the graduation of another group of students. 51 students graduated today and looking at their pictures brought many memories form the time they were still first-years.
Today was forum day in Hiroshima together with Prof. Yasutomi and Prof. Hong. With topics ranging from the Korean Peninsula to the relationship of Asian countries with the U.S., I was surrounded by political scientists. As the Dean of Faculty, I was invited to do the opening speech (which was great, by the way). It was nice to be around so many scholars again. Of course, with masks and social distancing.
Today it was the first orientation session before the semester starts. Second year students came to campus, in the big auditorium, and we had many people from the administration speaking to them. Of course today’s main menu was the explanation about the study abroad program. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we were unable to send our second year students to their abroad program, and almost all students were waiting for the announcements in order to know what is going to Read More …
And we did it. July 19th was our open campus, and although we are all suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, it was nice to see so many high school students joining us. Of course, precautions were taken to make sure everyone had an enjoyable experience while keeping the coronavirus away. Students, staff and faculty were using alcohol on their hands when entering and leaving the rooms; Everyone were using masks at all times and instructors were offered face-shields (in addition Read More …
Last Monday was the first day we had first year students on campus for face-to-face classes this semester. I was quite pleasant to see so many new faces and a vivid campus. One not so pleasant surprise was to see how much some students have to catch up. Because of the online classes, some students are not taking it seriously, and as a result, have not done the practice homework I have assigned since the beginning of the semester. It Read More …
Isn’t it amazing? one month has already passed since we started classes online using Zoom. I would love to have time and put everything we have learned and experienced in a paper, or some sort of tutorial so other people could learn and avoid making the same mistakes. Yes, maybe that is the way to go: a Zoom best practices in online education. Well, not sure if this idea will fly, but definitely enjoying the experience.
After thinking a lot about how to manage the thesis grades of our students, I have decided to use a course in Moodle. It seems as a natural choice since all our instructors and students have access to it. To avoid confusion, I am planning to split students into groups depending on their advisor, what will allow faculty to see their tutees directly. As a side effect, we get fast feedback to students and better visibility for administration. I am Read More …
That’s right, classes were pushed to April 20 and we will officially start it online. We will be doing it for a month and see how the corona virus situation develops. We are all working really hard to make sure we can offer good classes to our students. Many faculty members are running workshops and getting together (online) to discuss and learn how to use new tools and adapt their activities.
One week for the beginning of the semester, and we are all in a mix of excitement and apprehension because of the novel coronavirus. This March has been very dynamic: we have shortened our graduation ceremony and now just canceled the entrance ceremony. Although things are changing fast, one thing is certain: we have to be keep all options on the table.
One month into the new year, and students are already making use of the ARC. Our assistant is working hard on the new TOEIC workshops and the schedule should be available soon by email to all students. For more information about the program, here is the official page: https://www.mic.ac.jp/student/ARC
