Concluding the Spring Semester of Online Classes

Akira Wakita, Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies

Classes for the spring semester of the 2020 academic year were conducted entirely online to avoid group infections of COVID-19. On this page, we present two reports. The first is the results of two surveys conducted with students and faculty, and the second is a report on the implementation of a wide range of classes (good practices).

Looking at the surveys, it is clear that students are more favorable toward online classes than faculty members are. Perhaps this is due to the flexibility that comes with age. Comparing before and after the classes, we can see that the number of faculty members with a favorable impression of online classes has increased. To put it bluntly, perhaps they just got used to it. Another characteristic of SFC is that, compared to other universities and faculties, there is an overwhelming number of classes conducted via live streaming.

Looking at the good practices, we can see that many lectures turned a difficult situation to their advantage and demonstrated creativity. There were efforts to develop methods using various streaming tools and to reconstruct the class protocols themselves in an online environment. On the other hand, there were also faculty members who straightforwardly conducted engaging lectures, unaffected by the changes in the environment. It has become a very compelling report.

The fall semester will proceed with a hybrid of on-campus and online classes. Online and in-person, synchronous and asynchronous, instruction and co-creation, and, 'learning while teaching, teaching while learning.' I believe that expanding classes through various environments and actions is what it means to confront the essence of learning.