Sharing Spacetime | Jiro Kokuryo, Vice-President / Professor, Faculty of Policy Management
2020.09.01
While watchingthe online Tanabata Festival program broadcast on NHKwith great pride, I found myself wondering what that festival would have been like if it had been held in a virtual space other than SFC. Or, I wondered what it would have been like if it hadn't been held in real time.
I suspect it probably wouldn't have been as exciting. The value of being able to gather at the same time in that place shared with friends, even if it was virtual, was significant. I believe that gathering at that time, conscious of that place, was a powerful experience, even though the place was computer graphics and the people were avatars. Sharing spacetime creates a common context between people, and it is this context that promotes communication and creates connections.
I have long been interested in the meaning of sharing spacetime from a research perspective (particularly in studies on what types of distance learning are effective). Now, however, caught between the calls to reopen campus and the desire to control the risk of infection as much as possible, this has become a pressing question in the context of wanting our students to somehow experience a wonderful campus life. While extracting the essential meaning of physically sharing a place and time, I want to effectively provide that experience, which has now become a luxury. For example, once a context is shared in a physical place, will it then be possible to establish rich communication in a virtual space? If so, we could have students experience the place in shifts and then move to a virtual setting. Would that be sufficient? I want to analyze with an open mind the evidence emerging from the various initiatives being attempted during the COVID-19 pandemic to discover what is effective.
In any case, I want to express my respect for the initiative and creativity of the students who, undaunted by the sudden challenge of the novel coronavirus, have come together to manage these events. I was honestly taken aback when a student interviewed on TV declared it a "generational change," but I was also pleased. SFC is steadily moving forward into a new era. I hope to maintain an environment where their abilities can grow significantly, untethered by old conventions.