Things students would like to see improved
A selection of student comments about the things that they would like to see improved is presented along with pointers as to how the issues may be addressed.
General Requirements For Class
Methods for Providing Class
A mismatch between course content and a chosen pedagogy
On-demand courses are known as suitable for acquiring knowledge and skills. These courses can be used for pre-learning and reviewing contents by combining them with quizzes and assignments. By contrast, live streaming courses are proper for interactive communication, such as discussion and group work.
For instance, one strategy is to make a recorded video whose content was initially presented in a regular lecture, and students watch an on-demand course. In addition to this, by conducting discussion and group work with a live-stream form such as Zoom, courses closer to regular classes can be held. This method can cope with the increased high traffic data generated by a live stream such as Zoom.
CTL has resources regarding methods combined with course content. For further inquiries, please contact ctl@icu.ac.jp.
Online course sharing only materials and PPT
In the case of conducting Hybrid/Online courses, these courses can be handled similarly to regular classes by using live streaming and on-demand movies in addition to distributing materials. Moreover, providing an opportunity for Q&A and guidance in sentence revision enables a deepening of students’ understanding of class content.
◆ Methods to provide opportunities for Q&A
[Non-synchronous Discussion]
[Synchronous Discussion]
・The breakout room function on Zoom
◆The use of on-demand movies and live streaming
・How to use Zoom live streaming
・How to create an on-demand movie [Kaltura]
Less consideration of students who live overseas
On-demand courses are preferred when there are students who take classes from overseas. If difficult, make an arrangements such as recording classes to be broadcasted. It is also necessary to offer more time for deadlines.
Live-streaming classes
Teachers’ shortage of literacy and skills in online learning
Students felt embarrassed when suddenly required to turn on their cameras
Please offer reasons when you ask students to turn on their cameras. Also, students can have preparation and less stress if this requirement is included in the syllabus and Moodle in advance.
Eg., “Turn on your camera at the beginning of class and when asked”
“You may turn off your camera during class time in terms of data diet and communications traffic.
A virtual background can be recommended for students who worry about showing their rooms on the screen.
Too much time on setting up the breakout rooms and wasting the class time
See the following website about how to set up the breakout room:
Several ways can be used to make groups in class:
Random grouping (see “Automatically” in this page)
Pre-grouping of students
・Grouping by using CSV (see details here)
・Grouping with the Zoom (see “Manually” in this page)
Methods other than using the breakout room, such as creating multiple rooms with the "Zoom and Meet", can also be available.
Difficulties in understanding subjects taught in class because of no use of blackboard.
Several ways can be used for sharing materials instead of using blackboard. See the following links for details.
・Handwriting on the Zoom screen
・Zoom notes（Showing comments and stamps on the Zoom screen）
Time management
Some instructors were careless about time (eg., beginning and ending time were not consistently associated with the syllabus). Due to this, some students were not able to make it to the next class.
As for regular classes, please be punctual for class time. In particular, break time is required for students who continue to the subsequent course to recover from exhaustion. Please try to end the class on time.
No break during a long-time class
The break time is required in terms of recovery from exhaustion. Please make sure to have the break time during a continuous class, such as 567.
Others
Students who do not want to show their personal rooms
A virtual screen can be used to hide an actual background. Please ask your students to visit the following website if requested.
ICU original virtual screens can be available on ICU alumni and official CTL twitter.
Difficulties in cathing up a class when missed class due to inevitable reasons.
We recommend recording classes and uploading them to Moodle, given that students are in several situations and circumstances.
Some live-streaming classes were lecture-style and did not have in-class discussions
At the center of learning of ICU always lies “dialogue,” and this never changes even if it is conducted online. Please try as best as possible to design interactive courses. Details regarding the function of both the breakout room and chat on Zoom are as follows.
Instructors call the roll at a certain time though there are no interactive features such as discussions in the classes.
In hybrid/online courses, the following ways other than taking attendance at the beginning of a regular class can be available:
Short due dates for completing comment sheets
Online comment sheet is well-received by students because “it [online comment sheet] enables us to coordinate ideas in a long time, in contrast to paper sheets in a regular class, and thus deepens learning.” Given that some students take courses in different time zones, please set a due date, which allows plenty of time for preparation. Please avoid collecting comment sheets right after the class.
On-demand classes
Video clips
Equivocal titles, such as “lesson 6” and “video 3,” of which hardly signifies its content.
Creating titles that describe topic or content (e.g., "U.S.-Japan relations in the post-war era", "Structure of DNA") would be helpful.
Time management
Some non-synchronous type of videos were too long (eg., over an hour and a half)
On-demand classes differ from face-to-face classes in that more assignments (e.g., information gathering, discussion, etc.) are expected outside of the information provided. A combination of short instructional videos and other assignments is recommended.
According to a questionnaire, there is a student voice as follows: “30 minutes lectures which introduce each topic area were effective in keeping concentration.”
Some class hours were a disproportionately short as opposed to their course units
Unlike face-to-face classes, on-demand classes expect more assignments (e.g., information gathering, discussion, etc.) in non-informational time, but students can be confused if the amount of information in the delivered video is too little. Aim for about 15 minutes of video, and try to get 70 minutes of class content by including other activities such as discussions.
The quality of courses
Some courses were offered only by online movies, having no discussions.
When conducting Hybrid/Online courses, it is necessary to provide opportunities for Q&A and guidance in sentence revision. These opportunities would help deepen students’ understanding of class content.
◆ Methods to provide opportunities for Q&A
[Non-synchronous Discussion]
[Synchronous Discussion]
・Breakout room function on Zoom
◆The use of on-demand movies and live streaming
・How to use Zoom live streaming
・How to create an on-demand movie [Kaltura]
Presentations
Inconvenience of communication
Anxiety due to invisible responses of audiences during a presentation
A verbal response from the instructor can mitigate this anxiety of students during a presentation. Encouraging viewers to use reactions (such as a thumbs up or clapping emojis on Zoom) is also helpful. You could choose a student representative in turn and ask him/her to be a reactor.
Disadvantages of conducting presentations without blackboards
Several ways can be used for sharing materials instead of using blackboard. See the following links for details.
・Handwriting on the Zoom screen
・Zoom notes（Showing comments and stamps on the Zoom screen）
Group works
Feeling stressed when a group grows more than five people. It took time to decide a discussion facilitator, and it was not easy to get down to the main point.
According to the total result of our questionnaire, the number of group members is expected to be under five people.
It is very challenging to conduct group work online. None of the following was doable: reading the situation, physically showing materials, searching together, and talking with body language.
Although it is not easy to have group work in the same manner as a regular class, a combination of various online tools is useful for such activity.
Zoom (this tool is useful for visual live group work. E.g., showing materials or showing a screen.)
Sharing documents on Google Drive (this method is effective for concurrent editing of a presentation document and peer review of reports because Google Drive enables us to edit shared documents at the same time.)
Moodle Forum / Slack (These tools are useful for sharing textual information and documents. They are popular among students because they allow more time to be spent on reflection.)
Discussions (live)
Inconvenience of communication
Non-verbal communication is hardly used.
Please encourage students to use reactions (such as a thumbs up or clapping emojis on Zoom). Another option is for the representative to be a reactor.
Hard to read the situations of students whose screens are turned off.
It might be helpful to ask about reasons for the situation if a requirement to turn on the screen is represented in the class.
However, the reasons for off-camera in class vary, and some students are confined to do so due to the harsh and low-speed internet environments. The situations thus do not necessarily show the low motivation of students; please advise your students about this. CTL will be sharing more information about this issue.
Too many people / too fewer people
According to the total result of our questionnaire, the number of group members is expected to be five to six people for online discussions.
The following case has been reported: a discussion, which was initially grouped by three to four people, ended up being conducted by two students because others entered the discussion room but did not (or were not able to) participate in it. As for a discussion group which seems to not be working, imprompt supports, such as moving students to another discussion group, are expected by an instructor or a TA.
Discussions (Forum)
Inconvenience in communication
It is difficult to read everyone’s texts because of the large number of students
We recommend specifying the character limit while posting answers for discussion questions on forum, assignments, or comment sheets.
It is possible for students to check the word count while inputting answers on Moodle.
Assignments
Workload has increased compared to the usual
Despite taking an average amount of credits and not having to commute to the university, the everyday workload is high
From this survey, it became clear that there was a difference in the awareness between the faculty members and the students regarding the workload of tasks and assignments in the Spring Semester (there are many students who feel that the workload was more than the usual).
Although it is not necessary to reduce the tasks and assignments required to achieve the course goals, the fact that there are some students who are studying in an unfavorable environment or an environment that they are not used to, should be taken into consideration while setting the tasks.
One of the linguistic professors at ICU suggested using the Course Workload Estimator published by the Rice University in the United States. This makes it possible to calculate the appropriate amount of courseload, so please considering using it.
Difficulty in keeping track of assignments
No e-mail notification of new assignments on Moodle
We recommend that you use the “Announcement” function at the top of the Moodle course to notify students in a timely manner when new content is added or when the deadline for assignments are announced. Click here for detailed instructions.
Difficult to keep up with the amount of information on Moodle
You can organize the information by creating in-course links (content headings) and organize information by inputting dates in the topic titles.
There is also an option of managing tasks using the Google Tasks, so if you are asked for advice, please inform the student accordingly.
The announcements are solely oral
Announcements made on Zoom calls can be missed, especially when the students’ network conditions are poor. There are some students who cannot clearly understand or remember information communicated by voice, so please present and share important information such as test and report contents, deadlines, and lesson plans for the next class in simple and easy-to-understand text form.
If you send a notification through the “Announcement” button located at the top of the Moodle course, students will receive the notification by e-mail and the content of the notice will also be stored in Moodle. It will therefore be easy for students to understand. Click here for more information.
Confusion regarding submission methods (Submission via e-mail, submission via Moodle, submission of comments on forum)
Please describe the methods of attending a lecture (lecture delivery through Zoom, watching on-demand videos, etc.) and method of submission of assignments at the top of Moodle course page or Google Classroom in a way that is clear and easy for students to understand.
Information Sharing
The method of providing information varies depending on the professor
Professors have different ways of sharing information, such as posting on Moodle, describing through documents, making announcements in class, etc., and it is difficult to navigate what to refer to.
Please describe methods of attending a lecture (lecture delivery through Zoom, watching on-demand videos, etc.) and method/s of submission of assignments at the top of Moodle course page or Google Classroom in a way that is clear and easy for students to understand.
The URL of online classes, period of validity for lesson materials and videos, submission deadline for comment sheets, etc. are not clearly indicated.
Please describe methods of attending a lecture (lecture delivery through Zoom, watching on-demand videos, etc.) and method/s of submission of assignments at the top of Moodle course page or Google Classroom in a way that is clear and easy for students to understand.
Method for participating in online classes on Zoom is different for each class (there are classes whose meeting ID changes each time, classes whose meeting ID changes depending on the day of the week, classes whose meeting ID remains the same from the beginning, etc.)
To schedule Zoom meetings for each lecture, select “Zoom Meeting” from Moodle’s “Activity” section (explanatory link will be published at a later date).
Some teachers post the latest information at the top of Moodle while some at the bottom, which is confusing.
Please describe methods of attending a lecture (lecture delivery through Zoom, watching on-demand videos, etc.) and method/s of submission of assignments at the top of Moodle course page or Google Classroom in a way that is clear and easy for students to understand.
If you create an in-course link that will show up at the top of the page, it will appear in a table of contents format, making it easier for students to see and navigate.
Poor health conditions
Poor physical condition
Backache, eye strain, headache, tinnitus
These symptoms may be caused by inactivity, bad posture, etc. but there is also the possibility of other illnesses, so if the health issues continue, please ask students to consult a doctor.
The following information was provided by a health and physical education teacher.
PE videos for the new students AY2020 (gymnastics basics・self-weight trainings)
Materials for the new students AY2020 (exercises・radio exercises)
[Comments from the health and physical education teachers]
When looking at the monitor, your neck is forward and your posture is poor. Take the "standing at attention" posture along the wall. Try to push your neck back to the correct position, as if you were pushing the wall behind you with the back of your head.
Seated positions are 1.4 times more stressful on the lumbar spine than standing positions, so be aware of back pain. It is important not to stay in the same position as it affects blood flow. Stand and walk around the room and do heel raises, stretches and arm swings during breaks.
If you are using a laptop computer, a good way to take the course is to use a cardboard box or shelf to be at eye level in a standing position.
The Healthcare Office at ICU introduced the following sites:
Useful points while working online (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
Use of headsets impacts the base of ears
There is no fundamental solution to this issue, but there was a professor who tackled the issue in the following way.
Use a lightweight headset alternating between the right and left ears, using them only for a fixed among of time.
Use earphones with a microphone instead of a headset.
Psychological Stress
I feel stressed
ICU Counseling Center offers individual online counseling by professional counselors regarding mental health issues. To apply, please email to online-counseling@icu.ac.jp via the ICU address. For other general inquiries, please contact to icu-counseling@icu.ac.jp.
The following information was provided by a health and physical education teacher.
Since there are various types of stressors, in principle, consultation with an expert who can assess individual circumstances is recommended.
Light exercises are known to reduce stress, so exercises like walking, jogging, stretching, slow aerobics are recommended.
Informative links are introduced in the statement of the Japan Movement Epidemiology Society.
The Healthcare Office at ICU introduced the following sites:
Financial Burden
Printout costs
There are some classes which require a large amount of printouts, so I go to a convenience store every time I need to print out the materials
Considering that students are placed in various situations and environments, it is desirable to let the students choose whether to print course materials or not. Due to physical reasons, for those students who have difficulty learning unless the materials are printed out, please contact the Special Education Support Office.
Lack of communication
Lack of communication with the professors
It is difficult to communicate with the professors
The following measures were popular from the student questionnaire:
The professor stays for a certain time after the online class and takes time to answer questions.
Set up office hours and wait on Zoom during the office hours.
Answer question using Moodle’s Forum feature.
Answer questions using Slack or the Stream function on Google Classroom.
Lack of communication between students
It is difficult for the connection among students to grow.
We recommend creating a forum within the Moodle course where students can freely communicate. There may be cases where trivial questions can be solved with peer advice and are not necessary to ask the professor.
Equipment/ Network
Network
Family also uses data/Wi-Fi, so the network is not strong enough/ data is not enough
The measures that can be taken are summarized here. Please introduce this to the students if you receive a consultation.
Some contents cannot be accessed in China
Services provided by Google, such as Google Classroom and Google Drive cannot be accessed from China. Therefore, we ask all professors to use Moodle as much as possible.
If you are informed that a student cannot access materials that cannot be replaced such as YouTube, please suggest them to consider using a VPN service.
Gmail cannot be accessed in China
The services provided by Google are not accessible from China. If a student contacts you about not being able to use Google-related services, please suggest them to consider using a VPN service.
Course environment
Not in an environment that is appropriate for taking classes.
Harsh environment (tents, parks, closed rooms, bathrooms, entrances, balconies, etc.)
From Autumn Semester onwards, students who can commute to the university will be able to take online classes in classrooms on campus. On the other hand, there may still be some students who have difficulty in improving their learning environment, especially those who live in remote areas.
We would like to request all faculty members to proceed with the classes while keeping in mind that some students are taking classes in a harsh environment or an environment with unstable internet connection.
Others
Cancellation of courses
Many courses were cancelled this semester which seriously impacts course registration plans
Course cancellations highly impact course registration planned by students. It is an emergency situation, but we request the faculty members to avoid course cancellations as much as possible. CTL will continue to disseminate this information to the university.
Library
It is inconvenient that the library cannot be used.
Library services are currently being resumed in stages. The latest information is posted on the library website.
However, there still are students, especially in remote areas, who have difficulty in accessing the library.
Please consider the situation of such students while assigning reports and assignments. Please contact the library (library@icu.ac.jp or the liaison librarian) for the possibility of provision of electronic books.
Textbook
It is difficult to purchase textbooks. Textbooks for larger classes sell out even on websites such as Amazon.
Please check the notice from the ICU Bookstore (Sanseido Bookstore).
Please contact the library (library@icu.ac.jp or the liaison librarian) for the possibility of
provision of electronic books.
Disturbance of learning rhythm
Difficult to maintain motivation and time management
There was an opinion in the student survey that the classes for which it was easier to maintain a rhythm because the deadline for comment sheets and assignment submissions on the same day and time every week were good.
We introduce students to task management tools such as “Google Tasks” linked with Gmail and Google Calendar.