I explained in my previous post that there is no real
MOOC in Japan and the most similar ones are the lecture videos and
lecture materials provided on line. The two biggest differences between
real MOOC and Japanese online lecture videos are that (1) most lectures
are conducted in Japanese, and (2) MOOC is a real course where
interactive communication is possible.
On February 22, the University of Tokyo announced that it will launch a real MOOC using the existing Coursera service. What is epoch-making is
that the new course will be (1) conducted in English and (2) will have
interactive communication functions and exams, which, by passing, a
participant may receive a certificate.
One of the two lectures initially offered are "Conditions of War and Peace" by Professor Kiichi Fujiwara. He is a famous international
politics professor of the law faculty whose current research is mainly
focused on national security issues. He was a Fulbright student at Yale
and one of the few professors of our law faculty who can fluently give a
lecture in English. As there are many difficult war and peace issues
regarding East Asia and Far East, such as the territorial disputes and
security treaties, I believe that Professor Fujiwara will give some
insight on these issues from a Japanese scholar's viewpoint.
The other is by Dr. Hitoshi Murayama on the universe entitled "From the Big Bang to Dark Energy."
It is announced that the two courses are provided for the purpose of
"demonstrative experiment." This means that the University of Tokyo
wants to understand what MOOC is by actually providing these two
courses. I believe that the success of these two courses will lead to a
full-scale line up of MOOC courses by the University of Tokyo. So, it
is crucial that many people sign up for the course and make use of this
great occasion.
I believe that in the world where the international competition of
universities is really keen, MOOC is one of the best ways to show the
competitiveness of a university. Historically, the presence of the
University of Tokyo has been big, at least in Asia, but recently, the
presence of HKU, NUS, Seoul University, Peking University and other
great Asian universities is becoming ever bigger. Also, now the
competition is not just Asia-wide but global-wide. In order to attract
brilliant people from all over the world, MOOC is a good way to show the
excellence of the lectures conducted at the University of Tokyo. I
believe that MOOC will make the University of Tokyo a big name
internationally.
One thing to note is that the lectures start from September. It seems
that they need some time for preparation but until then, you can watch
videos of some English courses I recommended in my previous post.
DISCLAIMER:
"IT Law issues in Japan" only provides general information about
Japanese information technology law and does not, under any
circumstances, constitute legal advice. You should first obtain the
advice of professional legal counsel who is qualified in Japan before
acting or refraining from acting based on this blog.
A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course with the traits of massive participation and open access. Some of the famous MOOCs are edX, Coursera, and Udacity. The United States is the center of this movement for education free from the limitations of people, place, and time. I personally like Harvard Law School Professor Fisher's copyright course provided in edX. (Although the official enrollment period is finished, as reported in Harvard Gazette, you can freely see the youtube videos through the Professor's personal website.)
As is often the case, Japan is somewhat behind the innovative trend of the MOOC, but that does not mean there is no MOOC in Japan.
There is the Japan Open Course Ware Consortium, or JOCW, for the purpose of providing open course ware. Twenty universities are official members and they exchange information and try to encourage broad use of the course materials and lecture videos provided online.
One of the most important courses open for access via the Internet is the courses of the University of Tokyo, called Todai Open Course Ware. This is a site where the lecture videos, materials and textbooks are provided for free. You even do not need to register to enjoy the full world of courses.
Note that University of Tokyo is not the only university conducting the OCW project. Other members of JOCW are also doing well. For example, Kyoto University's OCW is also strong, such as Associate Professor Shikiko Kawakami's "Introduction to Japanese Classical Literature", which is worthwhile recommending.
However, there are two main things on Todai Open Course Ware that I think need improving. The first is that there are only a few lectures conducted in English. Although a substantial number of courses provide English course materials, most of the lectures are in Japanese. I only found one English lecture series which is "International Lectures on Frontier Physics 1" by Dr. Hirosi Ooguri. (Note that one lecture by Prof. Michael Sandel is provided in English.)
There are many episodes of international/transnational collaborations and inspirations of diversity of participants in American MOOCs, some of which are shown in Thomas Friedman's well read essay. However, that is only possible when the lectures are conducted in English. Japanese lectures can, at most, draw only domestic attention. As a result, it is necessary to increase the number of lectures in English.
The other important thing is that the courses are one-sided. There is virtually no way for the participants to interactively communicate with the professors. (Of course, you can find out the email address of the professor and send an email but that's not a very efficient way.) In order for the course to be more exciting and meaningful, the interaction between the students and professors is essential. Also, I believe that teachers can learn a lot more from the feedback of the participants, especially when the lecture is conducted in English and a diversity of people can participate. Thus, it is also recommended that Japanese Universities should provide interactive communication such as a chat system, bulletin
board, or with essays/exams.
DISCLAIMER: "IT Law issues in Japan" only provides general information about Japanese information technology law and does not, under any circumstances, constitute legal advice. You should first obtain the advice of professional legal counsel who is qualified in Japan before acting or refraining from acting based on this blog.
