Welcome to Hiro's page!
(In front of Garage of Hewlett & Packard;
it could be a learning space!)
What are your goals for graduate school?
I have been in education business in past 16 years and I will go back
to the same field after my graduation. Before I come to Stanford, our
company (test prep school) I used to work introduced some learning
services utilizing technology, such as video, DVD, video streaming,
and online learning courses… however, those had poor selling.
Although we had confidence in our technology for the learning products,
I thought there is something more important issue in addition to technology.
In order to find out the answer, I decided to come to graduate school.
This is my revenge stage… Through my graduate school work, I strongly
hope to figure out some key points how we can develop engaging learning
products!
What are your goals for this class?
Since I used to work for a prep school, I am very much interested in
managing classroom environment. I believe technology helps not only
learning products but also class room environment as well. I would
like to study much more about the blending of technology, learning
products and classrooms (learning spaces). My goal for this class is
1) to study what is a good learning space, 2) to study how technology
can help in order to make learning spaces better.
How do you see them intersecting?
I like education business field very much because I can really feel
that I contribute to people’s development. Through my educational
business experience, I learned the importance of teachers, learning
tools and learning spaces, and each other’s relationship. To learn
those issues has special importance for me considering I continue
to work in educational business field.
Dan - Hiro, thanks for such a great introduction and for being brave to write in a language that is not your first. In this class I think there will be an opportunity to not only analyze learning spaces, but also or you to test out some of your own ideas about how technology and space might support learning. I will be particularly interested in your thoughts on how cultural considerations impact space and learning. Would an innovative prep school in Japan take off? Are there cultural considerations that could either be assets or barriers to thinking creatively about what a prep school could be?
Evelyn: There are lots of discussions about how to incorporate technologies into learning environments. However, it seems like many learning problems and concerns resulting from technologies still remain. Before we totally embrace or refuse the application of technologies, we should critically evaluate their pros and cons. This class and LDT program will be good paths to find out our answers.
Ashley: I really enjoyed reading your introduction! I'm also very interested in how technology can enhance the classroom learning environment. Have you heard of Promethean boards? I recently helped out in a 6th grade classroom that just had one installed. They're pretty incredible. I look forward to working with you this quarter!
Rolf - Thanks for your introductions and goals, Hiro. I think you'll really enjoy this class. I hope you'll be able to design physical spaces that support your innovating learning technologies. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
What have you learned in graduate school? How do you know that you have learned it?
I think I have learned many things in my graduate school work so far. Out of many things I learned, the most impressive for me was the concept of “learner-centered.” As a matter of fact, through many lectures from teachers, classroom discussions, I had many opportunities to think that educators always need to give learners a first priority.
The concept of “learner-centered” is not a new and eccentric idea but rather a kind of the most fundamental concept that all educators need to have, as if it were air. However, one day, I realized that I did not think about it seriously but only thought how to make a good sales from a business manager stand point.
In fact, looking at learning products in the education business market, I would have to say that many products are losing the rudimentary principle. Also, the same can be said for the products that my company developed. I think those product developers do not mean to ignore the principle but might be just fascinated with cosmetic methods and learning designs -perhaps myself as well.
I spent unbelievably expensive tuition in order to find out such a very natural and rudimentary principle, but I believe that it was absolutely necessary process for me…
PS
The person who significantly made me ponder the concept of “learner-centered” was Donald A. Norman. Although he actually emphasized the importance of “user-centered” concept in design settings, I always tried to put that concept into a learning environment!
The Design of Everyday Things
Dan: Hiro, thanks for sharing. It will be interesting to check in with you in a few years to see if you are demonstrating or performing your knowledge of this learner-centered approach in any of your work. How else might you demonstrate what you have learned to others or to yourself?
Andrew: Hiro, I love that you are taking away the importance of having the learner at the center. I cannot think of a better thing to learn in graduate school and in your program. It took me quite a while to get there as a teacher and then I was constantly amazed at how HARD it was for me to stay focused on the learning and the learner rather than what was cool or what I wanted to do.
Whitney: Hiro - your post on learning-centered really resonated with me. In my work on the new campus, I continue to advocate for the learners in order to make the project a success. It is amazing how easy it is to get caught up in the process and miss the fundamental concept of designing a space to promote learning. I know you will have some great ideas for the study rooms!!
Claudia: I think that is a very crucial thing to learn, and you'll have lots of opportunities here to put it into practice. This will hopefully make the expensive cost worthwhile in the end. We'll definitely be putting this idea into practice when we design for the GSB :)
Lynn: Your thought really resonates with me as well. I hope we all can incorporate Norman's philosophy into our own master's projects as well as our GSB project!
Poster Session
I took some photos in the poster session on April 18, 2008.
Dan - Great pics thanks for sharing. I'm going to link back to the April 18 2008 page.
Field Trip
We (with Lynn and Claudia, GSB new building team) visited Y2E2 (Yang & Yamazaki Environment & Energy) Building on May 7th, 2008.
To be honest, I had assumed that Y2E2 Building is the space for faculty and students who belong to environment & energy related departments before I know it well. Y2E2 Building is built for the purpose of “inspiring faculty, staff, students, and visitors to take the next steps toward a sustainable future. (SEQ Sustainability Committee)” Moreover, I found a news article; Pamela Matson, Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, says the importance of the building as a meeting center for students, professors and researchers across the entire campus. I recognized the building is for all people but not only for people related to Stanford University, and should play a significant role as for a sustainable future. That is, I, myself also should be one of the target audience of the building.
“As you walk around here, you will see lots of meeting spaces, work spaces and gathering places. We did that on purpose because we wanted this to be a coming-together place not just for the people who are actually in the building, but for the whole university.
(Comment of Pamela Matson, Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, from The Stanford Daily of March 5, 2008)” |
When I entered the building, I immediately recognized how the building pays close attention to the sustainable energy. They use a lot of glass walls and ceiling in order to fill inside of the building with bright natural sunlight. (According to their website, they use 50 percent less energy and 90 percent less water than a traditional building of comparable scale.) What I was surprised is even the basement of the building is bright! Generally speaking, rooms in a basement have no sunlight and gloomy. However, they bring in the light from the sun roof to the basement because of its vaulted structure. When I went to the basement floor, I did not feel I was in the basement. Also, what I was impressed was not only just bright but also every room looked very wide because of its see-through walls. I thought this kind of environment gives people a sense of liberating, and it would be helpful to accelerate a discussion and to produce a creative idea.
I found some interesting features in the building, which could be adaptable to our team project.
1) They have some light switches and a dimmer control on
a white board. I think it is very nice idea because a
presenter can reach it easily when he/she needs to control
the light. It is a very simple idea but I appreciate this kind
of a solicitous setting.
2) Some tables are discerptible. This should be very efficient because table size is flexible depending on the number of
participants.
3) They have a guideboard with touch-screen and looked very user-friendly. Since we are planning to install a
reservation screen on the new GSB building (our project),
I definitely think this idea could be adaptable to our project.
What did I learn from the Y2E2 Building? I appreciated many features, which they incorporated, for actualizing the energy saving. However, more importantly, the building makes all users aware of its importance. Also, lots of green plant in the building cast new light on the abatement of carbon footprint. I actually had a good opportunity to think about sustainable future, apart from our team project. The building has many good points but I think the very existence of Y2E2 Building plays a role of transmitting the importance of energy sustainability.
Y2E2 Building Photos (May 7, 2008)
Dan - Thanks for documenting this so well. Very interesting space that has had lots of reactions from everyone in this course who has been through it. I liked your comment that you felt that indeed you are part of the target audience even though you are outside of the 'Y2E2' community. How can you connect some of those insider/outsider feelings with your own project?
Book Club
I took some photos in the book club presentation on May16, 2008.
A Whole New Mind (Summary & key quotes)
In the past, the left hemisphere has been valued more than the right hemisphere. However, at the present day, people should pay close attention to the right hemisphere as well. The right hemisphere isn’t inferior to the left but just function is different (p.14). Since it would seem that more creative thinking skills are required for people, those who hope to survive in modern days must master the high-concept, high-touch abilities require R-Directed Thinking. The important point is –the abilities people will need are fundamentally human attributes. They reside in all of us, and need only be nurtured into being. (p.247)
Difference between the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere
Until surprisingly recently, the scientific establishment considered the two regions separate but unequal. The left side, the theory went, was the crucial half, the half that made us human. The right side was subsidiary… (p.13)
However, nowadays, experts believe that the right hemisphere isn’t inferior to the left but just different. Roger W. Sperry claims that there appear to be two modes of thinking represented rather separately in the left and right hemispheres, respectively. (p.14)
Ability of the left hemisphere:
-excelling at analysis
-handling words
-processing information analytically (p.14)
Ability of the right hemisphere:
-interpreting emotional content
-intuiting answers
-perceiving things holistically (p.16)
That is…
-The left hemisphere is sequential; the right hemisphere is simultaneous. (p.18)
-The left hemisphere specializes in text; the right hemisphere specializes in context. (p.20)
(Briefly speaking, the left hemisphere handles what is said; the right hemisphere focuses on how it’s said.)
-The left hemisphere analyzes the details; the right hemisphere synthesizes the big picture. (p.22)
The right and left hemisphere are actually two half-brains, designed to work together as a smooth, single, integrated whole in one entire, complete brain. (p.25)
Leading a healthy, happy, successful life depends on both hemispheres of your brain. (p.26)
Why do we need to pay close attention to the right hemisphere?
The L-directed Thinking used to be considered of value. (The best example is a knowledge worker.**) The L-Directed Thinking it nurtures and rewards still matters, of course. But it’s no longer enough. Today, we’re moving into an era in which R-Directed Thinking will increasingly determine who gets ahead due to the following reasons (p.30):
1) Abundance has satisfied, and even oversatisfied, the material needs of millions –boosting the significance of beauty and emotion and accelerating individuals’ search for meaning. (p.46)
2) Asia is now performing large amounts of routine, white-collar, L-Directed work at significantly lower costs, thereby forcing knowledge workers in the advanced world to master abilities that can’t be shipped overseas. (p.46)
3) Automation has begun to affect this generation’s white-collar workers in much the same way it did last generation’s blue-collar workers, requiring L-Directed professionals to develop aptitudes that computers can’t do better, faster, or cheaper. (p.46)
**
Knowledge workers are “people who get paid for putting to work what one learns in school rather than for their physical strength or manual skill.” They have an ability to acquire and to apply theoretical and analytic knowledge. In other words, they excelled at L-Directed Thinking.) (p.29)
The era of high concept and high touch
At present day, survival today depends on being able to do something that overseas knowledge workers can’t do cheaper, that powerful computers can’t do faster, and that satisfies one of the nonmaterial, transcendent desires of an abundant age. Therefore, people will need to supplement our well-developed high-tech abilities with abilities that are high concept and high touch. (p.51)
High concept: the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into a novel invention. (p.51)
High touch: the ability to empathize to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian, in pursuit of purpose and meaning. (p.52)
Six senses which is required in the present day
In the Conceptual Age, we will need to complement our L-Directed reasoning by mastering six essential R-Directed aptitudes. Together these six high-concept, high-touch senses can help develop the whole new mind this new era demands. (p.65)
These ideas could be adaptable for learning spaces!
1) Not just function but also DESIGN
A study at Georgetown University found that even if the students, teachers, and educational approach remained the same, improving a school’s physical environment could increase test scores by as much as 11 percent. (p.82)
2) Not just argument but also STORY
When facts become so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter more is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact. (p.103)
3) Not just focus but also SYMPHONY
People who hope to thrive in the Conceptual Age must understand the connections between diverse, and seemingly separate, disciplines. They must know how to link apparently unconnected elements to create something new. (p.134)
4) Not just logic but also EMPATHY
Computers have “tremendous mathematical abilities, but when it comes to interacting with people, they are autistic. (p.164)
Aptitudes more difficult to replicate are becoming more valuable. One aptitude that’s proven impossible for computers to reproduce is Empathy. (p.161)
5) Not just seriousness but also PLAY
On tests of visual perception, game players scored 30 percent higher than non-players. Playing video games enhanced individuals’ ability to detect changes in the environment and their capacity to process information simultaneously. (p.191)
6) Not just accumulation but also MEANING
The search for meaning is a drive that exists in all of us –and a combination of external circumstances and internal will can bring it to the surface. (p.217)
Conclusion
The arrival of desktop PCs and the automation of business processes, they say, have heightened the value of two categories of human skills. The first is what they call “expert thinking –solving new problems for which there are no routine solutions.”
The other is “complex communication –persuading, explaining, and in other ways conveying a particular interpretation of information.” (p.246)
Considering learning spaces…
I think we might as well say the same to learning settings. It seems that a learning goal which is required for present-day students is much different from the one they were previously required. Especially, modern society more requires critical thinking skills, leadership skills, and the like. Therefore, I think learning spaces should be the space which contributes to nurture high concept and high touch abilities of students.
Dan - Thanks for posting these reflections here, very interesting for me to reread.
Library Visit
@Robert Crown Law Library on May 19, 2008
It is obviously commonsense that a library basically should be silent. However, I felt Robert Crown Law Library is unbelievably more silent than other libraries I have visited before. Since it is now a kind of off-season (because they just finished their quarter), it certainly looked there were fewer students. When I asked one librarian, she actually said that there should be many more students during regular quarters. However, why I felt it was very silent was, I didn’t think that’s the only reason of off-season… I felt that too serious attitudes of law school make the extremely silent environment. Although the number of my visits of libraries in Stanford is not many, I guess the character of library users might be quite different depending on libraries.
Another highlight of Robert Crown Law Library is that they seem to have a great number of books. Like the left photo, I saw many similar looking books (They seemed to have huge quantities of records of cases in law.). Also, they have sliding bookshelves like the right photo, probably in order to make effective use of their spaces.
I found they have some study rooms (left photo). Since all rooms were locked, I asked one librarian to open the key and made some inquiries to him. Although those rooms are called study room, those were seemingly mini conference rooms suitable for like four students (right photo). According to the librarian, those study rooms are required to make a reservation in advance, and it seems to be almost full during regular quarters. Also, he said the temperature adjustment of study rooms is critical. Since they have no windows, they are quite likely to be very hot. He emphasized that it is more likely to be hot when especially law students use the rooms because they always make heated discussions. This story was quite interesting, in terms of expressing the difference of the users’ character.
They have so many learning tables (left photo) which students can share for their learning spaces. Also, I found that there are many individual learning desks (right photo). To my surprise, it was my unexpected fact that there were more students used shared tables than individual desks. An individual learning desk has an own light, and seemingly students should be able to concentrate on studying. Since I really wanted to know why more students choose a sharing table but not an individual desk, I tried to ask one student and one librarian. Probably it is just a coincidence, but I received the same answers from both of them. Their answers were library users prefer a space close to window because they want sunlight, and prefer a spacious area. It probably depends on people’s preference, but I think more people prefer bright and spacious area from the fact that even law students who are like book junkies prefer such a space.
(Robert Crown Law Library on May 19, 2008)
Dan - Great documenting here and I am especially happy to read that you asked the librarian for help and opinions on the space. for your project in the GSB, will you have silence issues to deal with? I suspect not, but perhaps they might arise. Thanks for sharing.
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