The third floor of the Shiinoki Cultural Complex is designed for seminars. I was involved in the concept development and creation of the active learning space on the third floor, the partial design of the space, and the consideration of learning styles to be conducted there.

I haven’t seen the desks arranged yet, but it looked nice. The desks are quite light, making it easy to form groups. While I believe support for active learning will likely be needed at the Shiinoki Cultural Complex, and although there are permanent ICT support staff, this is not a university, and unlike the University of Tokyo’s KALS, there is no permanent staff specializing in education. Therefore, as one mechanism to promote learner-centered learning such as group work, we color-coded the chairs.

I hope that people will find meaning in this color-coding, take action, and introduce learner-centered learning styles such as problem-based learning and project-based learning. It may seem very superficial and simple, but colors are something that people pay quite a bit of attention to, and I thought that if I were to briefly explain examples of how to use this classroom, some teachers might find creative ways to use these colors. You could have people sitting in chairs of the same color form a group, or use it when reorganizing groups, such as by having one person from each group gather to share information. I also think it could be used by matching the learners’ attributes with the chair colors. It is truly a small, embarrassing thing, but I thought it might be useful.

Additionally, it is equipped with three whiteboards and a screen, allowing for various types of class structures. We have also prepared small whiteboards, so I hope each group will use them to actively engage in their learning. I am looking forward to seeing how everyone uses them.
Of course, other forms of support will also be necessary, and I would like to think about that in the future as well.

 However, this restaurant is amazing. It seems to be a restaurant called Jardin Paul Bocuse. It is a French restaurant, and they apparently have locations in Tokyo and Osaka as well. It is quite hard for a poor teacher like me to enter (laughs). I heard there is also a cafe for this restaurant on the first floor. I didn’t know such a restaurant would be located here. I was surprised when I heard it from a taxi driver!

It looks high-class. As someone who loves Gyoza no Ohsho, it feels like I have no connection to such a place (laughs). I feel like my hands would shake from nervousness… I guess people like me shouldn’t go there.

The Shiinoki Cultural Complex is located in a very good area surrounded by Kenrokuen Garden, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, and Kanazawa Castle. It is also close to Korinbo, so you can easily catch the airport bus, making it very convenient in terms of transportation. I hope you will use it when holding seminars and the like. I have to organize a Japan Society for Educational Technology research meeting in Kanazawa in May 2011, and I briefly thought that if the scale was small, I could hold it here, but there are venue fees, and the other classroom is a lecture-style room, and even if I could rent a maximum of two rooms, it might be difficult. I guess it has to be a university after all.

I would like to thank Professor Yamauchi (Associate Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo) from Educe Technology for his assistance with the zoning of the Shiinoki Cultural Complex active learning classroom. Thank you very much.

Shiinoki Cultural Complex
http://www.shiinoki-geihinkan.jp/about/shop.html