Activities

Discussion Starter VideosUse Flipgrid to record a video of some things that you think we can learn from the topics/lessons introduced in the textbook. Make sure that you talk about things that fit the theme for our next class. Remember that most of the international students who watch your video will not have read the textbook, so in your video you should provide whatever context/background is necessary so that everyone can understand you.

These videos are connected to the "Learning from ~~~" sections of our textbook in which advice is given about how to incorporate sustainable ideas from traditional Japan into our modern lives. On your video, tell us what interested you this time. For example, you can talk about whatever points of advice inspired you, or surprised you, or pleased you, or made you think more deeply about your current living style. Use the video to raise the topics that you hope to discuss in class with your classmates.

These videos are 30% of your final grade for the course.
Reading ReactionsAs the calendar shows, most weeks we have reading assignments for homework. After you read it, use Edmodo to post your thoughts about what you have read as a comment to my Edmodo post with the same name. The deadline to post your reaction is noon on the Tuesday before the next class. Your reaction should include a reflection paragraph and 3 discussion questions.

Reflection Paragraph: Write about whatever the reading assignment led you to think about. For example, what interested you in the reading? Or confused you? Or surprised you? Can you find any connection to experiences in your own life or to daily life in modern Japan?

Discussion Questions: List at least 3 questions related to the reading assignment that you would like to discuss with your group in class. Try to avoid simple Yes/No type questions. Instead, aim for questions that will cause your group members to share their opinions or experiences, or ones that will help you deepen your understanding of the reading, or ones that help connect the reading material to our modern lives.

These assignments are 30% of your final grade for the course.
Team PresentationYou and your partner will prepare and record a PowerPoint presentation that all of us will watch in class. The goal of this activity is similar to the Discussion Starter Videos, but these presentations are longer, more thorough, more visual (using helpful slides) and more academic. You and your partner should further explore and investigate one of the ideas or points of advice from the textbook, and then share what you've learned in this presentation. Imagine this presentation as a "mini-lesson" in which you teach us about something from traditional Japan that will help us to live more sustainably today. Provide practical examples and advice on your slides to help us learn. Remember to choose a topic that fits well with the theme of the class in which you will present, and remember that some of your audience (most of the international students) will not have read the textbook before seeing your presentation.

Deadline: Send your recorded presentation to me by noon on the Tuesday before the class in which your presentation is scheduled. The easiest way to submit such a big file is to upload it to your 365 OneDrive / Sharepoint, and then send me a URL link to it using the message function on Edmodo.

Length: Roughly 5~7 minutes for each member, so the presentation should be about 10~15 minutes total if your team is two members. Generally, you should aim for about 1 minute per slide, so a typical presentation will have about 10~15 slides. But this is flexible because it depends on your topic and how many images you use to help us understand it.

Note: For the day that your presentation is scheduled, you do not have to post a Discussion Started Video on Flipgrid.

This presentation is worth 20% of your final grade for this course.
“Most of my important lessons about life have come from recognizing how others from a different culture view things” — Edgar H. Schein