Comparison of Two Years in Effects of Furthering Student Study through. Using Video Conferencing

Transcription

1 Journal of Modern Education Review, ISSN , USA October 2012, Volume 2, No. 5, pp Academic Star Publishing Company, Comparison of Two Years in Effects of Furthering Student Study through International Joint Seminar between Japan and China Using Video Conferencing Isao Miyaji (Department of Information Science, Okayama University of Science, Japan) Abstract: In 2007, two universities in Japan and in China, conducted a joint seminar in their respective native languages by using a simple video conference system and by incorporating evaluation activity. Subsequently, in 2008, they conducted the joint seminar between the same universities using video conferencing by adopting presentation technique. In this study, it is reconfirmed that even if students communicate in their respective native languages using the simple video conference system, student study can be promoted and their ability and attitude can be raised. Moreover, the presentation activities performed during this time were considered more useful than those in 2007 for raising additional interest and the will to perform research. In this paper, the activities performed in 2008 and their effects will be reported. The effects in 2007 and 2008 will be compared and discussed. Key words: student study, joint seminar, video conferencing, mother tongue, presentation, translator 1. Introduction Traditionally, students are required to have their lessons in one classroom. With the spread of the Internet, distance education is now carried out between geographically separated campuses using video conferencing systems. Moreover, joint classes are also being held by schools in different areas using the Internet. In this way, video conferences as a supplement and extension of traditional lessons have been widely used as a means to improve learning (Bersin, 2004; Miyaji, 2009). At present, the effects of collaborative learning are widely recognized (Gagne, 2005). In joint seminars, collaborative learning can be carried out through interactions among all participating students, and these mutual interactions can effectively stimulate and deepen their learning. We made several attempts between a university and a college in Japan using a video conference system as described below: The graduate students ability to present and explain was improved through explaining graduate studies and being asked from college students (Naruse, 2003); Students abilities to present and explain were raised through joint presentations for introducing famous mathematicians between university students and college students (Naruse, 2005); Freshman s attitude to make course decisions was raised through hearing how to decide their course and job hunting from students who decided their course, and asking questions about the contents (Miyaji, 2006); and Similarly the understanding regarding graduate studies was deepened and their interest was Isao Miyaji, Ph.D., Professor, Graduate School of Informatics, Okayama University of Science; research areas: blended learning, educational technology. miyaji@mis.ous.ac.jp. 297

2 heightened through conducting joint seminars between graduate studies in two schools (Miyaji, 2010). It has been reported that exchanges with foreign countries via video conferences can improve learning attitude and motivation (Nishihori, 2004). Although it is difficult to ask a timely question and to ascertain the status of the other side, it is reported that the satisfaction level of students taking distant seminars is high (Oura, 2004). Research also reports that the degree of motivation and satisfaction experienced with regard to the target subject raised greatly (Kita, 2004). Sakamoto et al. (2005) reported on conducting English classes using , video conferencing, and face-to-face classes in a collaboration between a domestic university and an overseas university. It was found that students motivation to learn English increased and that students demonstrated an interest in learning about other countries. They also reported that the international exchange gave students an opportunity to observe their own culture from an outside perspective. Thus, video conferences are an effective means to initiate learning exchanges with students in a foreign country. These exchanges are usually made in English as a common language. There is also a trial that students majoring in the foreign language of the partner interchange using the language of the partner (Lin, 2009). In 2007, a university in Japan and a university in China conducted four joint seminars. Subsequently, we investigated the effects of international exchange with universities in different countries by using simple video conference system in the students respective native languages. At this joint seminar, students explained their study contents and responded to questions. Moreover, they listened to other students study contents, asked questions, and listened to their responses. These activities were performed via video conference exchange. It was reported that the understanding regarding student study was deepened and greater attitude regarding their abilities was achieved (Miyaji, 2008). With the simple video conference systems in 2007, the students commented that as they could not clearly see the students in the other location, because of the small monitor, their sense of joint participation was limited. To increase the benefits of joint seminars, a projector and a screen were introduced in both universities in In 2008, the joint seminars were conducted seven times. As the students in the other location were clearly visible on the large screen, a greater sense of joint participation increased the benefits of mutual interaction in the first four times. Furthermore, efforts were made to increase the effects of exchange by requiring students to give presentations in the last three times. The practice methods used and their effects in 2008 after the above improvements were reported. In this paper, effects in 2007 and 2008 will be compared and discussed in the following section. 2. Contents and Method of Practice 2.1 Lesson Plans Video conferencing between University A in Japan and University B in China was conducted four times from December 6th to 21st, The exchange plan and contents are shown in the left of Table 1. Participants were five undergraduate students from University A and 12 Master s students in University B. Joint seminars using video conferences were conducted seven times between the same two universities from November 17 to December 22 in The exchange plan and exchanged study contents are shown in the right of Table 1. Participants included five undergraduate students from university A and 11 Master s students from university B. Their theme contents which students in Japan addressed and studied were to develop system related to e-learning or to analyze information in survey on education. The theme contents in China were to study something 298

3 on educational technology, for example, development of support system for learning physics in high school, analysis of experiment reports using text mining, analysis on factors to influence a learning effect, etc. Table 1 Plan of the Video Conference Exchange in 2007 and Date Exchange Contents File Time No. Date Exchange Contents File Time Dec. 6 Dec. 13 Dec. 17 Dec. 21 Self-introduction, two explanations by students in Word 15:30-17:00 1 Nov. Self-introduction, two explanations by students 17 Univ. A & B in Univ. A & B Two explanations by students in Univ. A, current state in Word 16:00-17:00 2 Nov. Two explanations by 20 students in Univ. B China Two explanations by students in Univ. A & B Word 15:30-17:00 3 Nov. 25 Two explanations by students in Univ. A & B Two explanations by students in Univ. B, current state in Japan, and how to have the Word 11:00-12:30 4 Nov. Two explanations by 27 students in Univ. A holidays at Christmas and a new year 5 Dec. 1 6 Dec. 8 7 Dec. 15 Four presentation in Univ. A, peer assessment Six presentation in Univ. B, peer assessment No. of Questions Sum A B Univ Univ Word 16:30-18: Word 16:30-18: Word 16:40-18: Word 16:45-18: Power point Power point 16:55-18: :45-18: Five presentation in Power Univ. B, peer 16:35-18: point assessment, campus life sum Ave Windows Live Meeting was used as a video conference system. The equipments we used in 2007 include a personal computer, a USB camera, and a microphone. The projector and screen were introduced on both sides in 2008 to enhance the students sense of inclusion and live participation. In 2007, the joint seminars were conducted four times distributing paper printed Word document. In 2008, the joint seminars were conducted seven times: The same explanation as one in 2007 was conducted using Word at the first four times and the presentation was carried out using Power Point the last three times. It is noted that the seminars in 2008 were conducted adding this presentation to explanation of study contents in In conducting the joint seminar in 2008, exchange was conducted in the students respective native languages as had been the case in 2007 (Miyaji, 2008). Although international exchanges often adopt English, participating students in Japan and in China who were not fluent English speakers used translators to overcome language barriers. The time until hearing interpreted explanation was not so long for several seconds because a translator directly translated it. 2.2 Purposes of This Lesson This joint seminar aimed to exchange ideas with foreign students, understand the contents of foreign studies, and allow students to ask questions as well as expand their understanding of diverse ideas. Students were given the 299

4 opportunity to raise their attitude of cultural exchange and research by interacting with different elements of a foreign culture. Furthermore, since the students in both countries were not much experienced in giving presentations, activities related to presentation took place in these video conferences to improve their presentation skills. 2.3 Instructional Method University A in 2007 and 2008 had a team of five students who studied four themes. Three students worked on one theme per person, and two students worked on one theme as a pair. All the students of university B in 2007 and 2008 researched on one theme each. File and Time in Table 1 show kind of used file and time to exchange respectively. The contents of the student study were summarized to about two pages of a Word document. As implementation method before the seminar exchange began, a translator translated the Word document and PowerPoint slides describing the contents of all the student studies in the two languages. The translated contents were sent to the other side in advance. The receiver then printed and distributed them to each student. In 2007, students explained their study by writing and distributing the contents in a Word document. The author sent a Word document file containing the contents of the graduate research of students in Japan to a translator. The translator translated the file into Chinese, printed the file, and distributed it to the students in China. The identical procedure was conducted for the research contents of the students of the master s program in China. Each student sat on a chair and explained their study content in front of the microphone. During the video conferences, students listened to the explanation of the research while viewing the manuscript translated into the appropriate language. During the question and answer session, the translator translated questions from the Japanese students into Chinese. The responses were translated into Japanese. Similarly, the translator translated questions from the students in China into Japanese and translated the responses into Chinese. The question and the answer were translated in real time. Almost of the questions were short like Why is the most frequency of use in June? and all within one minute. Almost all of the answers were one to two minutes. The waiting time was not so much and no uneasiness was felt. Using this method, linguistic differences were adjusted prior to the video conference. Since there are no established methods for conducting such international exchanges, the effect is measured by devising the exchange. In the last three conferences in 2008, students created and reorganized PowerPoint slides for presentations on the contents of the same student study by referring to the other students questions and advice given when using the Word document. In carrying out the presentation, the reorganized slides were projected on the screen as shown in Figure 1. The students then received feedback that helped them improve their study contents. Figure 1 Scene of the Chinese Student Has Presented (The Left is Japan and the Right is China) 300

5 In the fifth conference in 2008, five Japanese students presented their studies. Each presentation lasted 8 minutes and was delivered in the student s native language, and it was followed by a 5-minute questions session from students on the China side. Then each presenter also performed self-evaluation consisting of 15 items as shown in Table 6. Of the 15 items, eight items were about the slide, and seven items were about the presentation. 11 Chinese students assessed them about the same questionnaire as self-evaluation. In the sixth and seventh conferences, 11 Chinese students presented their Master s studies, and five Japanese students assessed them by the same way as one in the fifth conference. These presentations were conducted to raise skill of the students presentation and evaluation abilities. All participating students were given the opportunity to present in both countries as shown in Table 1. By reviewing the video conference exchange, self-evaluation was carried out in a pre-survey including 42 evaluation items before the first conference in 2007 and 2008 about the attitude related to ability as shown in Table 3. Each time, this self-evaluation was carried out as a post-survey after the conference, and the same items were asked as in the pre-survey. 3. Results of Attitude Survey First, we explain the dynamics of interaction performed in this exchange. The students attitude related to their own ability was gauged before and after the exchange to assess the degree of success of the presentation exercises. To understand how the students attitude of their own ability could be improved at the end of the seventh conference, the activities useful for improving students attitude were listed by the students. A cross table showing the correlations between attitude and an activity was prepared. Then χ 2 test was performed to know which activity had significantly high frequency, to explain the reason why the student s attitude of their own ability was improved, and to know the effects of presentation exercises. Peer assessment by students in Japan and China were compared to analyze the differences. 3.1 Student Interaction The three columns on the right-hand side of Table 1 show the number of questions in 2008, which represents the extent of interaction among students and between students and teachers. The exchange time was shown in column Time in Table 1. The average exchange time was 1.83 hours/conference. The average number of questions was 24.9 per exchange for both universities in column No. of questions in Table 1. Since the number of replies is the same as the number of questions, the average number of questions and responses was 49.8 times in total. The numbers of questions raised by students of university A and university B were almost the same. Thus, students in both universities were actively involved in the exchanges. After the presentation at the seventh seminar, the students asked one another questions about campus life and learned about cultural differences in the other country. 3.2 Results of Attitude Survey To clarify the educational effects of video conferencing, students who participated in the conferences performed self-evaluations using a 43-item questionnaire before the first conference and after the seventh conference. The questionnaire items consist of attitude related to their abilities, their interest in the conference, and their thoughts about explaining their own research contents to others. Students rated their level of attitude on a nine-point scale (superiorly demonstrated, 9; strongly demonstrated, 7; somewhat demonstrated, 5; slightly demonstrated, 3; failed to demonstrate, 1). 301

6 Since the number of students is several in both universities and there were only several available responses, the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was performed to analyze the differences between the pre- and post-surveys, which consisted of 43 items. Responses from five students of university A and 11 students of university B were analyzed. The results are shown in Tables 2 and 3 respectively. The signs ***, **, and * in the test result indicate that significant differences are observed at the 0.1%, 1%, and 5% significance levels respectively. The existence of significant differences will be analyzed at a significance level of 5% in the following section. The m, SD, z, and p represent average, standard deviation, amount of statistic, and significance probability, respectively Significant Test Results for Students at University A in Japan The results of the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test for responses by five students in Japan are presented in Table 2. Significant differences were observed between before the first exchange and after the last exchange for the mean scores of 42 items in total (p < 0.05) as shown in Table 2. This indicates that the students attitude in both 2007 and 2008 was raised as a whole by the last conference. Next, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to compare the mean value for each item between before the first exchange and after the last exchange. Significant differences were observed for six items in 2007 and five items in 2008 at the 5% level of significance, as shown in Table 2. These differences indicate that the students attitude for these items was raised by the last conference. We offer some reasons why the mean scores of these six items were raised for Japanese students. In 2007, the students in Japan admitted that their (2) Understanding of computers increased, because they wrote their study contents using Word and created slides using Power Point; (8) Ability to study independently advanced, because they explained the contents of graduation study, and heard and talked fun to learn at the university; (9) Ability to collect information improved, because they searched associated contents to write up their studies and to hear content to want to study in future; (17) Ability to communicate with others enhanced, because they asked and replied questions for study contents of foreign students, and introduced by themselves and hear a hobby of another student; (22) Ability to complete research perfectly increased, because they could more fully comprehend their studies through explaining the contents of graduation study and replying questions; (26) Ability to solve one s own problems heightened, because they conducted different kinds of activities in this exchange from normal graduation study. In 2008, the students in Japan recognized that (19) Ability to accurately judge the others opinions increased, because they explained contents of graduation study, heard contents of other students study, asked question about them; (34) Being questioned by others deepens understanding of my own research advanced, because they replied questions about the research contents, answered a survey about ability and attitude, and asked question about the research contents; (35) Answering question deepens understanding of my own research improved, because they were asked about the contents of graduation study and replied them; (41) It is useful to exchange opinions with foreign students and (42) My own research is useful after graduation enhanced, because they heard research contents, asked questions about them, and replied their own research contents Significant Test Results for Students at University B in China The results of Wilcoxon signed-ranks test for responses by 11 students in China are presented in Table 3. Significant differences were observed for the mean scores of all 42 items between before the first and after the last exchanges (p < 0.05) as shown below Table 3. This difference indicates that the students attitude was raised as a whole. 302

7 Table 2 Result of Wilcoxon Test for Attitude Related to Abilities (Students in Japan) Ite m s B efore After Result B efore After Result m SD m SD z p m SD m SD z p ( 1) Interest in com puters ( 2) U nderstanding of com puters * ( 3) Technicalskils w ith com puters ( 4) M ethods of com puter use ( 5) A bility to clarify problem s ( 6) A bility to m ap out ( 7) D eepening of understanding know ledge ( 8) A bility to study independently * ( 9) A bility to co lect inform ation * (10) A bility to sort inform ation and necessary data (11) Ability to analyze inform ation (12) A bility to express self-opinion by sentences (13) ability to express by the others except sentences (14) A bility to create simple explananations (15) Ability to give a presentation (16) Ability to understand about others'explanations (17) A bility to com m unicate w ith others * (18) A bility to accurately judge the self-opinions (19) A bility to accurately judge the others'opinions * (20) A bility to carry out m odifications for im provem ent (21) A bility to perform detailed investigations (22) A bility to com plete research perfectly * (23) Ability to w ork and study cooperatively (24) Sense of fulfilm ent (25) Sense of accom plishm ent (26) A bility to solve one's ow n problem s * (27) Ability to com pose know ledge (28) A bility to think by oneself (29) Ability to create (30) Interest to one's research (31) It is very im portant to organize ploblem effectively (32) It is very im portant to explain ideas to others (33) Explaining to others deepens understanding of m y ow n research (3 4 ) B e ing questioned by others deepens understanding of m y ow n research * (35) A nsw ering question deepens understanding of m y ow n research * (36) A sking questions broadens m y idea (37) W hat I am studying now w ilbe usefulin m y future job (38) It is very im portant to study inform ation literacy (39) H earing others'research broadens m y idea (40) The exchange is usefulto advance research (41) It is usefulto exchange opinions w ith foreign students * (42) M y ow n research is usefulafter graduation * Average * * <05 <1 * p.05, + p.1 Next, Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to compare the mean value for each item between before the first and after the last exchanges. Significant differences were observed for 25 items in 2007 and 38 in 2008 as shown in Table 3. These differences indicate that the students attitude for these items was raised by the last conference. We offer some reasons why the mean scores of these 25 items in 2007 and 38 items in 2008 were raised for China students. In 2007, the students in China admitted that (1) Interest in computers, (2) Understanding of computers, (6) Ability to map out, (9) Ability to collect information, (12) Ability to express self-opinion by sentences, (20) Ability to carry out modifications for improvement, and (27) Ability to compose knowledge were raised, because they heard the study contents, asked questions, and replied to them after describing the study contents 303

8 using Word and Power Point slides; (40) The exchange is useful to advance research and (42) My own research is useful after graduation improved, because they explained the study contents to foreign students, were asked questions, and replied to them; (13) Ability to express by the others than sentences, (14) Ability to create simple explanations, (15) Ability to give a presentation, (18) Ability to accurately judge the self-opinions, and (24) Sense of fulfillment advanced, because they talked about the circumstances of one s country, the circumstances of one s university and their other hobby than they explained the research contents; (5) Ability to clarify problems, (7) Deepening of understanding knowledge, (16) Ability to understand others explanations, (21) Ability to perform detailed investigations, (25) Sense of accomplishment, (29) Ability to create, (32) It is very important to explain ideas to others, (34) Being questioned by others deepens understanding of my research, (39) Hearing others research broadens my idea, and (41) It is useful to exchange opinions with foreign students enhanced, because not only I explained the research contents, but also they asked about the circumstances of foreign country, and heard self-introduction, the circumstances of the university, and a hobby of another person than they explained. Table 3 Results of Wilcoxon Test for Attitude Related to Abilities (Students in China) Ite m s B efore After Result B efore After Result m SD m SD z p m SD m SD z p ( 1) Interest in com puters * ** ( 2) U nderstanding of com puters * ( 3) Technicalskils w ith com puters ( 4) M ethods of com puter use *** ( 5) A bility to clarify problem s ** *** ( 6) A bility to m ap out * * ( 7) D eepening of understanding know ledge * *** ( 8) A bility to study independently * ( 9) A bility to co lect inform ation * * (10) A bility to sort inform ation and necessary data ** (11) Ability to analyze inform ation * (12) A bility to express self-opinion by sentences * ** (13) ability to express by the others except sentences * *** (14) A bility to create simple explananations * ** (15) Ability to give a presentation * *** (16) Ability to understand about others'explanations ** *** (17) A bility to com m unicate w ith others * (18) Ability to accurately judge the self-opinions * *** (19) A bility to accurately judge the others'opinions ** (20) A bility to carry out m odifications for im provem ent * *** (21) A bility to perform detailed investigations ** * (22) A bility to com plete research perfectly * (23) A bility to w ork and study cooperatively (24) Sense of fulfilm ent * * (25) Sense of accom plishm ent ** *** (26) A bility to solve one's ow n problem s * (27) Ability to com pose know ledge * (28) A bility to think by oneself * (29) Ability to create ** *** (30) Interest to one's research *** (31) It is very im portant to organize problem effectively *** (32) It is very im portant to explain ideas to others ** *** (33) Explaining to others deepens understanding of m y ow n research *** (34) Being questioned others deepens understanding of m y own research * *** (35) A nsw ering question deepens understanding of m y ow n research * *** (36) A sking questions broadens m y idea ** (37) W hat I am studying now w ilbe usefulin m y future job *** (38) It is very im portant to study inform ation literacy *** (39) H earing others'research broadens m y idea * * (40) The exchange is usefulto advance research * *** (41) It is usefulto exchange opinions w ith foreign students * *** (42) M y ow n research is usefulafter graduation ** *** Average *** *** *** p<.001,** p<.01,* p<.05,+ p<.1 304

9 In addition to the items with significant difference in 2007, the students in China in 2008 recognized that a rating level of the following items rose. (4) Methods of computer use, (10) Ability to sort information and necessary data, (11) Ability to analyze information, and (30) Interest to one's research were raised, because they heard the study contents and asked the questions. (37) What I am studying now will be useful in my future job and (38) It is very important to study information literacy improved, because they explained and replied about the research contents, and heard the foreign circumstances and replied about one s own circumstances. (8) Ability to study independently and (22) Ability to complete research perfectly advanced, because they asked and replied about the research contents, replied evaluation sheet for the attitude and the ability useful to improve, and talked about their hobbies. (17) Ability to communicate with others, (19) Ability to accurately judge the others opinions, (26) Ability to solve one s own problems, (28) Ability to think by oneself, (31) It is very important to organize problem effectively, (33) Explaining to others deepens understanding of my own research, and (36) Asking questions broadens my idea enhanced, because they heard self-introduction, talked and heard about hobby, heard the foreign circumstances, and input on evaluation sheet for ability and attitude. 3.3 Analysis of Activities Deemed Useful for Improving Attitude We investigated useful activities to determine why the attitude related to student abilities improved on the basis of relationship between student activities and attitude. Twenty-nine and thirty-three activities deemed useful for improving attitude were mentioned in the survey form in 2007 and Out of these, some activities were chosen for understanding different types of attitude. A cross table was prepared with the type of attitude indicated in the row and the accompanying activities stated in the column. In the following paragraphs, attitude is represented with numbers in parentheses, and activities are represented by normal numbers. The activities listed by Japanese students in 2007 and 2008 were 254 (50.8 activities/person) and 314 (62.8 activities/person) respectively. The activities listed by Chinese students 2007 and 2008 were 842 (70.2 activities/person) and 1598 (145.3 activities/person), respectively. The number of activities per cell in the cross table is low, at around 0.47 or 2.0, so that the activities deemed useful to students in both countries cannot be compared statistically. Then, each cell of the cross table for both countries was added. Thereafter, cluster analysis was performed using the Ward method on the obtained cross table by taking attitude as a variable and activity as a case. As a result, activities were classified into the following five groups. Since Group 1 consists of 19. explain the contents of study and 22. answer questions about the contents of study, it is summarized as Activity to explain and reply research contents. Since Group 2 consists of 20. ask a question about the contents of study and 21. listen to the contents of study, it is summarized as Activity to listen to contents of research and ask questions. Since Group 3 consists of 30. evaluate others presentation and 31. complete the research with a word processor, it is summarized as Activity to evaluate presentation and to complete the research. Since Group 4 consists of 8. listen the situation of others country, 10. answer questions about the situation of one s country, and 32. complete the research with slides, it is summarized as Activity to hear about a foreign country and to reply. Group 5 consists of the following 24 activities: 1. make self-introduction, 2. listen about others self-introductions, 3. speak about one s hobby, 4. listen about others hobbies, 5. talk about future career path, 6. listen about others future career path, 7. explain the situation of one s country to the other side, 9. ask about the situation of the others country, 11. explain the situation of one s university. 12. listen about the situation of others university, 13. ask questions about the others university, 14. answer questions about the situation of one s 305

10 university, 15. talk about what is interesting in studying at one s university, 16. listen about what is interesting in studying at others university, 17. talk about the subject that one wants to study in future, 18. listen about the subject that others want to study in future, 23. ask questions in s, 24. answer questions in s, 25. answer questions about attitude in evaluation sheet, 26. listen to the native language of the other side, 27. listen to English, 28. talk about the benefits of exchange through video conference, 29. listen about the benefits of exchange through video conference, 33. make a presentation about the contents of student study. Since activities with many number listed in them are activities such as 9, 33, 17, 13, 18, 26 and 28, Group 5 is summarized as Activity to present and exchange. Thus, all of Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 involve activities to complete and explain research, and to make and evaluate presentations. These nine activities account for 67.9% of the number of activities enumerated. This means that completing the research, and actively sharing information about oneself by explaining and presenting to the others are useful for improving student attitude related to ability. Further, another cluster analysis was conducted on the cross table mentioned above by converting the tabling in the previous analysis, that is, by taking attitude as a case and activity as a variable. As a result, the student attitude was classified into the following five groups. The numbers in the parentheses are numbers of shown in Section 3.2. Group I consists of 12 types of attitude as follows: (1) (4), (6), (9), (10) (12), (20), (27) and (30). It is called Attitude related to research. Group II consists of two types of attitude as follows: (37) and (38). It is called Attitude that questions and responses spread idea. Group III consists of two types of attitude as follows: (40) and (42). It is called Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters. Group IV consists of seven types of attitude as follows: (8), (13) (15), (18), (22) and (24). It is called Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment. Group V consists of 19 types of attitude as follows: (5), (7), (16), (17), (19), (21), (23), (25), (26), (28), (29), (31) (36), (39), and (41). It is called Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding Analysis about Students of University A in Japan Frequency about Japanese students was counted for every cluster about attitude and activity as shown in the upper left side of Table 4. There is not activity Group 3 in 2007 because there are not activities 30 and 31 in χ 2 test was performed while considering this table as a contingency table of 5 4 and 5 5 in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Consequently, the deflection of frequency in both years in Japan was significant (χ 2 (12) = 23.7, p<.05 in 2007; χ 2 (16) = 99.1, p <.001 in 2008). Then, the result of residual analysis is shown in the lower left side of Table 4. * mark is put on the cell that is recognized to be significantly more as shown in the lower right side of Table 4. There are two significant cells and one significant tendency cell in There are four significant cells and three significant tendency cells in In 2007, the activities useful for improving student attitude with significantly more cells are explained. The students turned out to think that the Group 1 Activity to explain and reply research contents are significantly useful for improving Group IV Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment. The students turned out to think that the Group 2 Activity to listen to contents of research and ask questions is significantly useful for improving Group V Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding. The students turned out to think that Group 5 Activity to present and exchange trended to significantly improve Group I Attitude related to research. In 2008, the activities useful for improving student attitude with significantly more cells are explained. The students turned out to think that the activity Group 1 was significantly useful for improving attitude Group IV and 306

11 trended to significantly improve attitude Group II. The students turned out to think that the activity Group 2 was significantly useful for improving attitude Group V and trended to significantly improve attitude Group III. The students turned out to think that activity Group 3 was significantly useful for improving attitude Group I. The students turned out to think that Group 4 trended to significantly improve attitude Group IV. The students turned out to think that activity Group 5 was significantly useful for improving attitude Group V. Table 4 χ 2 Test and Residual Analysis about the Cluster of Attitude and Activity (Japan) Observed frequency Expected frequency Observed frequency Expected frequency Clusters of activities and attitude 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply 5.Activity to present and exchange Sum 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply 5.Activity to present and exchange 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 3.Activity to evaluate presentation and to summarize research 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply 5.Activity to present and exchange Sum 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 3.Activity to evaluate presentation and to summarize research 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply Ⅰ.Attitude related to research Ⅱ.Attitude that questions and responses spread idea Ⅲ.Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters Ⅳ.Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment Ⅴ.Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding Sum Adjusted residual Result of significant test Adjusted residual Result of significant test Ⅰ.Attitude related to research *** Ⅱ.Attitude that questions and responses spread idea Ⅲ.Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters Ⅳ.Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment ** ** + Ⅴ.Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding * * ** *** p<.001, ** p<.01, * p<.05, + p<.1 5.Activity to present and exchange Analysis about Students of University B in China Frequency about Chinese students is counted for every cluster about attitude and activity, as shown in the upper left side of Table 5. χ 2 test was performed while considering this table as a contingency table of 5 4 and 5 5 in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Consequently, the deflection of frequency was significant (χ 2 (12) = 214.9, p<.05 in 2007; χ 2 (16) = 382.9, p <.001 in 2008). Then, the result of residual analysis is shown in the lower left side of Table 5. * mark is put on the cell that is recognized to be more significant, as shown in the lower right side of Table 5. There are six significant cells in There are nine significant cells and one significant tendency cells in In 2007, the activities that are useful for improving attitude with significantly more cells are explained in the following. The students turned out to think that Group 1 and 4 are significantly useful for improving attitude Group II. The students turned out to think that Group 2 is significantly useful for improving attitude Group III and V. The students turned out to think that Group 5 is significantly useful for improving attitude Group I and IV. In 2008, the activities that are useful for improving attitude with significantly more cells are explained in the following. The students turned out to think that Group 1 is significantly useful for improving not only attitude Group II but also Group V. The students turned out to think that Group 2 is significantly useful for improving same attitude Group III and V as one in The students turned out to think that Group 3 is significantly useful for improving attitude Group I. The students turned out to think that Group 4 is significantly useful for improving not only attitude Group II but also Groups III and IV. The students turned out to think that Group 5 is significantly useful for improving attitude Group IV and trended to significantly improve attitude Group V. 307

12 Table 5 χ 2 Test and Residual Analysis about the Cluster of Attitude and Activity (China) Observed frequency Expected frequency Observed frequency Expected frequency Clusters of activities and attitude 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply 5.Activity to present and exchange Sum 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply 5.Activity to present and exchange 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 3.Activity to evaluate presentation and to summarize research 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply 5.Activity to present and exchange Sum 1.Activity to explain and reply research contents 2.Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions 3.Activity to evaluate presentation and to summarize research 4.Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply Ⅰ.Attitude related to research Ⅱ.Attitude that questions and responses spread idea Ⅲ.Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters Ⅳ.Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment Ⅴ.Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding Sum Adjusted residual Result of significant test Adjusted residual Result of significant test Ⅰ.Attitude related to research *** *** Ⅱ.Attitude that questions and responses spread idea *** *** *** *** Ⅲ.Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in * *** * interpreters Ⅳ.Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment *** * * Ⅴ.Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding ** *** *** + *** p<.001, ** p<.01, * p<.05, + p<.1 5.Activity to present and exchange 3.4 Peer Assessment of Presentations Before carrying out a presentation, an evaluation sheet consisting of 15 question items as shown in Table 6 was distributed to evaluate slide and presentation in The five rating values are represented as follows: 1. Not appropriate, 2. Not so appropriate, 3. Cannot be determined, 4. Relatively appropriate, 5. Appropriate. The average and standard deviation of the rating values by 11 Chinese students for the five Japanese students presentation on the contents of their studies are shown in the upper rows of Table 6. The values representing five Japanese students assessment for 11 Chinese students are shown in the middle rows of Table 6. Table 6 Result of the Peer Assessment on Presentation Slide Presentation Items to evaluate Japan China z p (1) Adequacy of title (2) Adequacy of background (3) Adequacy of character size (4) Adequacy of the number of characters per slide (5) Adequacy of color of character (6) Adequacy of image, graph, and table (7) Adequacy of constitution of slide as a whole (8) Easiness to understand slide contents (9) Plainness of explanation to presen (10) Explanation without memo (11) Appropriate use of instructions stick (12) Adequacy of time distribution (13) Ease of catching voice (14) Felity of greetings of start and end m SD m SD * * ** * ** p<.01,* p<.05,+ p<.1 (15) Appropriate answers for questions Average The result of Wilcoxon rank test for the differences between those evaluations in Japan and China are shown in bottom row of Table 6. Significant differences were not noticed about the average of all 15 items as a whole (z = 1.60, p >.05). Next as a result of the test for each evaluation item, significant differences were recognized for 308

13 the following four items: (5) appropriateness of color of character, (7) appropriateness of the slide composition, (8) comprehensiveness of slide contents, and (13) ease of catching voice. Significant difference for (1) Adequacy of title trended to be significantly admitted. All of rating values for these items in Japanese students are higher than those in Chinese students. Since the Japanese students already made their presentation in the middle presentation meeting of graduation thesis in university A, they corrected their presentation slides several times and conducted rehearsal for presentation under their teachers instruction, they presumably obtained high evaluations. Since they were prepared in this way, it seems that the slides and presentation method used by the Japanese students acted as a reference for Chinese students. Having some samples helped them prepare their presentation and raised their attitude. 3.5 Comparison of the Improvement in Attitude Related to Ability over a Two-year Period To know the differences in the effect because we added presentation in 2008 to the practice in 2007, we conducted the Wilcoxon rank test without correspondence regarding the improvement in the attitude related to ability in both years. The results are shown in Tables 7 and Results of the Students of University A in Japan We found that the growth in the rating value for (19) Ability to accurately judge others opinions in 2008 was significantly higher than that in 2007 in Japan, as shown in Table 7. Moreover, it is recognized that the growth in the rating values of (28) Ability to think by oneself in 2008 tended to be significantly higher than that in Table 7 Result of the Wilcoxon Rank Test Regarding the Improvement in Attitude (Students in Japan) Attitude related to ability Sig. test m SD m SD z p (19) Ability to accurately judge the others opinions ** (28) Ability to think by oneself Average ** p.01, +p Results of the Students of University B in China We found that the growth in the rating values in 2008 for (34) Being questioned by others deepens understanding of my own research, (31) It is very important to effectively organize problem, (35) Answering question deepens understanding of my own research, and (39) Hearing others' research broadens my idea was significantly higher than those in 2007 in China, as shown in Table 8. Moreover, the growth in the rating values of (15) Ability to give a presentation, (18) Ability to accurately judge the self-opinions, and (20) Ability to carry out modifications for improvement in 2008 tended to be significantly higher than those in Table 8 Result of the Wilcoxon Rank Test Regarding the Improvement in Attitude (Students in China) Attitude related to ability Sig. test m SD m SD z D (34) Being questioned by others deepens understanding of my own research ** (31) It is very important to effectively organize problem ** (35) Answering question deepens understanding of my own research * (39) Hearing others research broadens my idea * (15) Ability to give a presentation (18) Ability to accurately judge the self-opinions (20) Ability to carry out modifications for improvement Average ** p.01, *p.05, +p.1 309

14 3.6 Comparison of Activities Deemed Useful for Improving Attitude over A Two-Year Period By comparing two years in Table 4 and 5, it was shown that activities in 2008 for both Japan and China are more useful for generally improving attitude related to abilities than one in Results of the Students of University A in Japan The Group 1 of Activity to explain and reply research contents in 2008 did not only help to improve IV. Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment as in 2007, but also brought a significant tendency on improvement of II. Attitude that questions and responses spread idea. The Group 2 of Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions in 2008 did not only help to improve V. Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding as in 2007, but also came to show a significant tendency on improvement of III. Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters. This means that giving presentation brought increment of will and attitude. The Group 3 of Activity to evaluate presentation and to summarize a study added in 2008 improved I. Attitude related to research. This implies that one of purposes in this practice has been achieved. The Group 4 of Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply in 2008 trended to significantly contribute to improvement of IV. Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment. Furthermore, it is indicated that the Group 5 of Activity to present and exchange in 2008 helps to improve V. Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding by giving presentation. It is suggested that it brought a good effect to add activity for presenting on the research contents, and to evaluate it Results of the Students of University B in China The Group 1 of Activity to explain and reply research contents in 2008 did not only help to improve II. Attitude that questions and responses spread idea as in 2007, but also brought significant improvement of V. Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding. The Group 2 of Activity to listen to research contents and to ask questions in 2008 help to improve the same III. Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters and V. Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding as in The Group 3 of Activity to evaluate presentation and to summarize research added in 2008 improved I. Attitude related to research. The Group 4 of Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply in 2008 did not only bring significantly to improve II. Attitude that questions and responses spread idea, but also III. Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters and IV. Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment. Furthermore, it is indicated that the Group 5 of Activity to present and exchange in 2008 does not only help to improve IV. Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment, but also came to show a significant tendency on improvement of V. Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding. It is suggested that it brought a good effect to add activity for presenting on the research contents, and to evaluate it. In Group 1, 3, 4, and 5, activities related to presentation fostered attitude and brought better effects Difference between the Students of Universities A in Japan and B in China The Group 1 of Activity to explain and reply research contents in 2008 help also to improve V. Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding compared with that in 2007 in case of China students. The Group 4 of Activity to hear a foreign country and to reply in 2008 bring significantly to improve III. 310

15 Will to complete research and attitude that explanation can be recognized in interpreters and IV.Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment in case of Chinese students. The Group 5 of Activity to present and exchange in 2008 helps to improve V. Attitude related to an expanse of idea and to deepen understanding in case of Japanese students and IV. Attitude about expression and the sense of fulfillment in case of Chinese students. The Group 1 helps to improve attitude Group IV for Japanese students and attitude Group II and V for Chinese students in The Group 4 helps to improve only the attitude Group IV for Japanese students in For Chinese students, it improves the attitude Group II and III in addition. As just described, the same activities brought different effects between Japanese and Chinese. It is found that the Chinese students had more considerable effects than Japanese students in this exchange. 4. Discussion 4.1 Changes in Attitude Related to Ability By appending the presentation in 2008 to the practices in 2007, we conducted a joint seminar between University A in Japan and University B in China using video conferencing in 2008 in order to promote the understanding of the study contents. As an effect, the total attitude of the students in both countries significantly increased. The students showed greater attitude, e.g., (41) It is useful to exchange opinions with foreign students. In the free description, they replied, It was good to have an interaction with a foreign student and I had extensive knowledge of studying and increased the interest in studying, too. These comments show that the joint seminar was useful in terms of advancing their research. The attitude of six items in 2007 and five items in 2008 about students in Japan improved as shown in Table 2. The attitude of 25 items in 2007 and 38 items in 2008 about students in China also improved as shown in Table 3. These improvements were demonstrated because students asked questions and replied to them about study contents in 2007 in a video-conferencing exchange, as mentioned in Section 3.2. The attitude improved by making a presentation in These improvements came about because of the usefulness of presentation and peer evaluation for it in As shown in Tables 3, almost all items improved in the case of the Chinese students in The two-year comparison in Section 3.5 shows that the attitude of the Japanese students in 2008 was higher than that in 2007 in only one item. In the case of the Chinese students, it was higher for four items. It was found that the improvement in the attitude of the Chinese students is higher than that of the Japanese students in both years, as described above. This is because the Chinese students are graduates, and it is assumed that their will for studying may be higher than that of the Japanese undergraduates. In addition, the fact that the Chinese students have fewer seminars than the Japanese students increased the effects of the joint seminar. In 2007, the number of items that had significant difference for the Japanese students was six. The number of items that had a significant tendency was 13. Meanwhile, the number of items that had significant difference for Chinese students was 25, and the number of items that had a significant tendency was four. Because the number of items with a significant difference in 2008 is more than that in 2007, the attitude in 2008 seems to be slightly higher than that in One reason for this may be additional activity related to presentations. There is no significant difference, as shown by the result of the test for significant differences between the pre- and post-values of the attitude (15) ability to give a presentation for the Japanese students in

16 Meanwhile, the Japanese students in 2008 tended to recognize the significant difference about the item (15) at a 10% level of significance. In contrast, in the case of the Chinese students, the significant difference reached a 5% level of significance (Miyaji, 2008). The Chinese students recognized that their abilities to present significantly improved at a 1% level of significance. In this way, the improvement in attitude in 2008 tends to be significantly recognized at a higher level of significance than that in This means that the presentation and the evaluation activities regarding it in 2008 were useful for improving attitude, as mentioned in Section 3.2. This shows that we could foster a skill to present and have accomplished one purpose of this practice. After the Japanese students explained, they heard someone ask questions in Chinese. Then, they heard the question translated into Japanese. They replied, I did not feel a sense of incongruity in particular in relation to this. The Chinese students too felt the same about it. These facts show that the Japanese students in 2008 differed significantly and the Chinese students in 2007 and 2008 became significantly different in terms of attitude: (41) It is useful to exchange opinions with foreign students. This practice shows that an international exchange can be conducted in the native language. Even the free description showed favorable replies as follows: Translation solved the first obstacle in exchange, Translator clearly conveyed the presentation and the exchange content of partner, and It was good that the translator explained not only translation but also the associated knowledge. In addition, we set up the seminar such that the other parties of the exchange could be seen at a full-scale level; this oneness occurred because of the introduction of the projector and screen in 2008, as shown in Figure 1. In contrast, many students replied in a friendly way that I felt a sense of reality such that we were together inside the same classroom. After having conducted seminars using the simple video-conferencing system, the students in 2008 described positive opinions in the free description as follows: Operation was convenient and practical, The system is easy and effective, and I think that it is usable for anyone and provides good facility. On the other hand, one of them replied as follows: It is convenient and good. However, I think that we can get greater effects of the exchange if we can see a picture more clearly. If the facilities are more expensive, they become better. But the most important thing to exchange is the attitude of the participants, and there is no problem as for the facilities. As described above, they pointed out the possibility that the effects increased if the graphical quality of the picture could be slightly improved. 4.2 Comparison of Changes in Attitude over the Two-Year Period Because the presentations using slides were conducted in 2008, it is considered that the Japanese students listened to the Chinese students presentation and evaluated them. Therefore, the Japanese students rating value about Ability to carry out peer assessment in 2008 became significantly higher than that in In contrast, because the Chinese students repeated the activities to ask questions and to reply about those related to their research each time, their thoughts about the research were deepened and the abilities (33) and (36) related to questions/answers in 2008 were significantly higher than those in In the free description in the questionnaire, students in Japan in 2007 did not recognize that their presentation ability, evaluation ability, and information-gathering ability increased. However, they trend to admit it in The students in China in 2007 and 2008 recognized it. However, Table 7 shows the result of no significant difference between the presentation abilities in 2007 and 2008 for Japanese students. Table 8 trends to show the result of a significant difference between the presentation abilities in 2007 and 2008 for Chinese students. The presentation activities in 2008 brought more effects for the Chinese students than that for the Japanese students. 312

17 Thus, it means that the activity introduced in 2008 was not sufficient in order to raise the presentation ability. This suggests that further devices are needed in order to sufficiently raise the ability to present. Therefore, we ask the students to correct the slides and the methods of presentation based on the advice of the peer assessments. Then, the students should carry out the presentation once again. We think that such devices bring to improve presentation ability. Because we conducted the presentation in joint seminars in 2008, we added the following four activity items in 2008 to the questionnaire as a post-survey in 2007: 30 To evaluate about others presentation, 31 To summarize the research with a word processor, 32 To summarize the research into a slide, and 33 To present about the student study. The percentage of frequencies of these four items for Japanese students was 46.8% of all the items. The percentage for Chinese students was 31.4% in all of the items. This shows that the degree of usefulness of these activities in improving attitude is greater than that of other activities. 5. Conclusions In this paper, we reported the practice of the video conference exchange conducted between universities A and B of Japan and China, respectively, to promote the understanding of the student study. We analyzed the survey results of students attitude. We then reported the effects of the joint seminars, in which student presentations were incorporated in 2008, to improve the student s attitude. Students in both countries carried out explanation, presentations on student study, and peer assessment about them. They did roughly 50 times of question/reply with great enthusiasm each time. As a result, their attitude related to ability improved significantly. Thus, it was reconfirmed that student study can be promoted and student attitude can be raised, using a simple video conference system and interacting in respective native languages. Joint seminars were successful in facilitating interaction with foreign students to increase mutual understanding of research, deepen and broaden all participating students study contents, as well as allow them to appreciate the differences in the ideas. Coming into contact with the other students culture and custom heightened the students understanding of cultural differences, while also raising their interest in research and strengthening their will to execute research. In 2008, the Japanese students also tended to progress in presentation abilities. The Chinese students recognized that they could significantly improve presentation abilities. The Japanese students in 2008 also made more progress in abilities to accurately judge others' opinions than those in The Chinese students in 2008 also made more progress in attitude that being questioned by others deepens understanding of their own research, it is very important to effectively organize problem, answering question deepens understanding of their own research, and hearing others research broadens their idea than those in In our future work, we would like to design a class through introducing appropriate activities to foster student abilities and attitude on learning. Acknowledgement The author thanks Dr. Z. Li, a student at Northwest Normal University of China, for his assistance with the translation of the communication contents during the conferences. The author appreciates the support of the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, foundation study (C ) provided by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan for this research. 313

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