国際高専:国際高等専門学校

Hakusanroku Journal 白山麓ジャーナル: 2020年1月の記事

January 28, 2020 Inviting Spaces

Soft music, conversation, and coffee, anyone? Recently, ICT students, faculty, and visitors have been spending more time in the space above the stairs. It’s an inviting space thanks to Mr. Rikichi Izumiya. Now a meeting point where informal conversations happen around 4:30 pm each day, the brand-new coffee corner—with its shiny machine, bar height table and stools, and a pair of comfy seats facing the roadside view of Sena—provides what the water cooler did in most office spaces—a  place to socialize.

It is becoming normal to see several first- and second-year students make and sip their hot chocolate and coffee at leisure, linger over their laptops, seemingly stress-free. Coffee time is an additional time to engage with others over a drink in a place that is not the cafeteria. Students make use of this inviting space after lunch and dinner as well. Some students boast about drinking their coffee “black.” Not a coffee drinker of any caliber, I surmise that drinking black coffee is a marked status in the coffee-drinking world! ICT students have arrived!

While this space on top of the stairs is among the newest addition to our comfort here at ICT, it would be remiss of me not to mention another space that is inviting. It is the small classroom 3, next to the Living Commons. On Tuesdays, each week, members of the Hakusan community can be found there laughing and having fun. It’s been more than a year since the community members have been enjoying English language conversation classes on the Campus. Having community members, of whom two are senior citizens, is a reminder that our learning community is diverse. And local people are a part of our learning community. These citizens certainly demonstrate what live-long learning can look like and what reciprocity by the school can be. I facilitate Life-long learning using stories. The community members and I enjoy reading aloud from children’s books and sometimes accompanying movies. To date, we have finished reading at least eight children’s books. We enjoy learning new words, expressions, and sounds as much as we like to laugh, and talk about holidays, culture, and food!

Having the coffee corner and the community conversation class at ICT enhance our ongoing efforts in making our valuable learning community thrive.

Pauline Baird

心地よい音楽、楽しい会話のお供にコーヒーはいかがですか?最近の国際高専の学生、教職員、お客様が大階段の上の空間で過ごす時間が増えています。泉屋利吉さんが作った癒しの空間のおかげです。カジュアルな会話をする場所として毎日16時半頃からこの新しいコーヒーコーナーが利用されています。新品のコーヒーメーカー、バーカウンターの高さのテーブルとスツール、瀬女の景色を望む大きな窓の前の座り心地の良い椅子、一般的にはウォータークーラーだけが設置してありそうなところに複数のサーバー…社会人の憩いの場です。

最近の1~2年の学生がここでココアやコーヒーを飲みながらパソコンで作業をする姿はストレスフリーに見えます。コーヒータイムという時間を追加したおかげでカフェテリア以外の場所で他人と交流できるようになりました。何人かの学生はコーヒーを「ブラック」で飲むと自慢気に言います。コーヒーには詳しくありませんが、察するにコーヒーの世界ではブラックを飲むことはひとつのステータスなのでしょう!

国際高専の真新しい癒しの空間である階段上のコーナーについて話したのですから、もうひとつの癒しの空間について話さないわけにはいきません。リビングコモンズ横のClassroom 3です。毎週火曜日、白山麓地域の方々とここで笑顔の絶えない楽しい時間を過ごしています。白山麓キャンパスでこの英会話教室を始めてから1年以上が経ちました。参加しているメンバーのうち2人は高齢者で、新しいことを学ぶことに年齢は関係ないことを思い出させてくれます。参加しているのは地域の方々です。学校が生涯学習に一役買えることを身をもって証明してくれました。私の授業では絵本を使って英語を教えます。声に出して読んだり、時には映画を使って楽しく勉強しています。現在、8冊の絵本を読み終えました。新しい単語や表現を覚えることも、笑って休日の過ごし方や文化の違い、食べ物の話をするのも大好きです。

コーヒーコーナーと英会話教室のおかげで国際高専での毎日が楽しく、よりよい学びの場を盛り上げていくやる気が湧いてきます。

ポーリン・ベーアド

January 20, 2020 Global Winter Camp

Hello, it's Jonathan, the camera man. Last month we held the Global Winter Camp where fourteen student from Thailand came to ICT to take STEM courses and learn about Japanese Culture. This year's Global Winter Camp was a week long program starting on December 15. During the program, the Thai students stayed in our dormitories at Hakusanroku campus and participated in STEM classes and Japanese cultural classes hosted by ICT teachers, various activities, and visited a local elementary school and tourist spots in Ishikawa prefecture.

Day 1

Sadly there was no snow yet at ICT.

On the first day, students arrived at Hakusanroku campus after a long journey and checked in. We held a orientation ceremony and introduced our school and each other. In the evening we held a mini workshop to make key chains using the laser cutting machine.

Day 2

On day two, students first received a lecture on Japanese culture and language. In the afternoon, we visited the Hakusan Folk Museum in Shiramine, which is a town about fifteen minutes up the mountain from ICT. We also cut and made cups out of bamboo and experienced cooking rice over a bonfire.

Day 3

Group photo with Hakurei six-graders.

Day three was the day we visited Hakurei Elementary School, a local public school about five minutes from ICT. Both students had prepared a presentation of their culture and a kids game that they could play together. The Japanese students introduced the game "Darumasan-ga-koronda." In this game, one person covers their eyes and the other players sneak up on him/her while the person says "Darumasan-ga-koronda", which means "the daruma falls down." When the person opens their eyes, all the other players must freeze and cannot move or else they will be captured. After they are touched, the person has ten steps to tag another player.

In exchange the Thai students introduced a type of stilts made out of two cut coconuts and string. The students practiced walking with these coconuts and finally faced off in a race of Thailand vs Japan. You can see both games in action in the video at the bottom of the article. We also challenged ourselves with cooking some Japanese "dango" (dumplings). Both students mixed, boiled, and covered the dumplings with kinako powder. Afterwards, we ate lunch together in the Hakurei cafeteria.

In the evening back at ICT, the students enjoyed bouldering with the assistance of Philip-sensei.

Day 4

The STEM courses began from the fourth day. These include the Digital Fabrication Introduction by Omi-sensei, Circuit Board Decoration Workshop by Hayato-sensei, Chemistry & Biology Workshop by Nagwa-sensei and Jason-sensei, and the Paper Rocket Design Challenge by Anne- and Ryan-sensei.

Day 5

On day five, students participated in the Design Thinking Workshop by Omi-sensei, Drone Programming Workshop by Maesa-sensei, Laser Cutter Workshop by KK-sensei, and AI & IoT Workshop by Fukuda-san. The students experienced a wide assortment of STEM courses during the span of two short days, hopefully sparking an interest as a engineer of the future.

Day 6

The sixth and final full day was dedicated to sightseeing in Ishikawa prefector. We first departed ICT for Kaga Fruit Land to pick strawberries. There were green houses where you could pick and eat as many strawberries as you want. The strawberries were fresh and delicious and everyone ate their fill.

Next, we moved to Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT) to eat lunch in the cafeteria and take a campus tour. Students especially enjoyed the PMC's (Popular Music Collection) collection of records and special chairs to listen to them. After KIT, we did some sightseeing in Kanazawa city. Kanazawa is often called "small Kyoto" and we made time to visit Nagamachi Samurai District, Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa Castle, and Higashi-chayagai. At Nagamachi, we visited Nomura-ke, which is a samurai residence open to the public. Here, the students had their first taste of Matcha green tea. At Kenrokuen Garden, some students discovered their love for Mitarashi-dango. (dumpling with sweet soy sauce) Finally, we joined a gold leaf experience at the shop "Sakuda." Here, students decorated small boxes with gold leaf. We returned to Hakusanroku and packed our bags for it was our last night at ICT.

Day 7

On the final day, students gave presentations on their experience at ICT. It was interesting to see how each students had taken alike to a different activities. I am glad that they all have special memories that they will take back to their homes in Thailand. You can see a video of their presentations and some scenes during the trip. I look forward to the next camp and hopefully seeing our friends from Thailand again someday. Thanks for coming and take care!

Jonathan

 

January 8, 2020

皆さん、こんにちは。S2年の鷺島です。今回は私が参加した、プロコンとロボコンに並ぶ高専三大コンテストの一つ、デザインコンペティション(以下デザコン)について書いていきます。

デザコンは幾つかの区分に分かれていますが、私たち白山麓キャンパスの学生が参加できるのは、プレデザコン(高専1から3年生対象)となります。プレデザコンと言っても、分野が空間デザインフィールド(建築の透視図)、創造デザインフィールド(ロゴデザイン)、A Mデザインフィールド(3Dプリント)の3つに分かれており、それぞれの学生の得意分野で取り組むことができます。私自身は創造デザインフィールドを選択して今年の東京大会に参加しました。

今回のテーマは「名取市において、自然がもたらした試練を乗り越える力となった人と人とつながりを、次代へと継承してゆくこと」で、これを題材にしたロゴを作成しました。ここからは、簡単に何を経て完成へと至ったのか書いていきたいと思います。まず最初にしたのはテーマの咀嚼です。とくに今回のテーマは複雑で、最終的には「震災を乗り越えた人のつながりを示す」という一文に縮めました。次がアイデア出し、続いてブラッシュアップに入ります。ここが一番時間がかかる工程で、それぞれ1週間以上かかります。特にブラッシュアップに関しては、1つのロゴの些細な表現の差異を比べながら作業していくので、かなり疲れました。最後に提出資料にまとめれば完成です。どんどんアイデアが形になっていき、最終的に想像以上の作品が完成するのはとても壮観です。この活動を通して、アイデア創出の楽しさを再確認することができました。結果としては特別賞(審査委員会から頂ける賞)を獲得することができて嬉しく思います。

この分野は、アイデア勝負の部分も多く、サポートして頂ける先生たちも付いているので、初心者でも気軽に始められます。気になる人は是非最初の一歩を国際高専で踏み出してみてください。

S科2年 鷺島悠人

Hello everyone. My name is Sagishima and I am a second-year student of the department of science and technology. Today I would like to write about the Kosen Design Competition (DezaCon), which I participated in and is counted as one of the three big Kosen Contests along with the ProCon and RoboCon.

The DezaCon is divided into several divisions. The division that students from the Hakusanroku campus can participate in is the Pre-DezaCon (first- to third-year students). This Pre-DezaCon is further divided into three fields: the Space Design Field (architectural perspective drawing), Creative Design Field (logo design), and AM Design Field. (3D printing) Students can choose which fields they wish to compete in. I selected the Creative Design Field and entered this year's Tokyo tournament.

This year's theme was to create a logo based on the concept "Passing down the bond between people of Natori city who overcame the trial of nature." I would like to briefly describe how I reached my final product. First, I broke down the theme. This year's theme was complex, so I simplified it to the sentence "Display the bond between people who overcame the earthquake." Next, I brainstormed and began the brushing up process. These took the longest amount of time; about one week for each stage. The brush up stage was especially tiring because it was an intricate process of comparing the effects of tiny differences. Finally, I submitted the necessary documents. It was an amazing experience to see my ideas take shape and exceed my expectations. I was able to rediscover the joy of ideation through this experience. Also, my efforts were happily paid off as I received the Special Award. (award from the judging committee)

I recommend this field to newcomers because good ideas can carry you far and there are supporting teachers at ICT. If you are interested, why not test your design skills here at ICT?

S2 Sagishima Yujin

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January 7, 2020

Hello everyone! The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are coming soon which means that the current year is coming to an end. From this year, the schedule of Hakusanroku campus matches the schedule of KIT, which means that students will finish their classes and final exams for the term at the end of January, at the same time as the university students, which is very soon! This is even more significant for the second-graders since this is in fact their last term on the Hakusanroku campus. Starting from the next term in April, they will embark on a one-year journey in New Zealand to continue their studies. It is interesting to see students looking forward to spring vacation now while it is still December!

On a different topic, in my biology class, students will have to do a presentation at the end of the term about a topic related to what they have learned during the term. First-graders’ topics are related to genetics and plants, so some students chose to do their presentation about genetic medical conditions like albinism and heterochromia and other students chose to do their presentation about staple crops among other topics. On the other hand, second-graders’ topics are related to evolution and the phylogeny of the main kingdoms of organisms on earth, so some students chose to do their presentation about cephalopods, felines and jellyfish among others. I am looking forward to listening to their presentations next month!

Jason de Tilly

皆さん、こんにちは!まもなくクリスマスと冬休みがやってきて、1年が終わろうとしています。今年から白山麓キャンパスのスケジュールがKITと同期され、学生たちの期末試験が1月末に変更されました。これは大学の学生と同じタイミングです。すぐですね!2年生にとっては白山麓キャンパスでの最後の学期となります。来年の4月には日本を飛び出して学びの舞台をニュージーランドに移します。まだ12月ですが、すでに春休みを楽しみにしている学生を見るのは新鮮です。

話は変わりますが、私が担当している生物の授業では学生たちが選んだテーマについて発表する期末プレゼンテーションがあります。1年生のテーマは遺伝学と植物からの選出となります。学生たちが選んだテーマの中には白皮症や異色症などの遺伝性疾患や主食作物などがありました。2年生のテーマは進化論や地球上の主要な生物の系統についてから選出され、頭足類、ネコ科、クラゲなどの発表がありました。来月のプレゼンテーションが楽しみです!

ジェイソン・デ・ツィリー

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