MetaMoJi Share Anytime Showcase

Showcase - 02. Tamagawa University – Associate Professor Kozakai

We were present at a Skype meeting of three people working together to prepare a paper for presentation at an academic conference, sharing materials between their three locations using Share Anytime. We met up at the laboratory of Masakazu Kozakai, Associate Professor at the Department of Management Science, College of Engineering at Tamagawa University College. Meeting participants were Associate Professor Kozakai and his co-researchers participating via Skype: Associate Professor Minoru Okada from the School of Commerce at Senshu University, and Management Control Laboratory, College of Engineering at Tamagawa University research student Shiori Kitami, who participated from her home prefecture of Niigata.
We spoke with Masakazu Kozakai, Associate Professor at the Department of Management Science, College of Engineering at Tamagawa University
A presentation draft sheet used in the meeting, with notes written via Share Anytime.
The slide drafts that Ms. Kitami had prepared for the academic conference presentation were already loaded into the Share Anytime notes on the three participants' iPads. They also shared these notes with our iPad. At the three-person meeting, they looked at the slide pages, making remarks such as, "we should illustrate the number graph using pictures showing positions and process", and we could see the notes and instructions appear on the slide drafts in real time.
When reviewing materials for a presentation, writing notes and instructions directly on the materials is an effective way of making sure all meeting participants have a shared awareness. However, until now, all participants had to be in the same location in order for them to all make notes on and view a single file. By using Share Anytime, as done in this meeting, the participants can be located anywhere, and still view and write notes on the same materials. Not only that, but notes can be shared with a maximum of 100 people. At this meeting, Share Anytime served a very useful purpose in the review of presentation materials.
This note was shared between the three people in three separate locations via Share Anytime on their iPads.
Before and after the meeting, we spoke to Associate Professor Masakazu Kozakai about his feelings on using Share Anytime. Ms. Kitami also participated via Skype from Niigata.
Ukigawa: Could you tell us how you came to use Share Anytime?
Kozakai: Originally, Ms. Kitami was using Note Anytime during class. But she hurt her leg and had to spend some time in the hospital. Even so, she is a fourth-year student. She had to continue her studies in order to finish her graduation work. At first, I thought we'd stay in contact and discuss things about the work verbally, but it's not easy to do a lot of talking at a hospital, and since it was her leg that was injured, it wasn't easy for her to leave the hospital. It was at this time that I saw a presentation about Share Anytime, and I thought that using this was our best option. We began to use it to hold meetings with her and inform each other about how things are going, giving instructions, and so on.
Ukigawa: Did you understand how to use it right away, after seeing our presentation?
Kozakai: I just saw the news about the presentation. And then I thought it was something we could use. I just told Ms. Kitami to download it, and I was in Haneda Airport and I sent a note about 30 minutes later. I figured she would be able to use it right away, (to Ms. Kitami) I didn't give you any instructions, did I?
Kitami: Yes, he didn't give me any instructions on how to use it.
Kozakai: I think on the news it had said that you could use Note Anytime and share it, so I thought it would be easy to share documents as long as both people were Note Anytime users. I felt that it was actually very easy.
Ukigawa: Is that right! Thank you very much. But even if you are a Note Anytime user, you need another user in order to try the sharing function, so some people say they haven't come to use Share Anytime…
Shiori Kitami (shown in screen) who was already a Note Anytime user participated from Niigata.
Kozakai: When I posted on Facebook about how I was using Share Anytime, a high school teacher said that it could be used for flip teaching (a style of teaching where students use a video to prepare at home, then the instructor gives individual instruction in the classroom while students do what would normally be considered homework). I also am thinking of using it for something similar starting next semester. Even in ordinary university classes, it is becoming more common to distribute materials via electronic media. Apparently students who use Note Anytime import data as PDF and make notes directly. I'm also part of a volunteer team that is trying to use ICT to enliven the field of education, and we have used Note Anytime as an example of this. We explained that Note Anytime can be used in place of traditional note-taking.
Ukigawa: (to Ms. Kitami) When did you start using Note Anytime?
Kitami: When I got my iPad, I was looking for recommended apps and Note Anytime came up, so I installed it. It was April of my fourth year. It has been almost a year now.
Kozakai: We lend an iPad or an iPad mini to all our research students.
Ukigawa: You used Note Anytime for about half a year, then you began using Share Anytime. It seems like you are familiar with it because you are using it the way it's meant to be used.
Kozakai: The first time we used it, we drew graffiti didn't we?
Kitami: We wrote stuff like "Wow".
Ukigawa: The first time you share your notes is inspiring, isn't it?
Kozakai: This time, we had to use it because we're in separate places. She is in the hospital, so she can't speak out loud, and the chat function is really helpful. Sometimes we chat for an hour or two. I was really surprised at how easy the (handwriting conversion engine) "mazec" is.
Kitami: I still have the data from that time.
Ukigawa: "mazec" can even learn your handwriting tics. It's handy. Even so, that's the first time I've heard of someone using the chat feature to such an extent. During a meeting, you do like to see the other people's faces at first, but once the meeting starts, the content of the discussion is what matters.
Kozakai: This time with Share Anytime, I felt for the first time how ICT can help overcome geographical obstacles. After all, we were able to overcome the limits of distance, and communicate with a research student in the hospital.
Ukigawa: It was a sudden injury after all.
Kozakai: The fact that she was already used to using Note Anytime made a difference. Actually, I have started using Note Anytime, and it has inspired me to really use my iPad for the first time. I've begun putting my iPad in my bag and carrying it with me.
"I was able to use Share Anytime immediately" says Associate Professor Kozakai. Thank you very much.
Ukigawa: We want people to use the iPad in order to do creative things. Looking back, iPads and other tablets and smartphones have amazing capabilities as computing devices. If we can do a little more with our software, we can support their use as creative tools even more. That's why our MetaMoJi apps have such full editing features that you don't normally see on a tablet app.
Kozakai: It's packed with features, and that's why it scratches the itch so well. It's something you don't notice until after you've already begun using it.
Ukigawa: I'm so impressed at the depth at which you're using our product. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with us today.