----------------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Pangaea Ring - Mr. Shinya Kato
+ Translation Assistance Robot "Gengoro" will appear on PangaeaNet
+ Activities in August 2011
It's been a few months since the last Pangaea Ring, but it is back
this month. Mr. Shinya Kato wrote about how he started the part time
job assisting technical development of Pangaea, and how he feels about
the renewal of PangaeaNet that is currently ongoing. Mr. Kato also
participates in Pangaea activities that are held at Kyoto University.
Thank you for your help Shin, as always!
Another article is to introduce "Gengoro", the translation assistance
robot that is to appear on PangaeaNet.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pangaea Ring - Mr. Shinya Kato
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I am Shinya Kato, or "Shin", and am working part-time assisting
technical development of Pangaea. I am a senior at Kyoto Computer
Vocational Collage and will be working as web engineer in Tokyo from
next April.
I first came to know about Pangaea, when it was introduced to me by my
instructor. I was asked if I would be interested in working part-time
at the non-profit organization called Pangaea, as it was looking for
someone who could assist their technical development. It was the time
when I was about to start my job hunting seriously, so I felt that this
was something that I would be able to add to my resume, and that I would
be able to learn. So it was a casual try when I decided to go to the
interview.
I met Vice President Mr. Takasaki at the interview to come to know the
extraordinary beginning of Pangaea and the outline of the YMC-Viet Project,
in which I would be involved the first. It was an agricultural assistance
project utilizing ICT, where literate children would act as mediator for
their illiterate parents. I was really interested in this project that I
have never heard of, and I told Mr. Takasaki that I would like to join the
development on the spot, and was hired as a part-timer.
While YMC system development was ongoing, I was busy with my job hunting,
too. So my life then was simple and full with these two events. I cannot
remember what else I was doing other than these. When the system was safely
completed by the support of other capable engineers in the team, I remember
that I was truly thrilled to watch the video where Vietnamese children were
using the system joyfully. As I first intended (?), I could get the best
result out of my job hunting, too, talking about my Pangaea experience in
the interviews and so forth.
I now participate in Pangaea activities at Kyoto University and am also
involved in the renewal of PangaeaNet. I give it my best, working with Mr.
Takasaki, Erik, the designer, and Mr. Kadowaki or "Kadoppe", who participates
as a volunteer.
As I participate in the activities, I can get direct feedbacks from children
and facilitators about current PangaeaNet, based on which I would like to
improve it further.
The design will be renewed and the new functionalities would be added on the
new PangaeaNet, so children will be able to communicate more actively.
Please look forward to it!
Shinya Kato
Informatics Dept., Kyoto Computer Vocational Collage
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Translation Assistance Robot "Gengoro" will appear on PangaeaNet
----------------------------------------------------------------------
As in the Pangaea Ring article of Mr. Shinya Kato, the renewal of
PangaeaNet is currently ongoing. The translation assistance robot
"Gengoro" will appear on PangaeaNet after this renewal.
In the agricultural assistance project that was implemented in Vietnam
this spring, Gengoro worked to translate the questions from Vietnamese
children before delivering them to Japanese experts, and to return the
advice from the latter to the former.
Gengoro would start thinking immediately after it receivs questions that
children got from their parents, or farmers. Then he would translate
from Vietnamese to Japanese one after another. There were times when
he would start crying, as the translation between these two languages
was so difficult. He still tried very hard and sweated to challenge the
difficult task for children and Vietnamese farmers and contributed to
the project.
As a result of agricultural project in Vietnam, all 30 participating
children answered that they were more interested in farming than before,
and over 90% of Vietnamese farmers answered that they would like to try
advices from Japanese experts in the interview that was held after the
project.
Gengoro, the translation assistance robot, has not shown its appearance,
but he is already working in Pangaea Webcam activity. It is Gengoro who
was translating hints and answers in "Nazoren" game, where teams of
children located at different sites give up to five hints to their
counterparts, so they would be able to guess the right answer.
Gengoro showed his outstanding work in Vietnam project and was quietly
helping Webcam activities. How will he evolve and exercise his
capabilities on PangaeaNet? Watch out!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Activities in August 2011
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yumiko Mori, President of Pangaea gave a lecture on Monday August 22nd,
at the training session for teachers organized by Tsu Municipal Board
of Education.
http://www.pangaean.org/blog/english/archives/2011/08/lectures_by_yum.html
Toshiyuki Takasaki, Vice President of Pangaea, gave a lecture on Tuesday
August 30th at Kyoto University of Art and Design.
http://www.pangaean.org/blog/english/archives/2011/08/lecture_at_kyot.html
Pangaea activity will resume at Kyoto International School (KIS)
in September with the start of the new school year!
http://www.pangaean.org/blog/english/archives/2011/08/kyoto_internati_1.html
September MIZY Center Activity in Seoul, Korea
On September 4th, I got a facilitator leader training and a technical training at PANGAEA office in Kyoto.
I heard a lecture about PANGAEA by Ms. Mori in college classes a year ago, and I was interested in PANGAEA.
I have joined activities in Tokyo as a facilitator since then.
My experience of a facilitator is still young, so I felt a little anxiety about whether I could understand the content of trainings and advantage them in activities, but on the other hand I was looking forward to get trainings because things that I can do in activities might increase.
In the facilitator leader training, I found that a facilitator leader had to take an extensive view of overall the activity. Since the time when I had joined PANGAEA activities, I was a facilitator, so in almost all activities I played with children following a facilitator leader.
However, of course a facilitator leader has to observe the progress of the activity and children. Before an activity, a facilitator leader makes an agenda but I may need to make changes to it according to the actual occasion of the activity.
I thought cooperation with stuffs participating in the activity was so important in such a situation.
Also, the technical training was helpful for me to know the work that technical staffs do in an activity.
Ms. Mori said that if we could make a fine circle at the beginning of the activity, the activity would be good. I think making a fine circle with everybody joining the activity at the time of the introduction of the activity and cooperating with them to do that are so small things but so important things.
If everybody realize the importance, our activity will be better.
