{"id":239723,"date":"2026-08-27T13:51:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T23:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=239723"},"modified":"2026-08-27T13:51:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T23:51:06","slug":"manoa-connects-classrooms-hawaii-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/27\/manoa-connects-classrooms-hawaii-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"No passport required: 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa connects classrooms in Hawaiʻi and Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Ethnic Studies Associate Professor Ethan Caldwell and CSS<\/abbr> Director of Student Academic Services Roderick Labrador give a presentation to Meiji Gakuin University students in Tokyo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the online Ethnic Studies<\/a> (ES<\/abbr>) 213 class, (contemporary issues of race, class and gender in popular culture) meets in fall 2026, 40 students will log in. But they won\u2019t share the same classroom or even the same continent. Half will be University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> College of Social Sciences<\/a> (CSS<\/abbr>) students in Honolulu, while the other students will join from Meiji Gakuin University (MGU<\/abbr>) in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

The collaboration is an example of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL<\/abbr>), a growing global educational model in which CSS<\/abbr> is an established leader. COIL<\/abbr> links classrooms from higher education institutions in different countries to facilitate cross-cultural learning.<\/p>\n

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糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> students who complete three COIL<\/abbr> courses—ES<\/abbr> 101 (Introduction to Ethnic Studies), ES<\/abbr> 213 (Race, Class, Gender and Popular Culture) and ES<\/abbr> 422 (Mixed Race Identities)—earn an Identities and Global Citizenship micro-credential. The college\u2019s COIL<\/abbr> program received international recognition in 2024<\/a> for innovative use of educational technology to create impactful educational experiences.<\/p>\n

The ES<\/abbr> 213 online class is taught by Roderick Labrador, CSS<\/abbr> director of student academic services. It is strategically timed to take place at 2:15 p.m. Mondays in Hawaiʻi<\/span>, which corresponds to 19 hours ahead on Tuesday mornings in Japan. It gives students in both countries a means to interact and explore ES<\/abbr>, a subject not commonly taught in Japan.<\/p>\n

“COIL<\/abbr> is called virtual student mobility in Japan,” said Labrador, “because it\u2019s basically studying abroad without traveling.”<\/p>\n

New perspectives, lasting lessons<\/h2>\n

Two 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> students can attest to the effect of COIL<\/abbr> on their future studies. CSS<\/abbr> alumni Mamaylia Soungie and William “Liam” Burke were impacted by the lessons learned in spring 2026, when they enrolled in ES<\/abbr> 422, “Mixed Race Identities,” taught by Associate Professor Ethan Caldwell.<\/p>\n

“What I enjoyed most were the smaller discussion groups made up of both 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> and MGU<\/abbr> students,” said Soungie, who earned her BA<\/abbr> in ES<\/abbr> and psychology<\/a>, and is now preparing for the graduate record exam. “During the first couple of classes, many Japanese students seemed a bit nervous about differences in language proficiency during classroom discussions. But as we progressed through the course, they became much more comfortable.”<\/p>\n

Read the entire story on the CSS<\/abbr> website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Collaborative Online International Learning model links classrooms from higher education institutions in different countries to facilitate cross-cultural learning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":239727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[301,229,134,1466,1026,1721,9],"class_list":["post-239723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-college-of-social-sciences","tag-ethnic-studies","tag-international","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-social-science","tag-social-sciences","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t