JaJan

JaJan is an educational technology that connects learners across distances and puts them in a so-called “shared virtual space.” JaJan’s shared virtual space is a simulated reality and it lets learners have a study-abroad experience.  JaJan’s platform is a video-mediated communication system composed of a networked PC, a Kinect camera and an HD TV. JaJan also has a web-facing UI called “Scene-Maker,” by which users can create custom scenes and design activities. With the affordances of an immersive context, JaJan serves as an intrinsically engaging, interactive and authentic learning tool, and it can transform the way students learn a foreign language through a combination of innovative technology and thoughtful pedagogy. The project is a collaboration with the Media Lab at MIT and was funded by the generous support of Kanda University of International Studies, Chiba, Japan.