A new event, the “Brown Bag Lunch & Learn,” was launched. (May 11 & 22, 2020)

Following a suggestion made by a faculty member in AY 2019, we have set up a space called “Brown Bag Lunch & Learn,” where faculty members can bring their lunch and interact and talk freely with other faculty. The initial plan was for it to take place in person over lunch, but it was held online this term. Eleven faculty members attended on May 11, and nine faculty members attended on May 22.

The theme on both days was “Challenges and Successes of Online Teaching,” and the participants discussed the pros and cons of and tools for online classes, and shared their thoughts on online classes. Some of the participants had only just met for the first time but found themselves talking with one another at length, and on one of the days, the lunch stretched beyond the one hour that had been allotted.

Furthermore, in addition to staff involved in the Brown Bag Lunch, IT Center staff and other CTL staff have participated in the lunch, and this has allowed staff to become aware of the issues that faculty members and students are experiencing and address them afterward. (Examples: providing individual support to faculty members, introducing the pen tablet, uploading articles and FAQs to a Moodle site for faculty members (internal access only))