Notes from the Editors

Notes from the Editors for  ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts, Volume 20, Number 2 (2013)

We are very grateful that both Dr. Bol and Dr. Ramaswami agreed to publish their keynote speeches for this special issue. And this is also the very first time that ASIANetwork Exchange is able to include keynote speeches of the ASIANetwork Annual Conference in our peer-reviewed journal.
The current special issue on Digital Asia came mostly from the panel "Digital

Introduction to the Special Edition on Digital Asia
The makeup of today's liberal arts college student body is becoming more and more diverse with an increase in international students, first-generation college students, and students with declared disabilities. Within this context, it is imperative that faculty consider new methods of assessment that address the diverse learning environments in which we teach. The articles in this special issue seek to do just that by expanding upon the pedagogical research presented at the 25th Annual ASIANetwork Conference, "Digital and Beyond: Ways of Knowing Asia" in their examination of the productive relationship between digital technology and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
The special-issue theme of "Digital Asia" highlights a wide range of approaches used to represent and examine rapid economic, social, political, and environmental changes and their impacts on Asian cultures. These methods are comprised of both traditional academic disciplines as well as digital technologies that simultaneously allow for the preservation of existing information as well as the creation and sharing of new data, texts, and images resulting in original ways of analyzing and constructing Asia. Within this context, UDL offers strategies for faculty to design curricula that stimulate interest in differentiating the ways students are able express what they know. UDL is a set of principles for course development that provides all students with equal opportunities to learn. UDL seeks to improve and optimize existing methods, materials, and assessments that meet the needs of all students. When UDL principles are used in association with digital technology, a greater range of access points is created to help students understand, navigate, and engage with their environment. Yet, it is important to keep in mind that the goal of UDL is to create learning environments for all students to have the opportunity to become "expert learners." Therefore, whether those methods engage with digital technology or more traditional modes of assessment such as exams and papers, all should be embraced.
While varied in content and methodology, all seven essays engage with active and experiential learning projects and assessment strategies that incorporate both traditional academic disciplines as well as digital technologies with the concept of UDL. More broadly, each of these essays seeks to explore ways to make learning more accessible to all students in the classroom through a range of varied approaches leading to a greater understanding of the possible digital and non-digital approaches to learning that can be utilized.

Article Summaries
Taking the theme of "Digital Asia" and the principles of UDL as our points of departure, the articles in this special issue introduce a wide range of approaches to teaching about Asia in the liberal arts classroom. Peter Bol's keynote lecture retitled as "How the Digital is Changing Research and Teaching on Asia" focuses on tools built for scholarship in a digital environment allowing us to take more information into account, to share it more broadly, and to analyze it with greater precision. Our second essay, "A Multimedia Approach to Teaching Japanese Popular Culture" by Susan Furukawa (Beloit College) introduces an asset-based approach to various assignments and forms of assessment, while also challenging students to question their assumptions about various popular media that the course addresses. By using various forms of digital media to develop assignments that recognize the diversity of experience and learning styles students bring into the classroom, Furukawa creates an environment in which students can demonstrate their strengths, and experience more equitable engagement with class discussion and assignments. Jennifer Prough (Valparaiso University) presents several methods for teaching students how to critically engage with images and certain forms of digital media from Japan in her essay, "Reading Images, Visualizing Texts: Teaching Visual Analysis in a Japanese Visual Culture Class." Prough examines the pedagogical challenges of teaching a course comprised of students with a sincere interest in Japanese popular culture, but who lack a strong background in Japanese language and content courses. While these students are good at reading critically and analyzing texts, they are not equipped to turn those same analytical lenses to images. Through teaching engagement with images and the intertextuality between image and text through written and creative assignments, Prough encourages students to think more analytically about the popular culture they love.
Our final essay, "High-Impact Educational Practices, Universal Design and Assessment Opportunities in Liberal Arts Seminars" by Hilary Snow (University of