Learn Japanese Online - The New JOI Classroom

Classroom Roster

This panel shows you who is in the classroom, who is the moderator (the teacher), and who is currently talking.

	The room moderator (your teacher)
	This person is talking.
	Your teacher is talking exclusively. Normally, the teacher and one student can talk at the same time. During exclusive talk, however, only the teacher is allowed to talk.

Live Video

The roomy video panel brings the classroom to life. Now, there's plenty of space to see your teacher's face and gestures clearly. Connect your web cam (optional), and join the fun!

When talking, your teacher's video appears in the lower panel. Your and your classmates' video shows up in the upper panel. (If you don't have a web cam, your name appears instead.)

Set your camera quality, or turn your camera off.

Turn on or off video from other users (a good idea if your Internet connection is very slow).

With simple stoplight colors, you'll always know the status of your classroom connection.

Talking Controls

Let's face it: Video is great, but for language learning, nothing beats crystal clear sound. That's why every JOI classroom is equipped with the latest technology to make sure everyone's voice comes through clearly.

We know sound quality is the most important factor in your classroom experience, so we strongly encourage students to use a good-quality headset with a built-in microphone. (If you have a laptop computer, the built-in mic might work well, too—it varies from computer to computer.)

Plus, you'll love the freedom of hands-free talking. Click TALK, let go, and start talking hands-free! Just click again to stop talking. (Or, if you prefer to hold down the TALK button, click to release the lock, and hold down the TALK button while you talk.)

Adjust the speaker volume, change your microphone volume, and—a JOI exclusive—block background noises and echo with Echo Block.

For even more control, click Mic and Webcam Settings to finetune your audio and video settings.

Text Chat

When you aren't talking, stay connected with text chat. Enter your messages in English, Japanese, or any language you choose—no special software needed.

Next, have some fun with more than 100 emoticons, like or even

Don't feel like sharing with everyone? In the JOI classroom, you can always send a private message to your favorite classmate.

Finally, just in case your Internet connection goes haywire and you can't hear the classroom conversation, click to alert the teacher.

Whiteboard

Just like a real classroom, this large area is where your JOI teacher presents the instructional material.

As the class progresses, the whiteboard will change at the teacher's direction. You don't need to lift a finger—just focus on what your instructor is saying or directing you to say.

Welcome to Our Classroom!

Brand New! Every JOI teacher has his or her own classroom, so you'll never get mixed up about which classroom to go to.

Plus, with our new classroom software, there's nothing to install on your computer. Just click the link for your teacher's classroom, and in a just a few seconds you can take your seat and get started learning Japanese live, online!

Now you'll always know the current time in Japan at a glance.

If it's midnight for you but 10 a.m. for your teacher, you'll know to say, "Sensei, ohayoo-gozaimasu!"