Just yesterday, amid all the buzz surrounding the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s (MEXT) Reiwa 3 fiscal year budget request—which included 5 billion yen for the promotion of digital textbooks—I had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Kawase of Tokyo Shoseki about digital textbooks at the “Learning of Tomorrow Online Lunch Symposium.”

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo Shoseki has done its utmost as a textbook publisher to support schools and students’ learning—for example, by releasing textbook-aligned videos and launching “Print Hiroba,” a platform where children can access materials from home using the IDs and passwords provided to them. Among these initiatives, the tablet-based workbook has been particularly well-received.These drills, which can recognize handwritten characters, allow students to share their learning history with teachers via the cloud no matter where they study. It is reported that usage rates increased 130-fold during the pandemic. Based on this, these tablet drills and AR-based educational materials are set to be introduced to 320 schools in 29 municipalities through the EdTech Implementation Subsidy program.

Tokyo Shoseki offers four types of digital textbooks: two for students and two for teachers, each consisting of a digital textbook and digital teaching materials. Of course, there are also integrated textbook-and-teaching-material packages.These digital textbooks are packed with features designed to enrich the learning experience, including centralized management via a single viewer, a wide range of functions such as zoom, links, and learning history, as well as special support features like text-to-speech and line spacing adjustment. To accommodate international students, the system can also automatically convert vertical text to horizontal text.

When you hold a tablet or smartphone over the AR markers in the textbook, Einstein speaks to you, or videos showing the rotation and revolution of the planets in the solar system are displayed.Initially, there were concerns that including AR markers would prevent textbooks from passing the certification process. However, when textbook AR was developed using the pages themselves as markers, it proved popular. As a result, it is said that including URLs and QR codes in textbooks has been permitted starting this spring.In fact, their active use is now recommended for elementary school English, and Tokyo Shoseki’s textbooks incorporate about 200 QR codes per volume.

For example, the digital textbooks for teachers allow educators to utilize multiple video clips and simulation materials when teaching topics such as electromagnets in science. While digital worksheets and research-based learning materials are also well-received by teachers, the feature they find most valuable is the ability to use the materials “as tools for trial and error.” For instance, students can deepen their understanding on their own by moving geometric shapes around repeatedly.I can’t help but wonder what exactly those who opposed the digitization of textbooks were thinking when they voiced their objections.Tokyo Shoseki’s digital textbooks pride themselves on their Viewer. Thanks to cloud-based delivery and smartphone compatibility, learning is possible anytime, anywhere—whether at school, at a cram school, at home, on the way to school, or even at a relative’s house. There’s no need to install anything; learning progress is synchronized across any device, and a learning history is saved. That’s why learning doesn’t stop, even when schools are closed.

Under the GIGA School initiative, the adoption of Chromebooks and iPads—rather than Windows devices—is on the rise, and it is said that Chromebooks are on track to account for more than half of the devices. In other words, as Mr. Kawase emphasizes, “cloud-based delivery is the underlying premise.” As a result, there is no need to worry about device storage capacity or malfunctions, and students can make full use of all digital textbooks and learning materials—including those from previous grades—from the time they enroll until graduation.

While the government has announced a policy to cover the cost of purchasing digital textbooks to promote their widespread adoption, Tokyo Shoseki has also issued a strong statement saying, “We are prepared to implement this starting tomorrow.” The Learning of Tomorrow Association has also just issued a proposal calling for digital textbooks to be provided free of charge. We look forward to seeing what steps the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will take next.