Today's Learning of Tomorrow Online Lunch Symposium features presentations by Stuart Miller from Google Japan's Google for Education and Masatomo Tani from the Nara Prefecture GIGA School Initiative Promotion Council.

Despite the short notice, we received approximately 500 applications, which made us keenly aware of the high level of interest in Chromebooks, which are making great strides under the GIGA School Initiative.

At the beginning, Stuart Miller says, “The way we learn is changing. It has to change.”

While Google for Education highlights “ease of use,” “affordability,” “versatility,” and “high effectiveness” as its key features, its presentation of specific figures based on research was particularly compelling.

"Ease of Use" → Management time reduced by an average of 59%. "Price" → Overall costs reduced by an average of 57% compared to other options.

As for “effectiveness,” while there are quantitative reports such as “academic performance improved across the entire school” and “the time spent on learning was reduced,” there are also numerous reports of non-quantifiable changes, such as “students have become more proactive and engaged in dialogue,” “they’ve started to participate more actively,” and “there’s a different sparkle in their eyes.” The fact that these are shown through video footage adds to the impact.

And it was Nara Prefecture that procured a large number of Chromebooks.

We had an in-depth discussion about the process, results, and benefits of Nara Prefecture’s regional joint procurement initiative, which was carried out under the guiding principle of “providing all children attending schools in Nara Prefecture with the latest, high-quality learning environments, regardless of where they live, the size of their school, or their family circumstances.”

When the 32 municipalities and 1 association that participated were given the freedom to choose from three operating systems, 96% reportedly chose Chromebook.

The Nara Prefectural Institute of Educational Research website features a comparison chart of the three operating systems, among other resources—it’s definitely worth checking out!

http://www.e-net.nara.jp/kenkyo/index.cfm/27,2191,109,html

I'll write up the report later!

Well, well—it’s been decided that a book will be published featuring highlights from our online symposium so far~.

Also, regarding our weekly online symposium, we’ll be taking a short summer break next week. We plan to resume around August 20.

We’ll let you know about the book and details for the next event as soon as they’re finalized!