As we reported the other day, we held a symposium to commemorate the promulgation and enforcement of the “Act on the Promotion of Information Technology in School Education.” During the panel discussion, we asked the panelists to write their responses to our questions on whiteboards. First, here are the responses from the participants in Part 1
. They answered using a “True/False + Explanation” format.The panelists for Part 1 were Toshiaaki Endo, Member of the House of Representatives; Masaharu Nakagawa, Member of the House of Representatives; Masahito Moriyama, Member of the House of Representatives; Michihiro Ishibashi, Member of the House of Councillors; Section Chief Takaya of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Section Chief Yoshida of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; and Section Chief Asano of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

[Question 1: Is Japan lagging behind in the digitization of education? Why is that?] Everyone answered
“○.”
Professor Ishibashi
: “Lack of understanding / Resistance.”
Even around 2009, when we first began this discussion, there were arguments that “it’s all about the blackboard and chalk.”

Professor Moriyama: “The adoption of ICT—both hardware and software—in schools is lagging behind, and teachers still have a long way to go in adapting to it.”
While there was some resistance, the biggest challenge is the budget. The entire public must come to recognize the need to invest in this field.

Professor Endo
: “Educators prioritize their own views over those of the children—and this approach has been successful.”
They are convinced that elementary and secondary education is working well and should remain as it is. There was also a perception that using devices like tablets would confuse students.Would things have been different if there had been more competition among school teachers? Also, the ability to persuade the Ministry of Finance was lacking. Japanese education has sought equality of outcomes, but perhaps there is a fear of the inequality of outcomes that arises when tablets are used.

Professor Nakagawa: "
Allocate a
budget for 'Legislation on Digital Textbooks.' Clarify the political outcome. The problem is that we’ve been content to simply say, 'We’re behind schedule,' and leave it at that. Since this has been decided by law, we must move forward with discussions to ensure the necessary budget and infrastructure are put in place."

Section Chief Asano
: “It’s because people don’t think of them as stationery.”
If you came to school without a pencil or a notebook, you’d get in trouble. We should start by making it clear that these tools are just as essential. It would be best to promote this in conjunction with
work-style reform.

Section Chief Yoshida:
“It was difficult to
see the effects of the school’s awareness and initiatives.”

Section Chief Takaya:
“There’s no shared understanding of the need.”

[Question 2: Can Japan become a frontrunner in the use of ICT in education? What are the challenges and necessary actions in this regard?] Professor
Endo ☓, Professor Ishibashi ○☓, Others ○, Professor
Endo
“There is little awareness within the political sphere that education is truly indispensable ⇒ It doesn’t win votes.”
I’d like to mark this as ○, but budgets tend to be allocated to the elderly, who are more likely to vote. There is a low level of awareness within the political sphere that education is indispensable. To secure funding, we must fight to either cut other budgets or create new taxes. I deliberately marked this as ☓ to emphasize that it’s not that simple.

Professor Ishibashi
: “Budget → (Political Will) → Business Model.”
By allocating a budget, we want to demonstrate political will. Once we show that, people will say, “Let’s tackle this with all our might!” I wrote this with that determination in mind.

Professor Moriyama
: “We Need a Shift in Public Awareness—So Japan Doesn’t Fall Behind the Rest of the World!”
We need a shift in public awareness that the people understand and agree with. We need to help them understand what we must do to ensure that the children who will support Japan’s future can compete with other countries at the world’s highest level.

Professor Nakagawa
: “Make Full Use of This Law.”
“This law was enacted to achieve a specific goal. We must not make half-hearted statements. We must ensure everyone is on the same page.”

Section Chief Takaya
: “Understanding the field + industry transformation.”
It’s important for the local government as a whole to recognize the need for ICT adoption in schools. Services targeting only a select few schools aren’t viable as a business. I want you to devise and market a model that people will actually use.

Section Chief Asano
: “Comprehensive Review of ‘Educational Materials Costs’ (Household Burden) / Government’s First Action / Review of ‘Educational Materials Costs’”
It is important to continue clearly stating our commitment to achieving one device per student. At the same time, since these are considered school supplies, it is difficult to continue funding them through the government budget. We will also consider the burden on households by reviewing the current educational materials costs.

Section Chief Yoshida
: “We’ll share best practices with both teachers and parents as much as possible.”
The most important thing is to lead by example. We’ll create and spread best practices.

[Question 3: Can Japan Become a Global Leader in Education in the Age of AI?] Professor Ishibashi hesitates between “True” and “False
.” Section Chief

Asano says, “This is an opportunity for teachers to learn”
—a chance for teachers to break free from the current image of what a teacher should be. However, they haven’t yet adopted that mindset, and there’s no system in place to train them.Whether Japan can leap to the forefront of the world will depend on how many opportunities we can create for teachers to upgrade their skills.

Section Chief Yoshida
: “Once ICT crosses a tipping point, adoption will take off—we need best practices.”
ICT tends to spread rapidly once it crosses a tipping point, but Japan hasn’t reached that point yet. If we can identify good examples, wouldn’t adoption take off all at once?

Section Chief Takaya
: “Japanese Education + AI = A Japanese-Style AI Education.”
There are many strengths to Japan’s education system. If we incorporate AI and ICT to create a Japanese-style model, wouldn’t it not only be accepted by Japanese teachers but also become an export industry? Rather than simply adopting foreign models, we should build on Japan’s unique characteristics and strengths and combine them with the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Professor Endo
: “What we want to do / Making a big fuss about it together / Spreading the message that developing people costs money ⇒ Politicians’ resolve.”
First, we want to do it. Then, we all make a big fuss about how important it is.Finally, we must help everyone understand that nurturing people costs money. When the modern education system was established, schools were the most impressive structures in Japan. Today, the most impressive buildings in Japanese communities are welfare facilities. This is because public attention is focused on the elderly. It’s crucial to foster the awareness that children are the ones who will shape the next generation. Ultimately, it comes down to the resolve of politicians.

Professor Nakagawa: “Don’t be afraid of chaos.”
If we want to reach the cutting edge of the world, we can’t simply continue along the same path as before. We need to make a quantum leap. To do that, we must be willing to embrace chaos at times. It is through that chaos that we create something new.

Professor Moriyama
: “Once people see good examples of ICT implementation, it will spread rapidly.”
If everyone understands examples of successful ICT implementation, it will spread rapidly. Seeing is believing. Once we cross the tipping point, education in Japan will change dramatically.

Professor Ishibashi
: “All-out effort ← Standardization of digital textbooks.”
This also depends on what happens going forward, so it’s a mixed bag. As with the previous point, it all depends on whether political will can be demonstrated through the budget and whether we can collaborate with the private sector to make this happen. An all-out effort. The cornerstone of this law is digital textbooks. If these can be properly utilized in classrooms as the textbooks of the future, we’ll be able to catch up.

Click here for the preliminary report on Part 1. http://canvas.ws/nanako/?p=18855