◆◇ Digital Textbook and Educational Materials Council News ◇◆ Vol. 054

We are seeing more and more days plagued by unpredictable weather, such as sudden downpours, thunderstorms, and large hailstones.
We find ourselves increasingly bewildered by the changes in Japan’s summers.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the many people who attended our recent symposium.

In this issue, we will once again report on DiTT’s activities and provide the latest information on digital textbooks and educational materials.

Digital Textbook and Educational Materials Council Secretariat

Table of Contents ——————————————————
・Topics
・Activity Report (Study Sessions)
・Media
・Information on Digital Textbooks and Educational Materials
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　　　　 Topics
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The symposium titled “What Went Wrong?
Future & Learning," held on the 26th of last month, was a huge success, with a packed venue and a Nico Nico Live broadcast attracting 18,000 viewers.

The next symposium will be held on September 3 at 1:30 p.m. at the University of Tokyo’s Fukutake Hall,
featuring the theme of “flipped classrooms.”
*Details will be posted online at a later date (http://ditt.jp/)

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　　　　 Activity Report
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≪Study Session≫
We held our 47th study session on Monday, June 9.

Guest Presentations

■ Seiko Epson Corporation, VP Business Strategy Promotion Office
General Manager: Mr. Keijiro Naito
“Case Studies on the Use of Interactive Projectors in the Education Market”

■Japan Research Institute, Ltd., Strategic Consulting Division
　Hironobu Higashi, Head of the Convergence Strategy Cluster
“The CONTEXT of New Educational Digitalization” — The Dawn of EdTech and Programming Education —
　★Guest Speaker: Mr. Kensuke Tanno, Minamisoma IT Consortium
“Creating New Industries in Disaster-Affected Areas”

*You can view the study session report at the URL below.
http://ditt.jp/report/

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≪Study Session Overview≫

For this session, Mr. Higashi from Japan Research Institute, Ltd. spoke on “The CONTEXT of New Educational Digitalization
~The Dawn of EdTech and Programming Education~,” and our guest speaker, Mr. Kensuke Tanno from the Minamisoma IT Consortium
, who spoke on the topic “Creating New Industries in Disaster-Affected Areas.”

Mr. Higashi began his presentation by tracing the evolution of devices in the IT industry from 100 years ago to the present, with the aim of helping the audience grasp the rapid pace of change.
While an increase in new devices is expected starting this year—the “first year of wearables”—it will become critically important in terms of international competitiveness by the time of the Olympics five years from now. In the education industry as well, new services are entering the market worldwide; representative examples include Khan Academy, MOOCs, and Code.org.
EdTech is gaining momentum in Japan as well, with the launch of JMOOC and the continuous emergence of app services from education-focused
startups.
Programming education is also gaining traction worldwide, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore,
and in recent years, the importance of programming education has begun to be recognized in Japan as well.

Next, Mr. Tanno introduced us to new initiatives in the disaster-affected areas.
Minamisoma City had a pre-disaster population of 70,000, with one in four residents being elderly.
The disaster claimed the lives of approximately 1,000 people, and the current population stands at just under 50,000 (of which 15,000
in temporary housing), and many of the young people who evacuated are reportedly losing the will to return.
Faced with this reality, recognizing the urgent need to develop human resources to lead the region’s reconstruction efforts, they launched the “Minamisoma IT Consortium” with the goal of creating industries and jobs in the disaster-affected area.
We started with a group of members who had zero technical experience—not even having touched a Mac—but after two months of programming education, they were able to create an iPhone app.
We started with a group of members who had zero technical background—some had never even touched a Mac—but after
two months of programming training, they were able to create iPhone apps.
To date, we have developed 30 apps, including several paid ones.
Last year, we began fostering the next generation by holding programming workshops for elementary school students.

We believe that the process of taking in information and using it to create something useful—or to help someone—will serve as a catalyst for children to overcome and move past various
adversities they may face in the future. We believe that what we must do now is to establish the foundation and environment that will allow children to take on various challenges.

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　　Media Coverage
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■Shinano Mainichi Shimbun
Report on the Latest Trends in the Digitalization of Education
http://ditt.jp/office/140617_shinanomainichi.pdf

■Chunichi Shimbun
Introduction to ICT Education Case Studies—Symposium for Teachers in Nagano—
http://ditt.jp/office/140617_chunichishinbun.pdf

http://ditt.jp/media/

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　Information on Digital Textbooks and Educational Materials
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June 2, 2014
Educational Reform Under the New Board of Education System
http://www.kknews.co.jp/maruti/news/2014/0602_4a2.html

June 2, 2014
Make Appropriate Judgments on When to Use the “Flipped Classroom” Approach
http://www.kknews.co.jp/maruti/news/2014/0602_9a.html

June 5, 2014
23 Schools and 9 Regions Selected for MEXT’s “Demonstration Project to Promote Education Utilizing ICT”
http://resemom.jp/article/2014/06/05/18828.html

June 13, 2014
Awaji City Board of Education: A Method for Implementing “One Tablet per Teacher” That Allows Use Even After a Transfer
http://ict-enews.net/2014/06/13awaji/

June 20, 2014
Ritsumeikan Elementary School Holds Presentation Contest Using Tablet PCs by Students
http://resemom.jp/article/2014/06/20/19069.html

June 25, 2014
・Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, Offers Programming Classes for First-Graders… Pilot Study Involving Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration
http://resemom.jp/article/2014/06/25/19128.html

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　.:*:.:♪*:. DiTT—Now Accepting Members *:.:♪*:.*:.
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The Digital Textbook and Educational Materials Council is currently accepting new members.
Executive members and general members are eligible to participate in study sessions and
committees organized by DiTT.

In addition, we provide information on digital textbooks and educational materials, and
organize networking events and other opportunities for members to exchange information.
For more details, please visit the page below!
URL: http://ditt.jp/join

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◆◇ DiTT NEWS ◇◆　vol.0054
Publisher: Digital Textbook and Educational Materials Council
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Editor-in-Chief: Nanako Ishido
Editor: Asaka Uchiyama
URL: http://ditt.jp/
e-mail: ditt@ditt.jp
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