According to the ministry, Japan currently lags behind several other countries, such as the United States, Singapore and South Korea when it comes to providing their students access to computers. They believe digital materials nurture creativity and are important to advancing a student’s education.
The Japanese government, academic researchers and publishing companies have been exploring the positives and negatives of digital education technology in classrooms through testing different types of digital learning software, case studies and learning about how other countries use digital technology. In fact, a delegation organized by the Japan Textbook Research Center visited the Association of American Publishers in Washington, DC in May for a meeting on the educational resources market in the United States.
While the Japanese government has come under fire recently over issues dealing with censorship and the portrayal of history in textbooks and learning resources, the strategy for more digital education technology seems to be unrelated and moving forward at a fast pace. For now, the Japanese Ministry of Education’s research on digital learning has led them to commit to initiating the change for more computers and digital resources in Japanese schools.
For more information visit: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/06/01/reference/e-textbooks-open-digital-can-worms/#.VYHmevlVikp