Digital Textbooks: 1 person; 1 year; 10,000 yen

 In 2010, when the DiTT (Association of Digital Textbooks & Teaching) was established, there were those who said that our goal of having digital textbooks and a device in the hand of every student was just a castle in the air. Some recommended that we amend our goal to use regular textbooks rather than digital. In the last year, things have changed.

 Osaka City, the Arakawa section of Tokyo, Takeo city in Saga prefecture, and Bizen city in Okayama Prefecture have all pledged to put a digital device into the hand of every elementary school student.

 The government, under the Intellectual Property Plan, has decided to take the necessary measures up to and including changing the law, to make this a reality.

 At the national level, a diet caucus has resolved that education ICT (Information and Communication Technology) shall involve five measures, one of which includes placing a tablet PC into the hands of every student.

 This has strengthened our resolve at the DiTT, and we have proposed an outline for the introduction of digital textbooks and resolved to assist 100 areas and 100 of the best teachers to achieve this goal.

 However, one major hurdle remains: the cost. It takes money to do this. Exactly how much it will cost and who will shoulder the burden remains to be answered.

 In recent days, the question, “So in the end, how much will it cost?” has been asked more and more. If we imagine one machine for one person, how much will that cost per person? This aspect was never really discussed at the table.

In the diet, there were conflicting claims. “The makers claim that it will take 70,000 yen per person, but that’s impossible.” “In Thailand one tablet is only 80 dollars.” “It will be about 10,000 yen, won’t it?”

 We imagine a policy under which it costs 10,000 yen per year per person. A set consisting of a Wi-Fi tablet, applis, and support should be rented or leased. Rather than a set selling cost of 10,000 yen per person, we imagine the implementation of a three-year rental program, or a 5-year lease. It also might be a good idea to accommodate used equipment.

  A certain city has said that if the procurement cost can be kept to 10,000 yen per student then they will be prepared to equip the students. If we can establish this service model then the idea will take hold amongst municipalities and budget measures will be strengthened and the implementation will spread widely.

 Therefore we at the DiTT are recommending a 10,000 yen per person plan to municipalities. There are already some plans in place by telecommunications companies. We’re waiting for even more attractive proposals.