Computerization of education x literacy

DiTT, the Digital Textbook Teaching Materials Council, held “Let's think together! Information literacy education,” a symposium.

The speakers came from a mixed cast which included administrators, telecommunication carriers, providers, SNS, mobile phone sales, and public service corporations involved in youth internet security and safety measures. I don’t think I’d ever seen them all together before. 

Internet security and safety measures, so-called internet "shadow" measures, were formalized from around 2008, and the security association and the EMA were established. I was an organizer at the time the security association was established, and I also serve as the director of the EMA. This was a major issue for telecommunications, providers, and SNS, and measures were set up which consised of the three pillars of regulations, technology, and education; namely, laws, filtering, and literacy education.

On the one hand, computerizaiton of education driven by the DiTT is responsible for digital "light," and it was formalized from 2010. Measures have been taken, centered on companies which produce teaching materials and manufacturers, to promote the three pillars of device deployment, net maintenance, and the development of teaching materials.

Following this, there were changes both in the shadows and the light. Initially, smartphones became the central issue in measures which took flip phones into consideration. The lead role in the computerization of education has shifted from the computer to the tablet. The common theme has become how to use internet devices possessed by individuals at home and at school.

There was action on both sides. A task force for safety and security was organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and it was decided that new measures would be taken. I served as the chairman. The standardization of digital textbooks in the computerization of education became a government policy, and it was decided that programming education would become compulsory.

This is a period of all-net usage, when increasingly each individual is using one device, both at home and at school. The debate of whether to allow this use or not has ended, and we have embarked on the stage of how we let them use it, and what we should do. We must take measures which unite both the light and the shadow.

I made a comment.

"Thanks to the efforts to everyone in tackling this problem, the concerns of ten years ago have been largely resolved. We respect this. However, the environment has changed. At that time, LINE didn’t exist. Children move forward, but issues emerge for adults and teachers. Meanwhile, new players have also appeared. If those gathered here today cooperate with those who promote the computerization of education, we can devise fairly strong measures. Let's assume responsibility for both the light and the shadow of the internet, and prepare an environment in which IT is used safely, securely and fruitfully.”