Learning of Tomorrow issues the Post-COVID Education Promotion Statement

■Learning of Tomorrow issues the Post-COVID Education Promotion Statement

Learning of Tomorrow, of which I am the managing director, issued the Post-COVID Education Promotion Statement.

Learning of Tomorrow has continued to make recommendations for education IT for 10 years, if we count the length of time the Association of Digital Textbook and Teaching, the body it absorbed, was in operation.

I was an early advocate for the institutionalization of digital textbooks and the creation of a "one person, one computer" system, and lobbied the government and stakeholders to take action.

The creation of a system for digital textbooks was realized through legal amendments, with the Education IT Promotion Act being enacted through the efforts of a bi-partisan league of parliamentarians, and this, along with school closures under COVID-19, has led to an outlook where the "one person, one computer" system is likely to be put into place this year.

First we need measures to get this system established and into place. Furthermore, we need to create a context where students can learn--not only at school, but also at home.

However, that amounts to a developing country in terms of education IT finally catching up to standard countries, so in order to really come to the forefront as a developed nation, we need to venture into AI and data-driven approaches.

Furthermore, we need to design post-COVID education that provides unbroken opportunities for learning as COVID-19 continues, or even in the event of another pandemic, large-scale disaster, or emergency.

The statement consists of the following three items.

1. Development of an online learning environment for schools and homes

2. Implementing hybrid education that combines online and face-to-face approaches

3. Making inroads towards future-oriented education

Specifically, the process is as follows.

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Under the supplementary budget and the COVID-19 emergency economic countermeasures budget, the outlook is that a context in which all elementary and junior high school students have one information device allocated to them will be put into place this year.

We must create a context enabling anyone to learn by connecting to the Internet from school or home.

Furthermore, we need to design post-COVID education that provides unbroken opportunities for learning as COVID-19 continues, or even in the event of another pandemic, large-scale disaster, or emergency.

I advocate the following measures.

1. Development of an online learning environment for schools and homes

1) Digital textbooks provided free of charge to all students at the compulsory education level. In addition, regulations that reduce the use of digital textbooks to less than one-half of the number of class hours for each subject will be abolished.

2) Implement policies to reduce cost burdens so that all students can learn through the Internet at home.

2. Implement hybrid education that combines online and face-to-face approaches

1) Relax requirements for distance education (the presence of a teacher on the receiving end, simultaneous interaction, etc.) and make it permanent.

2) Promptly carry out permanent relaxation of enforcement regulations for the School Education Act, University Establishment Standards, and related ministerial ordinances and notices, such as the abolition of the 60-credit limit for media classes at universities.

3. Making inroads towards future-oriented education

By introducing advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, big data, VR/AR, and blockchain into education, we aim to break away from the standardized class hour principle and shift to a learning-acquisition model. This allows for learning beyond one's academic grade, as well as individually-optimized learning where no child is left behind.

Post-Covid Education Promotion Statement

https://lot.or.jp/wp/report/2366/