[Feature: The Future of Digital Education] Tsugumasa Suzuki: Digital Education at Keio Yochisha Elementary School—Practicing Online Learning Using Tablet Devices During the COVID-19 Pandemic

With the progress of digitalization and the development of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology, we are entering the Society 5.0 era. However, even as society and the times change, I want the children studying at Keio Yochisha Elementary School (hereinafter "Yochisha") to pursue their learning as future leaders who possess flexibility alongside firm convictions and self-confidence, and as people of true independence and self-respect. Therefore, since September 2018, Yochisha has been proceeding with the trial and phased introduction and operation of digital technology and digital devices. By utilizing digital technology as a new mechanism for learning, we add one new channel that connects the school, children, and homes.

One application of digital technology is the introduction of one tablet device per student into classes as a new piece of stationery. Of course, the fundamental basics such as "speaking, listening, reading, and writing" remain important, and there is no change in the actual manual work, such as proceeding with content according to textbooks, looking things up in dictionaries as supplementary materials, and students summarizing by hand. It simply means that opportunities and situations to use tablet devices as new stationery will increase during class and home study. For example, we have trialed their use as stationery (learning tools) in specialized subjects such as science, English, and informatics; as research and presentation tools in subjects handled by homeroom teachers like Japanese, mathematics, and social studies; in collaborative learning situations with classmates; and for submitting assignments and receiving feedback.

In science, we use apps that provide a bird's-eye view of the Earth to observe the differences between the upper, middle, and lower reaches of rivers, and we also use them in research classes using AI robots. Furthermore, students use tablet devices alongside illustrated reference books to look up the names of seashells and use them to take photos as records during experiments and field observations.

In English, students record audio and video of their own speeches and check their pronunciation as a form of self-reflection. We also practice sharing videos of self-introductions and school tours via tablet devices with students at an exchange school in Hawaii. Exchanges through video-sharing apps are valuable opportunities that are full of a sense of liveness and allow students to feel a real connection with the world.

In informatics classes, students learn basic operation methods for tablet devices while using them to take photos and videos to make short films, or programming to control robots and drones. With the introduction of one tablet per person, the importance of learning rules and manners regarding their use has increased.

In subjects handled by homeroom teachers such as Japanese, mathematics, and social studies, there are many instances where tablet devices are used effectively during group learning, research, and actual presentations. Furthermore, with the introduction and utilization of digital textbooks and digital teaching materials for both instructors and learners, as well as the introduction of cloud-based class and learning support apps, a new style of learning (classes utilizing digital technology) is being practiced that seamlessly connects school classes and home learning.

The second application of digital technology at Yochisha is the construction and utilization of a dedicated website (portal site). Aiming to realize so-called BYAD (Bring Your Assigned Device), students take their tablet devices home and access the portal site to check school schedules, lunch menus, library book usage, and past problems from Kanji reading competitions. Additionally, this portal site, along with a system that sends emails when students arrive at or leave school, features a notification function and can be used as a platform for information distribution, such as simultaneous notifications to all students and parents, or announcements for specific grades or classes.

In this way, since 2018, Yochisha has been proceeding with phased trials in classes by introducing tablet devices to all students as new stationery. The background of this introduction was the belief that it is important to have a mindset of "learning while teaching, teaching while learning," where we do not simply feel satisfied or secure with conventional classes using fixed-content textbooks in a so-called closed classroom space isolated from society, but rather introduce digital devices used naturally in daily life to utilize them as stationery in class, with teachers also needing to continue learning.

Leading up to this, there were various discussions among teachers. Introducing tablet devices does not mean that a dream education can be achieved. Disadvantages of introduction were also anticipated. For example, relying on tablet devices might lead to less conversation, children might not play outside during break time because they are using tablets, and there were concerns about manners and rules during the commute to and from school. There is no doubt that the introduction of tablet devices must be based on the idea that they should not hinder the important teaching of Yochisha—"first develop a robust body, then cultivate the mind"—but rather help raise Yochisha students to be healthy, strong, and capable with digital devices.

In that sense, the introduction of tablet devices initially started as a trial for use only within the school, managed in charging cabinets installed in each student's homeroom. We established a system for centralized management of tablet devices via MDM (Mobile Device Management) and accumulated usage experience while carefully confirming handling, rules, and manners. After observing how they were utilized in classes and completing sufficient trials with security preparations in place, we began full-scale operation and utilization in April 2019, including BYAD, where students take the tablet devices home.

One characteristic of the educational system at Yochisha is that the homeroom teacher stays with the class for all six years, and there are no class reshuffles. The third-grade class I currently teach (36 students) also had one tablet device per student introduced in 2019, when they entered as first graders. By utilizing tablet devices as familiar stationery from the lower grades in this way, we have set a goal for the children themselves to skillfully utilize various digital devices as one of their new pieces of stationery in various learning situations throughout their six years of elementary school life.

Once the introduction of tablet devices to all students began, the number of classes utilizing them increased considerably. Usage expanded from just the computer lab to their own classrooms and specialized subject rooms, and cases of taking them home for assignments rather than just for school classes also increased. In the process of this utilization becoming routine, a sudden temporary school closure was decided on March 2, 2020, due to the spread of COVID-19. The situation did not subside as the new school year began, and when the government issued a state of emergency, Yochisha immediately started online learning. In the second-grade class I was teaching at the time, students made full use of their tablet devices to start receiving and submitting assignments via cloud-based class and learning support apps, and began online learning using web conferencing tools.

Although the students I taught were only in the second grade, they had already practiced how to use cloud-based class and learning support apps in various classes such as informatics. Therefore, on the premise that they could perform basic operations like taking and submitting photos and videos, I set assignments centered on Japanese and mathematics. While maintaining close coordination with other second-grade teachers, we used the notification channel on the school portal site to reliably communicate grade-wide assignments to parents and students. Assignment submission was done through the cloud-based class and learning support app installed on the students' tablet devices.

◎ Frequency and Submission of Assignments

Every Wednesday, we distributed assignments for the following day onwards (learning content and scope) to each household. One notification sent from the portal site included five days' worth of assignments, excluding weekends. Believing it was important for students to sit at their desks and work on assignments every day, I included learning points and wrote the text in a way that noted the date and the learning content to be tackled that day, so they could proceed systematically according to a daily schedule.

I told the students to use the cloud-based class and learning support app installed on their tablet devices to submit their assignments daily, aiming for around 4:00 PM. They would perform their learning tasks in notebooks or textbooks, take photos of them with the camera, and submit the images to the designated submission box in the cloud-based app. From the distribution of the "Second Grade Week 1 Assignments" on April 8, 2020, until the resumption of school attendance on June 15, 2020, a total of 10 assignment distributions were made.

◎ Regarding the Content of Assignments

When setting assignments for Japanese and mathematics, which are handled by the homeroom teacher, the common policies were as follows:

• Basically proceed with content according to the textbook

• Assignments and content that students can proceed with on their own using previously learned knowledge (e.g., reading comprehension of stories/expository texts or textbook assignments for Japanese; comparing lengths or creating graphs for mathematics)

• Do not include activities that require teacher explanation or group discussion (e.g., Japanese grammar, carrying/borrowing in vertical addition and subtraction in mathematics)

• Proceed with two new Kanji characters at a time

• In addition to Kanji, include calculation problems in the weekly assignments, and include dictation to verify Kanji mastery

• To foster connections with friends and ensure mental and physical stability, make videos an assignment and share them so everyone can see them

Based on the above policies, we carefully examined the assignment content and distributed them weekly. During the school closure period, teachers regularly held meetings almost every week using web conferencing tools to discuss assignment content. By establishing a system where we could contact each other immediately if necessary, coordination among teachers in charge of the grade functioned well.

While we distributed assignments so that learning could take place at home even during the school closure, I wanted to provide real-time online learning support to the students. Therefore, I decided to use web conferencing tools to conduct the usual morning meetings and homeroom time online.

After using MDM to install the web conferencing tool on the students' tablet devices, we held the first web conference (homeroom) on April 10, 2020. Subsequently, a total of 19 web conferences were held until school resumed on June 15. The content of the web conferences was kept within about 30 minutes, starting with greetings, taking attendance, book introductions, reviewing distributed assignments, providing supplementary explanations for current assignments, checking the stroke order of new Kanji, and other small talk.

In an atmosphere similar to a school classroom, the children were able to listen quietly and attentively, and they spoke up when asked questions, allowing the sessions to proceed smoothly even online. It was to the point where I never once had to instruct the participating students to mute their audio. I also made an effort to change the group compositions each time so that students could interact with different friends and teachers even though they were in different locations.

In early May, I also set aside days for "Individual Talk Time," creating opportunities for the homeroom teacher and each student in the class to talk one-on-one using the web conferencing tool. As nearly two months had passed since the school closure began and days of staying at home continued, the topics were free-form—such as things they were happy about, things they were struggling with, or questions about assignments—in order to understand how the children were doing. By listening to the children individually, I hoped to provide mental health care and create a time and opportunity for them to feel even a little more at ease. It became a time to enjoy individual online conversations with students (and parents) in a relaxed atmosphere different from the group web conferences.

During the 19 class web conferences, digital textbooks were also utilized as needed. Online learning assignments were distributed weekly, with items to study set for each day. During web conferences, I shared the digital textbook screen from my computer with everyone. For Japanese, in the unit "The Life of a Firefly," I used the marker function to provide point-by-point explanations of important parts of the text. For mathematics, in units like "Time and Duration" or "Comparing and Representing Length," I used clock and ruler tools for review, allowing for effective utilization.

Digital textbooks have various functions such as pop-ups, zooming, annotation, and page opening. In particular, using the zoom function of the digital textbook was an effective feature, as it allowed me to clearly present the ending strokes of Kanji (stop, hook, sweep) and the details of rulers and clocks in mathematics. Even though it was remote, utilizing digital textbooks allowed for accurate explanations and helped students' understanding, making me recognize the advantages unique to digital media.

On the other hand, there were challenges regarding guaranteeing the quality and stability of the displayed digital textbook screens due to communication environment issues. Also, for learning activities involving audio, such as reading mathematics problems aloud or reading Japanese stories aloud, I felt there were challenges suggesting that situations for collective learning in face-to-face classes are necessary, especially for lower-grade students, rather than just online learning.

In the second year of utilizing tablet devices, an opportunity for long-term online learning arrived unexpectedly. The fact that we had introduced one tablet per student was one factor that allowed online learning to proceed smoothly. Furthermore, the knowledge gained through this practice is that the utilization of cloud-based class and learning support apps, web conferencing tools, and digital textbooks is effective for both teachers and students to share learning opportunities. Viewing this from the perspective of a communication model, various advantages can be found within the educational field.

When students naturally come to use a wide variety of digital media as tools for solving learning tasks or as communication tools, it becomes possible for each child to take center stage. At the same time, this expands the breadth of educational content and methods themselves, bringing the reality of intellectual information to learning situations. Preparing tools and environments for learning that allow students to freely use various digital devices without being confined to the learning space of a classroom, and to freely develop individually optimized and collaborative ideas at any time—that is, to promote and develop proactive, interactive, and deep learning—is an extremely important element for future school learning activities.

Regarding the utilization of technology, there is the SAMR model ("Substitution," "Augmentation," "Modification," "Redefinition"). This can be called a scale to measure the impact of technology utilization on classes and learners. "Substitution" is the level of substituting the same things that were done before; "Augmentation" is the level where usage significantly improves conventional functions and enriches learning; "Modification" is the level where the activities themselves change and learning becomes learner-centered; and "Redefinition" refers to the level where learners self-determine the way they learn and entirely new activities that did not exist before are created.

In discussing the future of digital education, it is essential to have a vision for building classes and learning environments that include the premise of not just "substituting" or "augmenting" conventional learning through the introduction and utilization of digital technology, but also "modifying" and "redefining" learning itself.

Important tasks for the future include enriching the software and content aspects of what is learned in a digital learning environment, accumulating and utilizing educational big data consisting of students' learning history data and logs, and further improving teachers' ICT instructional skills, including risk management for security. The development of a digital technology learning environment is merely a means, not an end. It goes without saying that it remains important to continue enriching balanced educational activities within a digital learning environment so that students can touch various things and find authentic knowledge.

After finishing the first web conference, I received positive comments from parents, such as, "I think children feel anxious or frustrated with a life different from usual in their own way, so connecting with everyone via web conference was very much appreciated." I also heard positive feedback from students, such as, "Because I could see my classmates in the web conference, that time became very important to me."

This opportunity can be said to have served as a catalyst for digital technology and digital devices to be accepted by students and parents as familiar tools and as one of the pieces of stationery that can be used in future classes.

Now that society is undergoing rapid transformation and innovation due to the penetration of digital technology, digitization and digitalization are also progressing in the field of education. I intend to continue accumulating data on digital education class practices and proceed with research on the DX (Digital Transformation) of learning.