TOKYO: Making digital textbooks that will be free and screened by the government is the focus of a draft interim report compiled by a working group for the education minister’s advisory panel.
The report also included a policy to begin using the digital textbooks from the 2030 academic year, when the next curriculum guidelines will be implemented after the School Education Law and other laws are revised.
The digital textbooks contain the same content as physical textbooks and can be viewed on a tablet, laptop or similar devices. Currently, they are considered as “alternative teaching materials” that can be used instead of physical textbooks.
The report states: digital textbooks will be considered “official textbooks” subject to government screening, adopted by local boards of education and will be free, as stipulated by law; each board of education will choose whether to use a physical or digital textbook; and both types of textbooks can be used together.
On the reason to give the boards of education the choice, the report states, “It is not desirable to have all (the boards of education) nationwide adopt the same measures, as digital textbooks have not been sufficiently utilised, and the advantages of both physical and digital textbooks have been pointed out”.
Regarding at what grade the digital textbooks should be introduced, the report said “it is important to take into account the developmental stages of students”.
The report suggests that digital textbooks should be discouraged for students who are in the lower grades of elementary school, as their cognitive processing abilities are considered to be still developing.
On the other hand, the report also pointed out that about 40 per cent of teachers found digital textbooks to be difficult to use, as it took time to deal with devices freezing and login errors, and that students tended to focus on using the device for something unrelated to the class.
The report also noted concern that the difference between students’ ability to focus and their academic proficiency will widen if students are left to use digital textbooks without appropriate teacher involvement.
The ministry will hear opinions from related organisations and compile a final report by autumn with plans to revise the law in fiscal 2025 or later. A government screening is expected to take place for the new textbooks in fiscal 2028. - The Japan News/ANN
