Taiwanese and Japanese Primary and Secondary Schools Explore Information Education in Online Forum
In recent years, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has vigorously promoted information education in primary and secondary schools and since 2019, it has been implementing the “GIGA—Global and Innovation Gateway for All—program” for all students. In this program, every student is equipped with a tablet. Related facilities include relevant courses to improve the working environment of teachers, and the promotion of information education in primary and secondary schools. Elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan have implemented similar programs and Taiwan emphasizes the importance of utilizing information technology.
For this reason, the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Japan approached the National Teachers Federation of Japan and the Taiwan Provincial Education Association and proposed holding a forum on information education, in order to enhance the educational exchanges between Taiwan and Japan. The two associations agreed to and it was decided to hold the forum online. The Education Division then worked with them both to co-organize the Taiwan–Japan Primary and Secondary School Information Education Online Forum, held on June 26, 2022.
More than 90 people from Taiwan and Japan—teachers and administrative personnel with a wealth of experience in education settings—participated in the online forum. Ms. Ikuko Hanai, the Director of General Affairs of the Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association, and Mr. Kyoji Matsunaga, Mayor of Marugame City in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, where the event was originally scheduled to be held, delivered congratulatory remarks by video. Participants from Okada Elementary School in Marugame City in Japan gave presentations about the school’s Society 5.0 Education, and how its Course Content is in line with the GIGA School Plan. Participants from Yunlin County Chongde Junior High School and from Yilan County Fu-shing Junior High School in Taiwan talked about the integration of information technology into the counseling system during the COVID-19 epidemic, and the actual application of information technology in their schools.
The forum provided the participants from Japan and Taiwan with an opportunity for in-depth communication that will help to improve their understanding of the implementation of information education in Taiwan and Japan and their own practices.