Fujitsu and Kagawa University have launched a trial study using technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and telepresence to promote understanding of disabilities and improve expertise in special needs education.
With the cooperation of Japan's Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education, the Shodoshima Town Board of Education, and the Tonosho Town Board of Education, Fujitsu and Kagawa University aim to deliver inclusive education where everyone can learn together, regardless of whether or not they have a disability.
The study runs from November 20, 2018 to March 31, 2019, involving about 50 teachers and support staff at a total of five schools. The schools include Shodoshima region elementary and middle schools involved in educating children with disabilities, as well as a high school where the special class instruction system was implemented beginning in the 2018 school year.
The study will also include the teachers and staff at an education centre in Kagawa Prefecture that conducts research on education as well as training for those working in educational fields. The special class instruction system is regulated by the School Education Law. Under this law, children and students with disabilities receive the majority of their lessons with the rest of their grade level, but also receive special instruction between one and eight times a week in a separate classroom in order to improve or overcome difficulties due to their disability. For the 2018 school year, this system was extended from elementary and middle schools to include high schools.
In this study, three trials will be conducted: a disability VR experience, which uses VR to simulate the difficulties experienced by children with disabilities, training through remote observation of lessons, using a fully spherical camera capable of capturing 360-degree video, and remote education consulting, which connects experts providing training with teachers on isolated islands through video conferencing.
The Kagawa University Faculty of Education will work with Fujitsu to build a VR environment to teach people the difficulties experienced by children with disabilities through a VR simulation. The organisations will use a VR head-mounted display to provide teachers and support staff with a simulated experience of the hypersensitivity of those with autism, via a spherical video created by the UK's National Autistic Society, and then evaluate the effectiveness of this experience.
The research will also involve training through remote observation of lessons, using a spherical camera capable of capturing 360-degree video.
Video of classes for students who need special support will be captured by cameras in the classroom, and experts will watch the video using equipment such as a head-mounted display that provides a sense of being there, providing appropriate advice to teachers and support staff on topics such as teaching methods and how they approach their students.
Remote education consulting, connecting teachers on isolated islands with trainers through video conferencing, will also be studied.
Professors Satoshi Sakai and Eiichi Miyazaki of the Kagawa University Faculty of Education and their teams will work with Fujitsu to connect a Cisco TelePresence video conferencing system by Cisco and Cisco Webex Meetings web through the Fujitsu Managed Infrastructure Service FENICS II Universal Connect, Fujitsu's network service. This allows teachers and support staff at schools on isolated islands and in remote areas to receive advice. The study will be able to confirm the effectiveness of face-to-face remote education consulting through screens using this system.
Ultimately, the trials aim to offer support for instructors that handle special classes by raising their expertise and deepening teachers' understanding of disabilities. In addition to evaluating the effectiveness of these three methods, the study will also consider an effective ICT utilisation model for inclusive education.
Kagawa University and Fujitsu plan to widely publish the results of this trial study into remote teaching consultation and remote training to audiences such as educational institutions across Japan. In addition, Fujitsu will develop ICT services that reflect those results, contributing to the achievement of Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all".
In order to deliver inclusive education, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) began a special class instruction system in elementary and middle schools in 1993, providing opportunities for special instruction for students with disabilities to help them overcome difficulties they might encounter in learning or in their daily lives. This system was expanded in April 2018 to encompass high schools as well.
Educational authorities have recommended that all teachers engaged in classroom instruction have a certain level of expertise in special needs education, but this effort has faced a number of challenges. Issues include a lack of experts to train teachers, insufficient understanding of disabilities on the part of schools and teachers, and geographic difficulties in providing teachers at schools on isolated islands or remote areas with training from experts in special needs education.
With the cooperation of Japan's Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education, the Shodoshima Town Board of Education, and the Tonosho Town Board of Education, Fujitsu and Kagawa University aim to deliver inclusive education where everyone can learn together, regardless of whether or not they have a disability.
The study runs from November 20, 2018 to March 31, 2019, involving about 50 teachers and support staff at a total of five schools. The schools include Shodoshima region elementary and middle schools involved in educating children with disabilities, as well as a high school where the special class instruction system was implemented beginning in the 2018 school year.
The study will also include the teachers and staff at an education centre in Kagawa Prefecture that conducts research on education as well as training for those working in educational fields. The special class instruction system is regulated by the School Education Law. Under this law, children and students with disabilities receive the majority of their lessons with the rest of their grade level, but also receive special instruction between one and eight times a week in a separate classroom in order to improve or overcome difficulties due to their disability. For the 2018 school year, this system was extended from elementary and middle schools to include high schools.
In this study, three trials will be conducted: a disability VR experience, which uses VR to simulate the difficulties experienced by children with disabilities, training through remote observation of lessons, using a fully spherical camera capable of capturing 360-degree video, and remote education consulting, which connects experts providing training with teachers on isolated islands through video conferencing.
The Kagawa University Faculty of Education will work with Fujitsu to build a VR environment to teach people the difficulties experienced by children with disabilities through a VR simulation. The organisations will use a VR head-mounted display to provide teachers and support staff with a simulated experience of the hypersensitivity of those with autism, via a spherical video created by the UK's National Autistic Society, and then evaluate the effectiveness of this experience.
The research will also involve training through remote observation of lessons, using a spherical camera capable of capturing 360-degree video.
Video of classes for students who need special support will be captured by cameras in the classroom, and experts will watch the video using equipment such as a head-mounted display that provides a sense of being there, providing appropriate advice to teachers and support staff on topics such as teaching methods and how they approach their students.
Remote education consulting, connecting teachers on isolated islands with trainers through video conferencing, will also be studied.
Professors Satoshi Sakai and Eiichi Miyazaki of the Kagawa University Faculty of Education and their teams will work with Fujitsu to connect a Cisco TelePresence video conferencing system by Cisco and Cisco Webex Meetings web through the Fujitsu Managed Infrastructure Service FENICS II Universal Connect, Fujitsu's network service. This allows teachers and support staff at schools on isolated islands and in remote areas to receive advice. The study will be able to confirm the effectiveness of face-to-face remote education consulting through screens using this system.
Ultimately, the trials aim to offer support for instructors that handle special classes by raising their expertise and deepening teachers' understanding of disabilities. In addition to evaluating the effectiveness of these three methods, the study will also consider an effective ICT utilisation model for inclusive education.
Kagawa University and Fujitsu plan to widely publish the results of this trial study into remote teaching consultation and remote training to audiences such as educational institutions across Japan. In addition, Fujitsu will develop ICT services that reflect those results, contributing to the achievement of Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all".
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| Source: Fujitsu. An expert provides remote consultancy on education. |
Educational authorities have recommended that all teachers engaged in classroom instruction have a certain level of expertise in special needs education, but this effort has faced a number of challenges. Issues include a lack of experts to train teachers, insufficient understanding of disabilities on the part of schools and teachers, and geographic difficulties in providing teachers at schools on isolated islands or remote areas with training from experts in special needs education.
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