Untitled Document

Japanese Teachers' Two Yen Worth On Computer Use and Training

ACTFL 2005, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD
Friday, November 18, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM Convention Center: 301

Miyuki Fukai, Columbia University ([email protected])
Keiko Schneider ([email protected])
Yasuhiro Omoto, University of California, Berkeley ([email protected])

Brief description of the presentation

This presentation discusses the results from the second national survey of computer and Internet use by Japanese teachers in the U.S. Along with reporting results, we will draw a general picture of how Japanese teachers develop skills and knowledge necessary to use computer and the Internet in their practice.

Background of Study

Pilot study: Survey study in Northern California (December 2001-January 2002)

178 educators and 42 responded (23.6% response rate)
A one-page questionnaire regarding technology by US Mail
Items: Teacher's environment for computing and Japanese capability, including technical support Availability of computers at school for class use Technology-related projects completed in class

National survey: Nation wide survey study (April and May 2002)

The questionnaires were sent out with a cover letter in English and Japanese to 500 teachers via the US Postal Service in April 2002
Same items as those on the pilot study survey
Out of 500 participants, 225 responded (45% response rate)

Interview study

Follow-up to the national survey study Interview with teachers for about 15 minutes
Research Questions:
- What is the teaching environment? (institution's size, how many classes, computer situation, etc.)
- How helpful is Technical Support?
- How were the computers used?

Survey Study in 2005

Participants: 700 teachers of Japanese in the U.S.; randomly sampled from ATJ and NCJLT.
Questionnaire: Two-page questionnaire in English and Japanese asking about:
- teacher's and students' physical environment
- technical support
- recommended web sites
- technology-enhanced projects
- training in technology
Data collection: Questionnaires mailed in April 2005; returned in May 2005
Data analysis: Count # of responses in groups based on the institution: elementary, middle/high, post-secondary, government/adult education, Saturday schools, and others

Results

Breakdown of respondents

	Elementary	Middle/High	Post-Sec	Total
#	12	74	105	191
%	6.3	38.7	55.0	100

Japanese teachers computing environment

	Elementary (12)	Middle/High (72)	Post-Sec (103)
Windows 95			1
Windows 98	4	18	12
Windows Me		3	1
Windows NT		3	2
Windows 2000		16	15
Windows XP	6	31	55
Mac OS 8.x.	1	4	3
Mac OS 9.x.	2	11	21
Mac OS X	7	24	58
Unix		1	2
Linux		1
Unknown		1	1
System purchased in JPN		2	1
Other		2	2
No answer	1		1

Japanese capability in word processing, e-mail, and web browsing: Teachers' computers

	Elementary (12)	Middle/High (72)	Post-Sec (103)
Word processor	11	66	98
E-mail	9	55	96
Web browser	10	63	97

Students' computers (at school facilities)

	Elementary (11)	Middle/High (61)	Post-Sec (79)
Word processor	8	46	75
E-mail	5	29	62
Web browser	8	45	73
Unknown	1

Technical support

	Elementary		Middle/High		Post-Sec
	2002	2005	2002	2005	2002	2005
family/friends	10	5	38	34	51	36
colleagues at work	5	4	25	23	55	49
tech support at work	4	4	27	27	57	63
electronic discussion lists	1		8	3	8	6
books/manuals	2	2	14	11	21	19
internet	1	3	10	11	17	26
I don't have anybody to ask	2	1	23	8	10	8
other	1	3	5	5	6	7
No answer	1			1		3

Computer facilities at school

	Elementary	Middle/High	Post-Sec
Yes	11	61	79
No	1	11	25
No answer		2	1

Recommended Web Sites

Elementary

Kids Web Japan (http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/)
Reading Tutor (http://language.tiu.ac.jp/index_e.html)

Middle/High

Deai (http://www.tjf.or.jp/deai)
Keiko Schneider's Bookmarks (http://www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks/)
Minna No Kyozai Site (http://momiji.jpf.go.jp/kyozai/English/index.php)
Asahi.com (http://www.asahi.com)
Japan Information Network (http://jin.jcic.or.jp/)(http://jinjapan.org)
Kids Web Japan (http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/)
Rikai.com(http://www.rikai.com)
japanese.about.com
Japan Times (http://www.japantimes.co.jp)
Kanji Clinic (http://www.kanjiclinic.com/)
http://www.manythings.org/japanese

Post-Secondary

Reading Tutor (http://language.tiu.ac.jp)
Jim Breen's ( http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/japanese.html)
http://www.genki-online.com
Keiko Schneider's Bookmarks (http://www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks)
Rikai.com (http://www.rikai.com)
Asahi.com (http://www.asahi.com)
gahoh (http://gahoh.marinebat.com/)
Kanji Alive (http://kanjialive.lib.uchicago.edu/)
Kantango (http://www.kantango.com/)
Friends of Nakama (http://www.uiowa.edu/~japanese/NAKAMA/)
Aozora Bunko (http://www.aozora.gr.jp)
http://www.alc.co.jp
Minna No Kyozai Site (http://momiji.jpf.go.jp/kyozai/English/index.php)
JWPce (http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jwpce.html)
Yahoo! Japan (http://www.yahoo.co.jp)

Projects completed in class and effects of projects

		Elementary	Middle/High	Post-Sec
Presentation	ENG		1	5
	JPNS	1	5	22
	Both	4	16	19
	Unspec.		15	15
Class newspaper	ENG		3
	JPNS	1	2	5
	Both			1
	Unspec.
Email exchange	ENG		6
	JPNS	1	3	19
	Both		1	16
	Unspec.		5	15
Reading web pages	ENG		10	2
	JPNS	1	6	25
	Both	2	13	11
	Unspec.		8	14
Web page creation	ENG		6	1
	JPNS		2	9
	Both		1	2
	Unspec.	1	1	1
Chat	ENG		4	1
	JPNS			2
	Both		1	2
	Unspec.	1	1	2
Research using info. on the Web	ENG	2	18	8
	JPNS			16
	Both	2	11	10
	Unspec.	1	10	10
Video editing	ENG		5	2
	JPNS	1	7	5
	Both	1	2	2
	Unspec.	1	2
BBS	ENG
	JPNS			3
	Both		1	2
	Unspec.			2
Other			11	15

Training in technology

Received training in the past two years?

	Elementary	Middle/High	Post-Sec
Yes	7	35	55
No	5	31	49
No answer		8	1

Contents of training

	Elementary (7)	Middle/High (35)	Post-Sec (55)
PowerPoint	1	17	11
Excel/spread sheet	1	3	3
Word processing		4	1
Material development	1	4	8
Using web (web search etc.)		3	6
Web page creation	1	11	17
Blog	1		1
Database			1
Creating rubrics online	1	1
School courseware	1
Still images (Photoshop, iPhoto)		2	6
WebQuest		3
Video creation/editing		9	13
Online/Computer-based testing		2	1
Sound (iTune, audio files)		2	9
How to use equipment (LCD etc.)		2
Classroom management tool		7	15
Web-based learning/course			1
Communication (email etc.)		1	4
How to use lab		1	1
Theories		5	7

Implemented in class?

	Elementary	Middle/High	Post- Sec
Yes	3	24	25
No	2	4	13
Yes/No	1	1
No answer	1	6	17

Why YES?

	Elementary	Middle/High	Post-Sec
Convenient, easy to use	2	2
For effectiveness/enhancement of instruction	1	1	2
Easy to communicate with parents		1
Students enjoy working lab		1
Arouse students' interest in JPNS		1	1
Encourage students to use what they learned		1
Make handouts more visually stimulating		1
Increase students' use of language outside			1
Help students learn better		1
Give students more options and variations		1
Necessary part of our job		1
Boost enrollment			1
That's the whole purpose of attending training			2
Can obtain up-to-date information			1
Can let the general public know what students learned			1
Distribution of teaching and self-study materials			1

Why NO?

	Elementary	Middle/High	Post-Sec
Limited students' ability (age, etc.)	2		1
No opportunity	1
Lack of time for prep		2	3
Lack of accessibility to computers/equipment		2
Doesn't seem to need yet		1
Access to computer isn't equal among students			2
Workshop content isn't appropriate			2
Training not in Japanese			1
Not in situation where computers can be used			3
Need more training			1
Lack of time/control over course as TA			2
Haven't figured out an effective way			1

Contents of training wanted (Top 5)

Elementary

Software (studio MX, flash etc.): 3

Web page creation: 2

Middle/High

Web page creation: 9

Communication tools (e-mail, chat, video conference): 5

Web search skills: 4

Practical training: 3

Online/testing/quizzes/exercises: 3

Video editing/streaming video: 3

How to create material: 2

Post-Secondary

Web page creation: 12

Video editing/streaming video: 11

PowerPoint: 5

Communication tools (e-mail, chat, video conference): 4

Programming: 3

Summary of Results

OS update in progress, but still slow

Someone to ask for help; better tech support at school at post-secondary level than others

Email not capable in Japanese on school computers

Continued tendency of "more than one student per computer"

More projects mentioned

Active participation in technology training

Conclusions and Implications

Technology use penetration <--> Realization of advantage of use of Internet
Active participation in training --> Enhanced IT skills of Japanese teachers
Tendency of "software-centric" training --> Need to provide training with theories that justify technology use in instruction
Need of one-on-one training and mentoring/long-term support --> Create "master teachers" who can lead the community of Japanese teachers

Future Research

Two directions
1. Computing environment and classroom implementation
2. Technology training
Continued to monitor OS
Exploration into use of course management tools
Empirical study of effectiveness
Technology and curriculum design