Japanese Teachers' Two Yen Worth on Computer Use and Training

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 ()

Keiko Schneider ()

Yasuhiro Omoto, University of California, Berkeley ()

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.

I.  Background of Study

1.  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

Ø  Teacher's environment for computing and Japanese capability, including technical support

Ø  Availability of computers at school for class use

Ø  Technology-related projects completed in class

2.  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)

3.  Interview study

·  Follow-up to the national survey study

·  Interview with teachers for about 15 minutes

·  Research Questions

Ø  What is the teaching environment? (institution's size, how many classes, computer situation, etc.)

Ø  How helpful is Technical Support?

Ø  How were the computers used?

II.  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:

(1)  teacher's and students' physical environment

(2)  technical support

(3)  recommended web sites

(4)  technology-enhanced projects

(5)  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

III.  Results

1.  Breakdown of respondents

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

2.  Japanese teacher's 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

3.  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

4.  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

5.  Computer facilities at school

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

6.  Recommended Web Sites (Appendix)

7.  Projects completed in class & effects of projects

Elementary / Middle/High / Post-Sec
Presentation / ENG / 16 / 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 / 13 / 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. / ENG / 2 / 18 / 8
on the Web / 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

8.  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

(1)  Software (studio MX, flash etc.): 3

(2)  Web page creation: 2

Middle/High

(1)  Web page creation: 9

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

(3)  Web search skills: 4

(4)  Practical training: 3

Online/testing/quizzes/exercises: 3

Video editing/streaming video: 3

(5)  How to create material: 2

Post-Secondary

(1)  Web page creation: 12

(2)  Video editing/streaming video: 11

(3)  PowerPoint: 5

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

(5)  Programming: 3

IV.  Summary of Results

1.  OS update in progress, but still slow

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

3.  Email not capable in Japanese on school computers

4.  Continued tendency of "more than one student per computer"

5.  More projects mentioned

6.  Active participation in technology training

V. Conclusions & implications

·  Technology use penetration ←→ Realization of advantage of use of Internet

·  Ease of obtaining materials

·  Multimedia

·  Authenticity

·  Increase of students' interest and active participation in learning

·  Active participation in training à Enhanced IT skills of Japanese teachers

·  Tendency of "software-centric" training

à Need to provide training with theories that justify technology use in instruction

·  Need of one-on-one training and mentoring/long-term support

à Create "mater teachers" who can lead the community of Japanese teachers

V.  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

Appendix

Recommended web sites (each number indicate how many respondents mentioned each site on the questionnaire)

Elementary

Kids Web Japan (http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/) 2

Reading Tutor (http://language.tiu.ac.jp/index_e.html) 1

Middle/High

Deai (http://www.tjf.or.jp/deai) 10

Keiko Schneider's Bookmarks (http://www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks/) 9

みんなの教材サイト(http://momiji.jpf.go.jp/kyozai/English/index.php) 5

朝日新聞 (http://www.asahi.com) 3

Japan Information Network (http://jin.jcic.or.jp/)(http://jinjapan.org) 3

Kids Web Japan (http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/) 2

Rikai.com(http://www.rikai.com) 2

japanese.about.com 2

Japan Times (http://www.japantimes.co.jp) 2

Kanji Clinic (http://www.kanjiclinic.com/) 2

http://www.manythings.org/japanese 2

Post-Secondary

Reading Tutor (http://language.tiu.ac.jp) 8

Jim Breen's (http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/japanese.html) 6

http://www.genki-online.com 5

Keiko Schneider's Bookmarks (http://www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks) 5

Rikai.com (http://www.rikai.com) 5

朝日新聞 (http://www.asahi.com) 4

gahoh (http://gahoh.marinebat.com/) 2

Kanji Alive (http://kanjialive.lib.uchicago.edu/) 2

Kantango (http://www.kantango.com/) 2

Friends of Nakama (http://www.uiowa.edu/~japanese/NAKAMA/) 2

青空文庫 (http://www.aozora.gr.jp) 2

http://www.alc.co.jp 2

みんなの教材サイト (http://momiji.jpf.go.jp/kyozai/index.php) 2

JWPce (http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jwpce.html) 2

Yahoo! Japan (http://www.yahoo.co.jp) 2