High-Tech Teaching: Japan

I'm a long-run techno-optimist about a lot of things, including education, but the crucial thing about any technology is how you use it... Lessons Learned from a Chalkboard: Slow and Steady Technology Integration (Bradley Emerling) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Every classroom I visited was equipped with a large green chalkboard. There were few computers, few projectors or smartboards, and no other visible forms of 21st century technology in most of the classrooms. Japanese colleagues and researchers confirmed this was representative of the average K-12 classroom in Japan. In January 2015, the Tokyo Broadcasting System reported approximately 75% of Japanese classrooms still use chalkboards as the primary medium for presentation of lesson content (Sankyuu, 2015).

My first reaction was one of astonishment. How could Japan, a society known for its creation of gadgets and highly specialized technological devices, be so far behind in their use of 21st century technology?

As I continued to record lessons, I began to note the masterful way Japanese teachers utilized this “primitive” instructional medium....

Since I spend a fair amount of time trying to keep up with Japanese robotics developments, I find this amusing...but it really depends on what lesson structure you want. If you can do it on a chalkboard, then computers provide only a very big waste of time and money. (And very much smaller screens.)