Classrooms go digital

NHK -- Mar 14

Students may no longer need blackboards and notebooks. Starting in April, a junior high school in Tokyo will feature a digital classroom.

The University of Tokyo and IT firm Fujitsu are running the yearlong test project. This comes as the Japanese government promotes education using digital technology.

Students use digital pens to take notes. A ceiling camera captures what they've written, and projects it on their desks and on a whiteboard. The whole class can share the information.

One student says, "I can explain the process of my thinking better when I can show my notes to the whole class."

Another student says, "I can communicate more effectively than using paper when I want to share my notes with my classmates across the room."

The system records notes and comments made by students. That could also make evaluation by teachers easier.