Commercial e-learning courseware for English education has been widely used in Japanese universities as an effective tool to assist students in improving their overall English skills. The courseware that is described in this paper is believed to be useful for teachers to assess students' progress and evaluate their dedication to English study.…

This paper reports on the use of can-do statements (CDS) for the development of learning materials to prepare Japanese university students for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). These learning materials have been made available on ATR CALL BRIX (http://www.atr-lt.jp/products/brix/index.html), a wwwbased courseware with a…

Success in open educational resources (OER) has been reported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA and the Open University in the UK, among others. It is unclear, however, how valuable OER are in learning and teaching. Approaches to OER policy and sustainability are just two other key aspects that remain unresolved across the…

EUROCALL 2013's theme was "20 Years of EUROCALL: Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future." The conference seeked to establish an overview of EUROCALL's twentieth anniversary. As a professional organization, EUROCALL has been aiming, along its 20 years of existence, to promote innovative research, development and practice in the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the design and implementation of music courseware that features a music search system that uses impression keywords. The paper applies the courseware to "Kansei" (sensibility) development for elementary and junior high school students. The objectives of this courseware are to cultivate…

Describes methods used to evaluate software for microcomputers in Japanese elementary and middle schools. Completion of an evaluation checklist by experienced teachers is described, the cluster analysis used is reviewed, and characteristics of available software are discussed and analyzed to assess their learning and teaching efficiency.…

Reviews some current topics related to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in English as a foreign language in Japan. The achievements of the Tokai English Language Program-CAI project are discussed and the latest system, the Tokai English Language Program-III, is described.

Results of surveys conducted to determine the present situation and trends in the use of computers in Japanese elementary and lower and upper secondary schools are summarized. Much of the data quoted comes from surveys by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement and the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture…

This research report surveys the Japanese educational system, computer-aided instruction (CAI) in Japanese education, and the Japanese home computer industry. The Japanese educational system is found to be dominated by extensive preparation for entrance examinations, with resulting popularity in private tutoring services, preparatory schools,…

Reviews trends in computer assisted instruction (CAI) in Japan, focusing on authoring languages and mathematical model-based courseware development. The scale of personal computer use and types of courseware used in elementary and junior high schools is described, and an example of an intelligent CAI system is given. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of educational applications of new information technologies in Japan highlights the use of microcomputers. Surveys of elementary and secondary schools are reported; inservice teacher training is described; and government involvement in educational policy is discussed, focusing on two appended reports on microcomputers and software…

Presents results of a survey of lower secondary schools in Belgium, France, Greece, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States that addressed the availability and use of computer hardware and software. Problems experienced in introducing computers into schools and the attitudes of principals toward computers are also…

The introduction of informatics into the national school curriculum in Japan requires changes to educational policy, curricula, methods, facilities, etc. Although the basic functions of the school--i.e., to transmit the culture and to cultivate competencies that will allow a future society to develop--remain unchanged, new technologies change the…

Discusses implementation of computer-mediated-communication (CMC) and the language computing skills students need to acquire for cross-cultural e-mail exchanges. CMC syllabus design within the Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language university context and within a second language acquisition research framework is also discussed. (Author/VWL)

Discussion of problems encountered in educational software development in Japan is the second of a two-part series on evaluation of Japanese microcomputer-based software. Problems associated with content, learner attitude, and graphics presentation are described, and future challenges in simulation and integrating courseware with other teaching…