PART II Recent Trends and Developments in Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture
Chapter 7. New Horizons in Social Education
Section 7. Utilization of Educational Media
1. Promotion of Educational Media
Films, broadcasts, computers, and other media used in various learning activities in schools, communities, and families are generally referred to as "audiovisual educational media" or simply "educational media." The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is encouraging the production of educational films, videos, and other materials and is promoting their use by awarding the status of "Monbusho Sentei" (recommended by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture) to films, videos, and other materials that have high educational value and the status of "Monbusho Tokubetsu Sentei" (specially recommended by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture) to outstanding materials of this kind. The Ministry purchases high-quality educational films and videos for distribution to prefectures and designated cities in order to expand and improve their audiovisual teaching materials. In recent years the Ministry has also been promoting the use of multimedia and other new media technology in education. This aspect is discussed in detail in part 2, chapter 11.