Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > Japanese Government Policies in Education, Science, Sports and Culture 2000 > Trends in Educational Reform Section 2 Q5 What are the issues involved in promoting informatization?

In the informatization of education, there is the problem of harmful information, the dilution of human relationships and insufficiency of actual experiences. It is important to deal with these and other "shady" aspects of informatization in an appropriate manner.

Education in morals and rules concerning information

In the new curriculum, the lower secondary school industrial arts and home economics course, "Information and Computers," and the newly established upper secondary school course, "Information," are designed to teach students about the influence exerted by informatization and teach information morals.

Emotional education

Because there are concerns that once children slip into a virtual space, they will lack sufficient experiences in natural environments and in society, become unable to build healthy human relationships and lose their senses of reality, the enhancement of teaching in emotional education is considered necessary.

Dealing with harmful information, etc.

In the course of developing the functions of the National Center for Education Information, we are cooperating with other ministries and agencies to utilize the fruits of the development of filtering technology 5 for harmful information.

Falling communications rates

In the course of Internet usage in classrooms, the use of school Internet connections may involve video or the simultaneous utilization of multiple computers. We believe it is also necessary to research the best computer environments for the purpose of enabling such classes to be run smoothly.

For this purpose, we have been carrying out research and development regarding high-speed Internet use from FY2000.

Because it is necessary to secure low usage rates for both the development of Japan's future information and communications infrastructure and cases where high-speed circuits are needed, we are calling upon all parties concerned.