Tsubata Educational Committee

September 2016
Ishikawa, Japan

Installation Details

The electronic whiteboard allows effective use of digital teaching materials

The Tsubatamachi Educational Committee has actively promoted ICT devices, leading them to install a Panasonic plasma electronic whiteboard in 2010 and tablet PCs in 2013, which were used together to expand their versatility.
Then, in 2016, under the banner of a strategic policy, called "Expanding ICT devices and assisting the effective use of digital teaching materials," the Educational Committee began studying the idea of additional installation. As a result, they decided on a system with the following features:

The ability to use the device by simply turning it on.
A large, bright screen that is easily visible from seats in the back of the classroom.
Intuitive operation with a menu bar that contains the functions that are most frequently used.
A wireless function that was well supported by tablet PCs.
A color universal design for widespread visibility by all.

After evaluating these features, it was decided to install eight TH-65BF1 electronic whiteboards (LCD displays with touch screens), and three TH-50BF1 electronic whiteboards, making a total of 11 devices, 1 each for all of the elementary and junior high schools under the jurisdiction of the Educational Committee.

Information collected by groups is summarized and shown on the electronic whiteboard.

Example of Use in Class

Excellent operation preserves the flow of the lesson

As Kenta Kitagawa, a teacher at the school, explains, "The functions of the electronic whiteboard are improved, such as arranging the frequently used functions in one location on the menu for intuitive operation. This helps to keep the flow of the lesson smooth. I can feel that the students' concentration is more easily maintained." The principal, Masako Sugaya, also adds, "The teachers spend less time writing on the board, so they're able to allocate more time to working with the students individually. "Convenience has been maximized in the menu bar, and that helps to raise the quality of the lessons.

The highly compatible wireless function keeps group lessons smooth

The active lessons that result from connecting the electronic whiteboard with table PCs is another feature of the Tsubata Elementary School system. The teachers are able to immediately send images captured by the tablet PCs that each student group uses, and can display them all at once on the electronic whiteboard. This makes it possible to check the progress of each group, and the teacher can also choose images for the students to refer to, and add an explanation to the image.
"The electronic whiteboard that we previously used was connected to the electronic whiteboard by a cable, so it took time to prepare it when we wanted to connect a different PC. The new system is wireless so we can display the images we want to see quickly and easily," explained Mr. Kitagawa. On the other hand, Ms. Sugaya added, "The students are able to summarize the group discussions that they hold using tablet PCs, and they can then display those results on the electronic whiteboard. This kind of usage is great for developing their presentation skills."

Images taken by a tablet are displayed on the electronic whiteboard.

Captured images are shown in a multi-display to each group.

Electronic whiteboards are ideal for school-wide meetings or interactive telecommunications with other schools

Tsubata Elementary School promotes active use of the electronic whiteboard. This was Ms. Sugawa's response when asked about future uses, "I understand that we can show the data from the electronic whiteboard on a screen by connecting to a projector. I'd like to use this for school-wide meetings in the future." This function, which is called 'secondary display,' lets you use the projector to show the same screen image as the electronic whiteboard. It is possible to jot information onto the screen and enlarge or reduce the screen size in real time. The Tsubatamachi Educational Committee is also planning to use the system for interactive classroom activities between schools over the internet.

A special stand allows smooth movement. The height can also be easily adjusted.

The Secondary Display function enables school-wide meetings.

Tsubata Educational Committee Tsubatachoritsu Tsubata Elementary School

Advanced Information Literacy Education — Aiming for "Tsubata, the Town of Science"

Hoping to meet the goal of someday having a Nobel Prize winner come from Tsubata, the Tsubatamachi Board of Education is engaged in building "Tsubata, the Town of Science." In order to achieve this goal, the children must be able to freely handle information devices, and independently collect and transfer data. With this in mind, the Tsubatamachi Board of Education installed an electronic whiteboard and other ICT devices, and put them to active use.

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