Japan has a high-tech image, but the reality can be somewhat different
My earliest encounter with the wonder of Japanese technology was at the British Museum in 1991. I was 9 years old. The “Japan exhibition” showing at that time featured a robot that could paint a naturalistic portrait of a human subject. Exhibition staff orchestrated a mini lottery to see which attendee would be the lucky subject for a demonstration of the robot’s skills. I drew the long straw, and my preconception of Japan being a country full of androids, conveyor-belt pavements, and talking cars was reaffirmed.
The cold dash of reality came when I arrived in Japan in 2006 to start teaching English at an eikaiwa (conversation) school. I was surprised to discover that cassette tapes were still being utilized for the majority of the listening activities we conducted in classes. I remember spending a considerable amount of time before lessons ‘cuing up’ cassette tapes to the correct part of the audio track. One teacher become known for his impression of “being electrocuted” during kids’ lessons, when he rewound cassette tapes and they made that high pitched reversed squealing noise. The kids loved his tomfoolery, but even he couldn’t hide the fact that the technology wasn’t exactly cutting edge. Far from it – it was almost 20 years since CDs, and 10 years since MP3s, had become mainstream technology.
After working at the eikaiwa school for a few years, I moved into university teaching. Perhaps things would be different, I thought. Perhaps all the best cutting edge technology had been preserved for Japanese higher education institutions. However, as we shall see, this was not necessarily the case.
Availability of computer technology in Higher Education institutions
I have taught at five universities in Japan, which, for the purposes of this article, I’ll creatively call University ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘E’. Below are the technological facilities that were provided to the English teaching staff and students at each institution:
University A: one outdated laptop for the use of four full-time native-speaker English teachers. The laptop was not connected to a printer, and network connectivity was sporadic.
University B: no computers for the use of part-time English teaching staff. Two computer rooms were available for computer-based English lessons. However, due to “security concerns”, the university did not provide teachers with log-in credentials for use with these computers.
University C: one outdated computer for the use of the whole part-time teacher department. Two computer rooms for computer-based English lessons. Log-in credentials provided. Unfortunately, most web-technologies (including Flash) were not available on the computers, due either to draconian anti-virus measures, outdated browsers, or both.
University D: no computers for part-time English teaching staff. No computer rooms available for computer-based English lessons.
University E: relatively up-to-date computers provided to all part-time English teaching staff, two computer rooms available for computer-based English lessons; a computer in every classroom.
As we can see, with the possible exception of ‘University E’, the situation with regard to the availability of technology to English teachers and learners in Japanese higher education institutions is far from the technological utopia that the typical image of Japan suggests. The disparity between the vision and the reality tends to come down to three main issues: the problem of the upgrade cycle, the problem of virus protection and the problem of hardware accessories.
The problem of the upgrade cycle
The technology, where it is available, tends to be at least 3 to 5 years out of date. This situation is perhaps understandable when we consider the finances involved. Because technology advances so rapidly, it’s easy for whole institutions to get left behind, and very expensive for them to stay ahead of the curve. However, although it would clearly cost a lot of money to buy a room full of new computers, it might cost more in the long run to support a room full of old computers, not to mention the educational cost of missing out on the learning opportunities provided by the latest and greatest technologies.
The problem of virus protection
In my experience, universities in Japan tend to adopt somewhat draconian anti-virus measures, ranging from a reluctance to provide log-in details to teachers (see University B, above) to limiting what programs can be installed on computers.
Again, this is understandable in some respects. Viruses can and do infect computer networks, and can hide inside files downloaded from the internet (especially executables) so it makes sense to restrict which programs can be installed on institutional computers. However, when it gets to the stage that anti-virus measures actually make computer systems just as unusable as they would be if infected with a virus, surely it’s time to rethink this strategy?
The problem of hardware accessories
Oftentimes Japanese university computer facilities lack essential hardware accessories, such as microphones and headphones. Many of the most popular and innovative websites for English learning at the moment, such as English Central, Cambridge English Online, English Listening Lesson Library and Rhinospike require up-to-date computers with Flash installed and headphones or microphones connected.
The future?
Unless things change, many educational institutions in Japan will continue to use yesterday’s technology today, and today’s technology tomorrow. They will continue to reduce the usefulness of the computers that are available with overzealous anti-virus measures, and neglect to provide the appropriate hardware accessories for the best Web 2.0 English learning sites.
Let’s hope that things do change.
They already are at some institutions. I heard from a colleague recently that he had successfully convinced the management of his university to purchase iPads for the use of an entire class of students. Of course, it’s a huge financial outlay, but it’s also a huge educational boon, especially if the right techniques, ideas, products and services are adopted.
A very true article. I did my CELTA training in the UK with the aid of a smartboard. A smartboard is kind of like a replacement of a whiteboard that’s linked to a pc so teachers can save their notes etc. I also used the same when I did some voluntary work at a local primary school. When I asked at my interview if the school I was applying for in Japan had similar equipment,the interviewer almost burst out laughing and said I’d be lucky to find a pen that works.
I’ve been in Japan for about 4 and a half years now and it still confuses me why schools don’t make that technological upgrade. I was told that even expensive private schools still have chalk boards.
Regarding your laptop point I think it’s really really weird. My friend teaches at a primary school that is in one of the most socially deprived areas In the UK yet children have a laptop between them!
Thanks a lot for your comment Wayne! Yes, the disparity between the technological sophistication of classrooms in the UK compared to the average classroom in Japan is baffling. One of the universities I worked at (University A) built a brand new building while I was there, and still chose to install blackboards as opposed to whiteboards (let alone smart-boards). I think Japanese university lecturers do a lot of “chalk and talk”.
Its not just schools. I’ve seen companies pay though the nose for outdated conferencing technology when they could get the same or better results with web technology in some cases for free. They were nable to due to I’ve various and at times almost superstitious security policies.
Hi Phil, thanks for your comment
Yes, ‘superstitious security policies’ – that’s a great way of putting it! Yes, in my experience too on the admin side of education, some institutions are resistant to technological change and prefer to continue with traditional paper-based methods, even though they are cumbersome and inconvenient. I don’t think the reason behind this is purely financial, although that’s often part of it. As you say, corporate culture tends to be slow to change.
Yes, one of the reasons behind the reality is related to our cultural background. Japanses are very slow to accept new systems or new ways of doing something and even persist in precedent.
This is definitely a suerpb piece of content! We have bookmarked it and mailed it out to many of my close friends simply because I know they will enjoy it and help pass it on, thank you very much!
Hi Paul, thanks for addressing this issue. While I have the same experience as you teaching in a variety of Japanese classrooms, I also feel that if you are teaching conversation, you don’t necessarily need a lot of technology in the class. Maybe the lower tech institutions are thinking that if the students really want tech availability they can get it on their own outside of class and hence save the institution money. They also may not have the staff to deal with technical problems. I love using technology in class, but I have also completely ignored it for many lessons on purpose to get the language flowing rather than fiddling with technology.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for your comments Beth! Yes, I agree, technology for technology’s sake can be more of a hindrance than a help. Then again, the extent and variety of communication conducted with technology in the 21st century is mind-boggling: Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, blogs, text messages, Skype, even phone calls and faxes! I would even go so far to say that technology IS communication. On the other hand, you’re right; sometimes it’s better to unplug and get back to basics with no distractions.
The reality is shocking. I had no doubts that high technology was available in Japanese higher education institutions. I watched a TV program before that featured the use of Kindle even in primary schools in South Korea. I don’t know if the totally paperless education is good or not, though. It’s a shame that Japan is a “low technology” country in educational instisutions. The article is interesting !
Hi Aki! Thanks a lot for your comment. Yes, it seems like South Korea is ahead of the game when it comes to educational technology, and Japan is being left in the dust. Apparently South Korea intends to eliminate paper text books by 2015, a far more ambitious project than anything I’ve heard about in Japan. But I think the pedagogy, as well as the technology, has to be innovative and effective. We mustn’t lose sight of that fact.
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