Approximately 2,900 Hours Saved for Data Entry, Allowing Teachers More Time with Students

Procurement of Approximately 6,000 Tablet Devices per Year and Eliminating Learning Disruptions due to Device Issues

First, could you tell us about your roles and responsibilities?

Mr. Osako:I am a Chief Instructor in charge of managing educational and learning systems at Kashima Asahi High School, which is based in Okayama Prefecture.

Mr. Kobayashi:I am responsible for information management and public relations for the correspondence course at Kashima Gakuen High School. I also manage our educational and learning systems, as well as our website and social media platforms.

Could you share the background that led you to consider a new system, and the challenges you faced before its introduction?

Mr. Kobayashi:The background was that each student was using a school-designated tablet device. On these tablets, a dedicated report system app was installed, and students submitted their assignments using this application.

However, if a device developed a problem, it would disrupt the learning process, which was a significant issue. Additionally, since tablets were purchased in bulk by the school for each new year's batch of students, about 6,000 units annually, procuring them was a big challenge in itself.

The high upfront cost of purchasing the tablets in bulk also placed a major financial burden on the school.

To solve these problems, we decided to switch to a system that didn’t rely on specific devices. With the aim of making this transition within about a year, we quickly started attending product exhibitions and searching for solutions.

The Decisive Factors were both the Superiority of an Intuitive UI, and Planning and Proposal Capabilities.

What first sparked your interest in learningBOX among the many available systems?

Mr. Kobayashi:Since we were short on time for implementation, we compared several package systems (off-the-shelf software customized for our operations) and held meetings with three or four companies.

Mr. Osako:However, some vendors could not meet our delivery timeline, and since our needs were quite niche, it seemed difficult to realize everything we wanted. While we were struggling, another member of our team suggested learningBOX, highlighting its high degree of flexibility.

What were the key points that led to your decision to introduce learningBOX?

Mr. Osako:Initially, we didn’t even know the term “requirements definition” (the process of clarifying the functions and requirements of a system during the early development stage).

When we communicated our needs to your staff, we were surprised by the highly concrete proposals we received. I became confident that learningBOX could meet our requirements in ways other companies couldn’t.

Mr. Kobayashi:For me, the variety of Question formats was extremely appealing. Our previous system only supported two types, but learningBOX offers 13 formats including Matching, Fill-in-the-blank questions. I think the ability to create a diversity of questions that motivate students to learn is very well thought out.

Mr. Osako:Since the migration period was short, we prioritized an intuitive and easy-to-use UI to keep the burden on users as light as possible. In addition, it was a bonus that the system looked modern and visually appealing. learningBOX met all these criteria.

Our team was unanimous in favoring learningBOX. We also appreciated the willingness to develop features that we requested.

We were concerned about ease of use and operation, but we had no inquiries or complaints and felt that ease of use prevailed.

What concerns did you have when replacing the previous system?

Mr. Kobayashi:The previous system had the feature of being usable offline, so I was concerned about how students and teachers at the learning support facilities would feel about the transition to a fully online system.

Mr. Osako:We also had concerns that an additional system might become necessary for attendance management.

What kind of feedback did you receive from students and teachers regarding the system migration, and how did you address it?

Mr. Kobayashi:In the beginning, we received various inquiries, particularly about network environments. Some people asked detailed questions, such as “How many megabytes are needed to download teaching materials?” We responded to each inquiry individually.

Regarding the devices to be used, we distributed materials about the recommended operating environment and allowed each person to choose what was easiest for them. At the time of introduction, we also created an operation manual and promotional videos.

Although we did have our concerns, once we actually started operating the new system, we received almost no inquiries or complaints. We realized that ease-of-use truly triumphed.

How are you currently utilizing learningBOX?

Mr. Kobayashi:The main roles of learningBOX are the creation, submission, and grading of assignments (reports), as well as booking and confirming attendance for school sessions. We also use it as a tool for sending notifications to learning support facilities and students. We create groups for school staff, learning support facilities, students, and graders, and assign appropriate permissions to each (Group role settings available.

Mr. Osako:Across all three schools, there are approximately 12,000 students and about 100 main school staff members using the system. There are also over 500 partner learning support facilities.

Developing Tailored Features with "N1 Development" Achieving Unique Customization by Combining with Existing Features

Regarding attendance management, operation with QR codes has now been made possible on learningBOX, hasn’t it?

Mr. Kobayashi:We had thought we would need to consider an entirely different system, so we are glad that you considered and implemented QR code-based operation (Reservation Management).

You have implemented various features through "N1 Development." Could you tell us what aspects you value most?

Mr. Osako:In the initial phase, our top priority was to ensure that everything possible in the previous system could also be done seamlessly in learningBOX.

At first, we didn’t provide enough explanation about the teacher-side interface and usability. By gathering feedback from teachers and continually making improvements, we’ve worked to make it easier to track learning progress with every new phase.

In the future, we also want to focus on enhancing usability for students.

Mr. Kobayashi:For teachers, the way grades were displayed in the previous system left a strong impression, so it took some time for them to get used to the new interface.

Teachers at learning and support facilities also spend a lot of time on tasks like noticing, “This student hasn’t submitted their assignment, so I need to follow up.” We asked you to expand the Progress Record page, making it possible to check progress and grading status by group. Additionally, we requested the ability to send reminder emails for unstudied units directly from the Karte screen.

learningBOX Skillfully Understood our Needs and Concerns and Made Proposals that Went beyond our Expectations

How long was the period from the decision to implement to the start of operation?

Mr. Osako:It was just over half a year. I really think your company was amazing to accommodate that timeframe. I believe we made some fairly niche requests, but at every meeting, you skillfully grasped what we wanted to achieve and what we were struggling with, and you consistently made suggestions that went beyond what we had imagined.

Thank you very much. How do you find learningBOX’s support?

Mr. Kobayashi:The reactions to our questions and consultations were quick, and honestly, we have no further requests. We are extremely satisfied.

Mr. Osako:Because the size of the learning support facilities differ greatly, our requests weren't one-size-fits-all, which was a major challenge. Even so, we held various discussions about how to ensure satisfaction on the instructors’ side as well, and we built the system together. I truly feel we’ve found a great partner.

We Reduced both Large Expenses for Bulk Device Purchases and about 2,900 Hours of Manual Data Entry

What kinds of benefits have you seen since implementing learningBOX?

Mr. Kobayashi:In terms of financial impact, we reduced the costs previously required to bulk-purchase about 6,000 tablet devices per year. Moving from paper-based to online processes also cut expenses for paper, ink, postage, and more.

Mr. Osako:For attendance management during schooling sessions, paper forms stamped with seals used to be sent from all over the country to the head office, where staff had to enter the information manually. For that data entry alone, we hired three temporary staff for about half a year. But now, we take attendance with QR codes, which link directly to our main system, so there’s no need for manual entry anymore. (Connect with External Systems available.

The time we’ve saved on data entry can now be devoted to creating learning materials and supporting implementation, which has been incredibly helpful.

Considering the uneven distribution of the schooling period, if you assume actual work ran for 5.5 months, 8 hours a day, 22 days a month, that adds up to 968 hours per person, right? For three people, that’s 2,904 hours saved—so about 2,900 hours in total.

Mr. Osako:In addition, we’ve made great strides in putting things like surveys and sick leave applications online. Quantifying the reduction in paper use is difficult, but for example, at the Okayama main campus of “Kashima Asahi High School,” the paper storage space that once filled half a six-tatami room is now mostly gone, making things feel much tidier.

Significant Reduction in Helpdesk Inquiries. Teachers are Now Able to Dedicate More Time to Student Guidance.

What kind of changes have you seen in terms of operational efficiency?

Mr. Kobayashi:When we were using our previous devices, we had a high volume of support requests related to those devices, so we had to assign dedicated staff to handle them. Now, the number of inquiries has dropped to just a few per month. Some students are still using the old devices, so we occasionally receive questions from them, but that's about it.

On the administration side, features like batch operation, batch updating users and groups using CSV files are extremely helpful. Also, being able to assign tasks either to specific students or to entire groups all at once (Assign Content available.

Have you, as members of the main office, noticed any changes in teachers' work efficiency?

Mr. Kobayashi:Because we spend less time addressing system issues, I feel that teachers are now able to dedicate more time to student guidance.

Mr. Osako:Some teachers now use learningBOX materials projected onto screens to conduct their classes. By preparing supplementary materials such as videos, we've evolved from traditional, paper-based lectures into classes that utilize a wide variety of teaching materials.

The Assurance that You'll Definitely be Supported. Taking the First Step is What Matters Most.

Do you have any advice for those considering the introduction of learningBOX?

Mr. Kobayashi:With learningBOX, there is a reassuring sense that you will always get the support you need.

Mr. Osako:For those responsible for school operations, like we were, it can be difficult to know how to proceed with system implementation. learningBOX really took our situation into account and provided excellent support. I hope our example can serve as a reference during your own transition—it’s important to just take that first step.

Thank you very much for your valuable insights!