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Prevent Data Leaks!! "Security Training Using e-Learning" This is Kinoshita 👓 from the CS Implementation Support Team. It’s been a while since my last blog post. There’s only a little time left in 2019. With the change in the era name, I imagine this has been a very hectic year for many of you. For our company, the first year of Reiwa brought many major events, such as our move to a new office and participation in trade shows in Tokyo and Osaka. We truly appreciate all your support during that time. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again. Now, let’s dive right into this article! “Are your company’s security knowledge, measures, and training fully up to par?” In this article, “I’ll introduce security training that uses e-learning to cover key points for handling customer information and protecting your company’s customer data from data breaches!!” I hope you’ll enjoy this post as well. Table of Contents: 1. Damages for Personal Information Leaks 2. The Importance of Security Training 3. Demand and Expectations for e-Learning 4. Creating Security Training with learningBOX 5. Summary Damages Resulting from Personal Information Leaks These figures represent the estimated damages resulting from personal information leak incidents that occurred during the year 2018. In terms of the number of people affected per data breach incident, the information and communications industry ranks highest (1st place: 1,712,580 people). (Source: Japan Network Security Association, a specified nonprofit organization) The Importance of Security Training Top cause ➡ Loss or Misplacement: 26.2%; 2nd Place ➡ Operational Error: 24.6%; 3rd Place ➡ Unauthorized Access: 20.3%. “Loss or Misplacement” “Operational errors,” and “Unauthorized access” are the top three causes, accounting for approximately 70.1% of the total. As can be seen from the breakdown by cause, human error—such as oversight or low security awareness—is a contributing factor, making it essential to raise security awareness among all employees, including company executives. (Source: Japan Network Security Association, a Specified Nonprofit Corporation) Data breaches can cause immeasurable damage to customers and business partners. Economic losses, damage to the company’s reputation, fines and penalties… just thinking about it is terrifying.   Demand and Expectations for e-Learning Training and learning through e-learning are attracting increasing attention as their scope of application continues to expand, encompassing areas such as “educational big data,” “EdTech,” “work-style reform,” “next-generation group training,” and “advanced educational initiatives.” It is viewed as a promising learning format, and the number of companies adopting it is increasing year by year. Among these, an increasing number of companies are focusing on in-house training and education in areas such as compliance, information security, and corporate training.   Benefits of e-Learning: e-Learning is extremely convenient because individuals can study as needed and review difficult concepts repeatedly. Perhaps its greatest advantage is the ability to easily prepare, review, and revisit material at a time that suits the learner. As each employee’s business skills improve, this contributes to the overall growth and development of both employees and the company, directly leading to improved operational efficiency.   Conducting Security Training Using learningBOX At Tatsuno Information Systems, we conduct “security training” for our employees in this manner. Our learningBOX platform makes it easy to create and deliver security training. In this article, we’ll introduce a security training program using content provided free of charge by the IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency). IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency) As a policy-implementing agency playing a key role in IT initiatives, the IPA works to realize a “reliable IT society” by ensuring the safety and reliability of information society systems, which are becoming increasingly complex and vast. To this end, the IPA implements measures in areas such as information security, enhancing software reliability, and developing IT talent. (Source: IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency)) Security Training Process Click here to view security training using learningBOX. Please watch the video. With learningBOX, you can conduct security training as a structured course. By organizing it as a course, you can issue certificates only to those who complete the required learning steps and achieve the passing score. We also recommend the following features and settings: • Assign training by group or department. • Import learners’ scores in bulk via CSV. • You can also limit the number of times a course can be taken. • Learner performance data is automatically graded. *Detailed instructions on learningBOX settings and usage are available on the learningBOX User Guide page. Summary: Raising awareness among all employees is crucial for security education. Simply handing out thick manuals or communicating policies that are merely for show will not improve employee awareness. A system for ensuring security compliance is essential, and e-learning is one such tool. By using e-learning, you can analyze, quantify, and evaluate learners’ understanding in greater detail. We hope our e-learning system (learningBOX) will be of assistance in your company’s security measures. Thank you for reading this article.

What Is an e-Portfolio? Hello to everyone reading this blog! I’m Tanimoto from the development team! 👟 I’ll jump right in—do any of you know what an “e-portfolio” is? When you hear the word “portfolio,” you might think, “That’s something used in the world of investing and finance,” or “it’s like a collection of designs I’ve created,” so even though we use the same word “portfolio,” I think everyone has a different image in mind. By the time you finish reading this article, you might feel like you’ve got a good grasp of what an e-portfolio is! So let’s take a look at e-portfolios together! Here’s the table of contents: 1. What is a portfolio? 2. e-Portfolio 3. What Are the Benefits of Using an e-Portfolio? 4. Summary What Is a Portfolio? According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, it is “a thin, flat case used for carrying documents, drawings, etc.” In other words, it refers to a case for carrying paper and other items. Source: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries Originally used to hold sheets of paper, the term came to be used in the design field to refer to a person’s past works or portfolio after artists and others began using them to carry their own artwork. In the financial sector, the term “portfolio” came into use because securities were often stored in paper clips in the past. Furthermore, in the field of education, “portfolio assessment” is a type of performance evaluation; however, the term “portfolio” originally referred to the paper clips—that is, files or scrapbooks—used by professionals such as painters, architects, and journalists to promote themselves to employers. For example, a painter might include their representative works, flyers from solo exhibitions, and reviews published in newspapers. By looking at this, the painter’s skill, artistic style, and even their social standing become immediately apparent. In portfolio assessment, learners (children, pupils, or students) systematically compile their own work, records of self-assessment, and records of the teacher’s guidance and evaluation, and they periodically edit these materials or use the portfolio to engage in dialogue. This encourages learners to self-assess their own learning processes, while also enabling teachers to evaluate both the learners’ learning activities and their own teaching practices. Source: Minutes of the 7th Meeting of the Special Subcommittee on High School–University Transition (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). Now that we’ve looked at portfolios used in these three fields, you should have a clearer picture of what the term “portfolio” means. Let’s now turn to the main topic of this session: e-portfolios! e-Portfolio: Now we finally come to the main topic—the e-portfolio. In Japan, e-portfolios are utilized by the General Incorporated Association for Educational Information Management, which has been authorized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to operate “JAPAN e-Portfolio.” Through this system, students can record their high school experiences—including classes, school events, club activities, qualifications and certifications earned, and achievements from extracurricular activities—to reflect on these experiences and connect them to future learning and achievements. Additionally, the accumulated “learning data” can be used for university applications and other purposes. Source: “What is ‘JAPAN e-Portfolio’?” This means saving and utilizing data on the types of learning a student has engaged in—including learning through school events and club activities, as well as learning through qualifications and certifications they have earned on their own. “JAPAN e-Portfolio” aims to utilize this accumulated data in the college admissions process. Please click here for detailed information, such as which universities support this system. In other words, an e-portfolio is a portfolio where data is stored using the internet. So, why store it online? It’s because there are advantages to using the internet. Next, let’s look at the benefits of managing a portfolio online! What are the benefits of using an e-portfolio? Let’s take a look at the benefits of using an e-portfolio. Benefit 1: Reduces costs and space requirements Benefit 2: Allows access to the portfolio anytime, anywhere Benefit 3: Enables data utilization (for university admissions and by teachers) Regarding Benefit 1—reducing costs and space requirements—storing student grades on paper requires space for storage and incurs the cost of the paper itself. Storing this information digitally makes it possible to reduce both space and paper costs. Benefit 2—being able to access your portfolio anytime, anywhere—is closely related to Benefit 1. When grades and achievements are stored on paper, viewing them requires either going to the location where the paper is kept or having it sent to you. In contrast, when records are stored digitally, both students reviewing their own data and teachers accessing student data can do so anytime and anywhere. Benefit 3—the ability to utilize the data (e.g., for college admissions)—is already being put to use in the JAPAN e-Portfolio service mentioned above for college entrance exams. In this way, a person’s grades and achievements can be leveraged by taking advantage of the location-independent access described in Benefit 2. Summary: What did you think? If you’ve read this far, you should now have a good understanding of what an e-portfolio is. I believe the scope of e-portfolio applications will continue to expand in the future. As a provider of learningBOX—an LMS (Learning Management System)—our company certainly can’t afford to fall behind! We will continue to develop our platform to ensure your satisfaction, so we appreciate your continued support! Reference pages on e-portfolios can be found here. Source: JAPAN e-Portfolio (accessed October 9, 2019). Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (accessed October 9, 2019).

How to Effectively Improve Your Math Grades Using e-Learning Hello, everyone! I’m Kobashi from the Development Team. I loved math through middle school, but high school math wasn’t really my thing (;'∀') 🐧 Do you like math? As for me, I especially enjoyed geometry problems and functions up through middle school. In this article, titled "A Must-Read for Students Who Struggle with Math and Teachers Who Teach It!", I’ll introduce methods for effectively learning math using e-learning. I hope you’ll enjoy this post. Table of Contents 1. What Is e-Learning? 2. Creating Math Problems with learningBOX 3. Course-Based Learning with learningBOX 4. Summary What Is e-Learning? It is a form of learning that utilizes the internet. It is a learning system that allows you to improve your skills at your own pace, regardless of location, time, or subject matter, by utilizing electronic devices such as computers and mobile devices, as well as IT networks. E-learning is a learning method that is attracting attention and generating high expectations in various fields, including personal career development, learning for hobbies, preparation for certification exams, and understanding training content. It is used not only for personal use but also as training material for in-house corporate training, and its scope of application is rapidly expanding. Creating Math Problems with learningBOX With learningBOX, you can easily create and register problems. You can create them using the problem creation form, text files, or Excel files. ▼If you’re not confident in creating problems, we recommend using the “Quiz/Test” option in the problem creation form ▼ If you have a large number of questions or need to work quickly, we recommend using a text file. ▼ If you want to upload them all at once using a format you’re familiar with, we recommend using Excel. You can choose between “Master Mode” and “Normal Mode” for creating and practicing problems. Features of Master Mode: Master Mode is a mode designed for “repeated practice.” Repeated practice helps reinforce memory. We’ve created math practice problems using Master Mode. Be sure to give them a try! We’ve designed them with a wide variety of question formats—including multiple-choice, true/false, multiple-select, essay, fill-in-the-blank, and reordering questions—that are only possible with learningBOX! ☆ Using the optional features, you can create even more customized questions! ★ ・You can configure various settings, such as changing the title or introductory message, and limiting the number of questions. ・You can also hide learners’ scores and answers, as well as set passing scores and time limits. ・For previewing, reviewing, and revising, we recommend randomizing the questions and answer choices. ・For questions that are difficult to understand, you can embed “images, videos, explanations, and report features.” ➡ All of the above optional settings can be configured online via your computer. You can view these options here. Course Learning with learningBOX Here’s a look at the learningBOX screen when logged in from a PC. (Click the image to enlarge.) learningBOX manages learning materials by folder. You can organize questions by folder, group them by subject, or categorize learning materials however you prefer. The learning materials you create can also be set up as course content. Certificates can be issued to successful students, and the survey feature allows you to address study-related concerns and challenges—which are often hard to voice—directly online!! You can set any image of your choice as the cover (thumbnail image) for folders and the learning materials you create. This time, we’ve set a math-related image ( *´艸｀)! Setting illustrations or images changes the visual appearance, allowing learners to immediately see what content is contained in each folder. ▼ You can easily assign learning materials to each group via the Content Management Dashboard. ➡As shown here, you can divide students into groups by grade level and distribute learning materials accordingly. learningBOX allows you to assign learning materials to each group. You can configure the distribution and assignment of learning materials for each group. Detailed instructions on how to create and register groups are available in the “Group Registration” section. Limiting the Number of Attempts: You can set a limit on the number of times a lesson can be taken, restricting access to a specific number of attempts. You can also set a time interval between sessions. The interval between sessions can be set in one-hour increments, up to a maximum of 720 hours, determining how long a user must wait before retaking a session. For details, please see “Session Restrictions” here. You can also track learners’ progress! ▼ View your own scores by list or by question ▼ Filter and display scores by learning material folder or by specific materials within a folder ▼ View scores by question type ▼ Filter and display results by group or by individual within a group ▼ Filter and display results by a specific time period ▼ Display results by learning status *Details are provided in the Results Management section. Highly recommended for creating graphs!! Math Learning Support Tool “GeoGebra” So far, I’ve explained how to study math using learningBOX, but when I look back on my own math education, I found that as I advanced through the grades, the material became significantly more difficult—with “complex expressions and functions, algebra, geometry, and calculus”—making it increasingly hard to visualize these concepts. I used to sigh often, thinking, “If only the equations in this problem were represented as graphs or diagrams, I’d understand them much better…” However, these days, there are convenient apps available specifically for math education! Believe it or not, they actually let you visualize the concepts! Furthermore, you can utilize the data you create to generate problems in learningBOX. With this tool, you can easily create graphs. This app is a learning support tool for mathematics that covers all mathematical fields from middle school through college. It’s free to use for educational and learning purposes. Not only is it useful for creating teaching materials and problems for class, but it also seems likely to deepen students’ understanding of the subject. Graphics created in Geogebra can be exported in PNG, PDF, EPS, SVG, or EMF formats via the “Export Image” menu. For this example, I exported the image in PNG format. Even when I resized the image, the curves didn’t become blurry or jagged. You can also export videos as GIF animations. This is extremely useful for graphing tools. If you’re interested, please check this out as well. Summary: In this article, titled “How to Effectively Improve Math Grades Using e-Learning,” we introduced methods for creating problems and learning courses using learningBOX. With learningBOX, even those who don’t know how to program or aren’t comfortable using computers can start e-learning. There are still many content features we weren’t able to cover in this article. The “Fill-in-the-Blank Notes” feature, designed specifically for memorization, is also very useful. Thank you for reading this article.

I’m Kitakoka 🍎 from the Marketing Department! In September, we participated in the “Education IT Solutions Expo.” It was our first time attending, so I was very nervous, but it turned out to be an incredibly valuable opportunity to directly experience our customers’ feedback and concerns firsthand. To everyone who visited our booth, thank you so much for your support. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again. Thank you very much. We take the concerns and requests you shared very seriously, and we’ll continue to work hard so that we can play a part in creating an “e-learning system that anyone can easily get started with”!! At the expo, we received many comments such as, “What can you do with an e-learning system?” and “We’d like to implement this in schools and tutoring centers!!” In this article, we’ll use English learning with our e-learning system (learningBOX) as an example. We hope you’ll enjoy reading this article. Table of Contents: 1. What Is E-Learning? 2. E-Learning Systems 3. Creating English Learning Materials Using learningBOX’s Content Creation Features 4. Summary What Is e-Learning? e-Learning is a form of learning that utilizes the internet. It is a learning system that allows users to improve their skills at their own pace, regardless of location, time, or subject matter, by using electronic devices such as computers and mobile devices, as well as IT networks. e-Learning Learning System This is an e-learning creation system (Learning Management System, or LMS). It is a system that enables the delivery and management of education—such as face-to-face instruction, paper-based exams, and group training sessions—via the web, thereby complementing the learning process. “learningBOX,” our e-learning system, has been used by approximately 2,300 companies to build online learning environments. It is primarily used by school teachers and corporate training coordinators. Creating English Learning Materials Using learningBOX’s Content Creation Features learningBOX includes features for creating various types of e-learning content. You can easily upload videos and PDFs to use as learning materials, and the system includes features for creating quizzes and tests to assess understanding, as well as certificates awarded upon course completion and learning aids such as flashcards and fill-in-the-blank worksheets. Let’s try creating English learning materials using these features of learningBOX. Easily Learn English Vocabulary with Flashcards learningBOX’s flashcards are learning materials that can be easily registered and created from traditional text files, Excel files, or online creation forms. ➡ Detailed instructions are available on the “How to Use Flashcards” page. Fill-in-the-Blank Notes Are Also Recommended for Memorization Fill-in-the-Blank Notes let you easily create memorization exercises in paragraph format. Additionally, by checking off the blanks you’ve memorized, you can view your completion rate. This feature is highly recommended for English memorization practice. *Detailed instructions on how to use the Fill-in-the-Blank Notebook are available on the Fill-in-the-Blank Notebook How-to page. Make sure to thoroughly review the English vocabulary you’ve memorized using the Typing Exercises!! Typing Exercises are learning materials created via learningBOX’s content management feature that involve “typing text using a keyboard.” Our typing exercises support both English and Romaji! You can even learn English while having fun!! You can try typing English vocabulary below, so please give it a shot and aim to pass!! *Detailed instructions on how to create typing exercises are available on the “How to Use Typing Exercises” page. *Please use the sample below on a PC. It is not available on smartphones or tablets. Quizzes (Master Mode/Normal Mode) There are 12 different question formats!! You can include not only text but also images and audio within the questions. You can also divide the questions into several sections (groups) and set the system to present a specified number of questions from each section. By configuring option values, you can customize settings—such as “images, videos, URL links, and explanations”—to suit your specific needs. Please check this list of option items when configuring settings. Master Mode Normal Mode You can view the sample questions created in this article here. ・Quiz created in Master Mode → Click here to test it Click here to test it Click here to test it

Hello, this is Nagai 🎮 from the Quality Control Department—I still can’t put my fan away because the weather keeps swinging between hot and cold. October has come around in the blink of an eye! In this article, I’ll share some tips and troubleshooting steps for anyone looking to create quizzes for e-learning using our question creation form. To everyone who’s had trouble getting questions to display properly while using our QuizGenerator or learningBOX, or who’s been wondering, "How do I fix this??"—even a minor input error can be resolved immediately if you know the solution! So, please enjoy this article. Table of Contents: 1. What Does "Don’t Be Fooled by Appearances" Mean? 2. Solutions 3. Summary What Does “Don’t Be Fooled by Appearances” Mean? First, take a look at the image below. Text has been entered in the “Question Text” field. At first glance, it appears to simply say, “Don’t be fooled by appearances.” However, when you check the actual source code… *This is just one example; in some cases, it can be even more complex. There may be various specifications, such as font settings, paragraphs, and headings. ➡ “This is what it means to be fooled by appearances.” When do you encounter this kind of phenomenon? This can occur when you use the “Copy & Paste” function—which you usually use without a second thought—while creating quizzes. Copying and pasting text entered in the question creation form or text found online to create questions is quick and easy, but “it also imports unnecessary information such as extra line breaks, spaces, special fonts, and device-dependent characters.” In some cases, this not only causes the display on the player’s screen to break but can also result in multiple questions being merged into a single one. If a question isn’t displaying as intended, these are likely the causes. 💦 Solution: This issue occurs when using the question creation form, so you’ll need to check the source code to verify. "The simplest way to avoid this is to use plain text." To be precise, you should use standard text. Standard text does not allow the use of HTML tags; only raw text data is entered. You can either format it here and create the question directly in text format, or copy and paste it into the question creation form. Once you’ve gone through the standard text step, you’re free to use it however you like. Summary: When creating questions using the question creation form, the display may not match your intended results. Some of you may feel that while it seems convenient, there are unexpected pitfalls. However, HTML tags exist to ensure questions are displayed neatly. The display issues you’re seeing are simply the result of not handling those tags correctly. HTML tags aren’t actually that difficult to understand. While some people may feel intimidated just by seeing the English terms, I hope you’ll give them a try, even if just a little. Furthermore, by applying HTML tags and other techniques, you can create interesting questions like these. In this article, I’ve shared some tips for those who want to create quizzes for e-learning. Our e-learning system, learningBOX, offers a wide variety of quiz formats and customization options. We’re also happy to assist with any questions you may have regarding quiz creation. Please feel free to contact us. Thank you for reading this article.

Nice to meet you. I’m Yokoyama 🐈 from the development team. Have you heard of the term “STEM education”? It’s an educational model that originated in the United States in the 2000s. In this article, I’ll introduce STEM education, which is gaining attention around the world. Table of Contents: 1. What Is STEM Education? 2. STEM Education Abroad 3. STEM Education in Japan 4. Summary What Is STEM Education? STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and was proposed by the U.S. National Science Foundation in the 2000s. STEM education was originally launched with the goal of increasing enrollment in science and engineering fields to enhance international competitiveness through science and technology. Today, the concept has expanded and diversified to include various related ideas, such as STEAM education—which incorporates Art to emphasize creativity and sensitivity in preparation for a super-smart society—and STREAM education, which adds Robotics. It goes beyond mere education in science and engineering to emphasize practical skills, shift from subject-specific to interdisciplinary education, and actively incorporate experiential, creative, and new technologies. Emphasis on racial integration and diversity: ensuring equitable educational opportunities; prioritizing the value of K–12 (elementary and secondary education for students up to age 12); and focusing on the training of STEM teachers—among other initiatives—it is being implemented worldwide as a comprehensive educational approach closely linked to society and creativity.   STEM Education Abroad: Although STEM education originated in the United States, countries around the world are now actively pursuing it as a national policy. Country Background Specific Initiatives United States Government-led promotion of IT talent development, EdTech adoption, and STEM education. As automation driven by robotics and AI advances, the middle class faces a crisis. Charter schools aiming to break away from traditional education have emerged. Schools utilizing EdTech services such as adaptive learning, MOOCs, LMS, and other EdTech services Schools utilizing the flexible charter school system to foster soft skills (non-cognitive abilities, GRIT, etc.) through enhanced, interdisciplinary, project-based learning China By 2025, there will be a severe shortage of talent in areas critical to future economic development Premier Li Keqiang advocates “Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation for All” (Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation). China’s STEM Education 2029 Innovation Action Plan; Shanghai “STEM+” Education Research Center. Israel: Due to its historical and military background, there is a widespread recognition that cultivating science and technology talent is essential for the country’s continued development. STEM education is introduced from an early age. In particular, at science and technology kindergartens operated in partnership with high-tech companies, children can learn about robotics, computers, space, and more. Within STEM education, the country places special emphasis on programming and cybersecurity. Singapore has traditionally prioritized the development of an elite class to lead the nation. It focuses particularly on cultivating talent for key industries such as IoT, robotics, AI, biotechnology. Recently, the country has introduced “humanities education” to cultivate non-cognitive skills. To strengthen the nation’s AI workforce, it offers AI education programs with generous support for young professionals. Integrated programs combining secondary education and university preparatory education, along with the use of EdTech to enable personalized learning and the cross-disciplinary understanding and application of knowledge, appear to be global trends.   STEM Education in Japan: Initiatives for STEM education in Japan appear to be led primarily by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has been operating the Super Science High School program since 2002. To cultivate future international talent in science and technology, MEXT designates high schools and other institutions that implement advanced science and mathematics education as “Super Science High Schools,” and has been supporting the development and implementation of curricula that deviate from the official curriculum guidelines, the promotion of research projects, and experiential and problem-solving learning through observation and experimentation. Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology / Super Science High Schools Furthermore, since the fiscal year 2020, it appears that various measures are being implemented toward the full-scale implementation of programming education in elementary schools. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has established three pillars for educational reform: “STEAM-based Learning,” “Independent and Individually Optimized Learning,” and “Building a New Learning Infrastructure.” STEAM-Based Learning: Moving toward an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the humanities and sciences, where “knowing” and “creating” form a cycle, centered on the unique sense of excitement each individual feels. Autonomous and Individually Optimized Learning: Enabling students to choose their own learning methods based on their unique cognitive characteristics and academic achievement levels. Building New Learning Infrastructure: Moving toward learner-centered, digital-first schools that integrate seamlessly with society. Just as in other countries, Japan appears to be leveraging EdTech to achieve personalized learning and the cross-disciplinary understanding and application of knowledge. Summary: STEM education is not limited to science and engineering fields; it is a comprehensive educational approach aimed at “creating AI, apply it, and create new value” as we move toward a “super-smart society.” Originating in the United States, STEM education is now being actively pursued as a national policy by countries around the world. Utilizing EdTech to enable personalized learning and the cross-disciplinary understanding and application of knowledge. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, it will become commonplace for every student to use their own computer or tablet for e-learning! We are also working diligently to develop our e-learning system, “learningBOX,” with a focus on STEM education, so we appreciate your continued support! 😀 Click here for reference pages on STEM education. Source: Reference Materials on the Current State of Education in Other Countries (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) (Accessed September 5, 2019). Source: Human Resource Development for Society 5.0 ~ Society Changes, Learning Changes ~ (Accessed September 5, 2019).

Practice Typing Through E-Learning Training! Long-sleeved cardigans have become a must-have, replacing sun umbrellas. Hello! Nice to meet you—I’m Kuroda from the Quality Control Department. This is my first time writing an article. The topic for this post is "Featured Typing Course Materials"!! Are you familiar with the “Typing Course Materials” included in learningBOX’s content features? In addition to flashcards and question creation, learningBOX also offers “Typing Course Materials” that allow you to practice typing as part of e-learning training. In this article, I’ll introduce the “Typing Course,” including how to create it, how to use it, and how to put it to practical use. I hope you’ll enjoy this article. Table of Contents: 1. What Is the Typing Course? 2. How to Create a Typing Course 3. Let’s Try Entering Text Using the Typing Course 4. How to Use It Within Your Company 5. Summary Typing Materials are learning resources for “entering text using a keyboard” that can be created using learningBOX’s content management feature. How to Create Typing Materials Log in to learningBOX, go to Content Management, Typing Materials > “Create Typing Materials.” Enter the [Title, Text, and Pronunciation] in the typing exercise creation form. If everything is correct, click “Save and Publish” in the upper-right corner. A form will appear; follow the input fields to set the “Text” (the problem text) and “Pronunciation” (the characters to be entered). You can use hiragana, katakana, and numbers in the “Pronunciation” field. Please note that kanji, English, symbols (such as “” and “.”), and other characters cannot be used. *For detailed settings regarding typing exercises, please refer to the “How to Use Typing Exercises” page. Let’s Try Text Input Using the Typing Exercise! For those of you who are good at typing!! We’ve prepared a typing exercise created by our quality control team. Please give it a try to test your skills!! Difficulty Level: ★★★☆☆ ・Sentences of about 10 to 20 characters will be presented. Be prepared—the sentences are designed to catch you off guard! ・Passing score: 40 points ・How many characters can you type without any mistakes? ・This is a challenging typing exercise that even our staff struggled to pass!! ・Click the PC monitor image below, and a message saying “Press the space bar when you’re ready” will appear—start from there! Let’s type!! Please use the sample below on a PC. It is not available on smartphones or tablets. Good job! So, how many points did you score on the exercise above? Did the “Daruma-chan” pass icon appear? I created this myself—did you find it fun? It would make me happy if you thought, “That was fun!” or “I want to try it again!” How We Use It Internally At our company, we distribute e-learning courses using typing tutorials as a recreational activity for our employees. The system works so that once you pass a level, you can move on to the next one, and when you pass them all, you receive a certificate of completion! By designing courses with learningBOX, you can progress through any learning material—not just the typing course—in a predetermined order. I’m happy to say I earned my certificate! I worked hard every day and passed! The Benefits and Expectations of the Typing Course I know many of you might be a bit shy to admit it, but I think there are quite a few people who struggle with typing. ・You want to type quickly and accurately, but you end up looking at the keyboard while typing. ・It takes a long time to write documents. ・You struggle with palatalized consonants, geminated consonants, nasal sounds, and long vowels. Everyone has their own struggles, I’m sure. Benefits of Improving Your Typing Skills ・You can reduce the time spent on administrative tasks by increasing your typing speed and reducing typos and omissions. ・Work efficiency improves. ・You can immediately notice typing errors. ・ You’ll feel less intimidated by computers and be able to tackle your work with confidence. Typing may seem like a simple task at first glance—just “hitting the keys.” However, our brains are constantly working to accurately interpret the meaning and content of words and instantly process them. Typing quickly and accurately based on that processed information is a more complex task than you might think. To perform this task efficiently, quickly, and accurately, daily repetitive practice is the fastest way to improve your typing skills. Summary: What did you think of the “Typing Course,” which allows you to practice typing as part of an e-learning training program? By actually trying it out, we hope you were able to experience the fun of typing for yourself. While your typing speed and accuracy won’t improve dramatically in just a day or two, mastering the skill of accurate typing will equip you with essential workplace skills, such as streamlining administrative tasks. To corporate training managers reading this article: If any of the following apply to your organization, please take this opportunity to consider implementing learningBOX! ・Employee-written documents contain many typos and missing characters ・Recent new hires are skilled at using smartphones but are slow at typing on a PC ・It takes a long time to check for errors in contract documents created by subordinates Please give learningBOX a try—it’s an e-learning typing practice tool that engages both your mind and body. Thank you for reading this article.

Hello! This is Kadota from the System Development Department! Our office moved on September 2, 2019! Since then, I’ve started commuting by bike. For those of you who aren’t getting enough exercise, I highly recommend commuting by bike! Anyway, this time I’ve written an article on the grand theme of “learning.” Please be sure to check it out! Before getting into the blog, let me announce the upcoming trade show taking place this month from Wednesday, September 25 to Friday, September 27! We will be exhibiting at the Education IT Solutions (Kansai EDIX) trade show at Intex Osaka from Wednesday, September 25 to Friday, September 27, 2019! ▼Click here for details We’re currently making steady progress with our preparations! We plan to hold mini-seminars on the day of the event. It will also be an opportunity for our staff to demonstrate our products firsthand, so please come visit us! We’re also accepting requests for complimentary tickets, so if you’re interested, please check out the 3rd [Kansai] Education IT Solutions EXPO at Intex Osaka. Our entire staff looks forward to seeing you there! Now, back to the blog! Table of Contents: 1. Rethinking the Basics: What Is Studying? 2. Why Do We Study? 3. Is Studying a Luxury!? 4. There Are Countless Study Methods 5. Summary Rethinking the Basics: What Is Studying? "Studying is important." I don’t think anyone would disagree with that, would they? In this era of "100-year lifespans" and rapid change, we need to keep studying even as adults. So, what exactly is "studying"? I took a moment to think about it again. According to the "Kojien" (6th edition): ① To apply oneself diligently. ② To learn academic subjects or skills. To learn through various experiences. “To study math,” “Everything requires study.” ③ To sell goods at a low price. “I’ll give you a discount on the price.” Three meanings have been listed, but this time I’d like to discuss ① and ②. First, ① “To apply oneself with all one’s might.” Simply put, this means “to try one’s best.” Next, ② “To learn academic subjects or skills. To learn through various experiences.” “To study math,” “Everything requires study.” This brings to mind images like “going to school,” “taking lessons,” or “a new employee learning the ropes.” Both meanings feel just like how we use the word in everyday life. Why do we study? “Why do I have to study?” I’m sure everyone has thought this at least once. For children and students, common reasons include “so I won’t have trouble when I grow up,” “to get into a better school,” or “because I can’t get a job without studying.” For adults, reasons include “because it’s necessary for work” or “to get a certification.” There are also various other reasons, such as “to make my dreams come true” or “to enjoy my hobbies more.” Although the wording differs, the reasons listed above share a common thread. That is, “to grow beyond who I am now and lead a better, more enjoyable life.” When we’re children, our reasons are often dictated by adults rather than our own will. On the other hand, for adults who continue to study, aren’t their reasons mostly self-motivated? (It’s hard to keep studying just because someone tells you to, isn’t it?) There are also many seniors who maintain their curiosity and take on new challenges even as they age. When you think about it this way, self-motivated study has such positive and wonderful reasons behind it. Is Studying a Luxury!? This brings us back to the title: don’t you think being in a situation or environment where you can study is a tremendous privilege? To take an extreme example, in the midst of war or a natural disaster, studying is the last thing on anyone’s mind, isn’t it? Philosophy flourished in ancient Greece because the city of Athens held immense power in the region, and because it was peaceful and people had time to spare—in other words, they were idle. (You’ve heard of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, haven’t you?) Also, if a family is poor and struggling to put food on the table, it’s easy to imagine a situation where they’d say, “Forget school—get to work!” In Japan during the period of rapid economic growth right after the war, workers who had only graduated from junior high school were called “golden eggs,” and that was the norm. Since then, as Japan’s economy has grown, the rates of students advancing to high school and college have been steadily rising. Nowadays, you might think that “going to cram school” or “going on to high school” is a given, but of course, these things come with costs. Typically, students go to school using money their parents have worked hard to earn, but I don’t think it’s a small amount by any means. According to the 2016 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Survey on Children’s Educational Expenses, “the annual cost of attending a public high school (full-time) is approximately 451,000 yen.” Given this, it’s fair to say that having the opportunity to study is a great privilege and a luxury. There are countless ways to study today. While studying is such a luxury, in modern times there are various methods available beyond just attending school. However, it’s tough for busy working adults to go to a classroom after work, isn’t it? So, isn’t there a better way? That’s where “e-learning” comes in. Thanks to the widespread use of computers, smartphones, and tablets, e-learning has become much more accessible than ever before. By making good use of e-learning, you can utilize small pockets of free time—such as short waits or commutes on the train—to study efficiently. And of course, our company’s learning management system, “learningBOX,” is one such e-learning solution. It’s perfect for individual use, of course, but it’s also ideal for corporate training or cram schools, allowing you to distribute materials and resources to large groups while managing students and their grades. Best of all, you can try “learningBOX” for free. We hope you’ll create an account to give it a try and use it to help with your studies and skill development. ▼Register here Summary We’ve taken a moment to reflect on the act of studying—what did you think? Being able to study is a blessing. We hope you’ll make full use of our e-learning system, “learningBOX,” and that it contributes to your personal growth, even in small ways. And to corporate training and HR managers, as well as education professionals, who believe, “We want our employees and staff to grow and lead better, happier lives!” “learningBOX” is offered at a price point that makes it easy to implement, even for companies that have previously felt e-learning systems were too expensive and difficult to adopt! We also offer a free plan with no time limit, so please take this opportunity to sign up. ▼Register here Thank you for reading to the end. [Exhibition Announcement] We will be exhibiting at the Education IT Solutions (Kansai EDIX) at Intex Osaka from Wednesday, September 25 to Friday, September 27, 2019! ▼Click here for details We are currently making steady progress with our preparations! We plan to hold mini-seminars and other events on the day of the exhibition. It will also be an opportunity for our staff to demonstrate the system in action, so please consider visiting us! We are also accepting requests for complimentary tickets, so if you’re interested, please check out the 3rd [Kansai] Education IT Solutions EXPO at Intex Osaka. Our entire team looks forward to seeing you there!

Create Free Online Surveys for Trade Shows! Hello! This is Mei from the Shanghai Development Branch! 🐼 In this article, I’ll show you how to use learningBOX to create online surveys that you can use at trade shows. To turn your trade show participation into tangible results, does your company conduct surveys for visitors? And are you struggling with the time and effort required to create, print, distribute, revise, and tabulate paper surveys? In this article, I’ll show you how to create web surveys that are easy to build and tabulate using our learningBOX. Our goal with this post is to encourage you to sign up for a free learningBOX account—starting with the survey creation feature—and to encourage you to expand its use to your company’s internal training, utilizing learningBOX as a way to transition your training to e-learning! Table of Contents: 1. Let’s create a free administrator account 2. Let’s Create a Web Survey for Trade Shows 3. Let’s Conduct the Survey 3. Let’s Tabulate the Survey Results 4. Summary Let’s Create a Free Administrator Account To create a web survey, you need a learningBOX administrator account. If you don’t have an account yet, you can sign up for a free learningBOX account here.   Let’s create a web survey for trade shows Step 1: First, click “Content Management” in the side menu. Step 2: Click the “+” button to create a survey. Step 3: In the survey creation form, enter the title, description, and questions.   *With the learningBOX survey feature, you can choose from the following question types: ● Single-choice ● Multiple choice ● List selection ● Single-line text ● Multi-line text. Once you’ve created, saved, and published your survey following these steps, the setup is complete. Published content can be answered from the learning screen.   Let’s conduct a survey. Surveys can be answered on tablet devices such as iPads. On an iPad, the display will look like this. *If you collect personal information through a survey, please ensure full compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act. Let’s compile the survey results. ① From the “By Question” screen in the Grade Management section, click on the “Exhibition Web Survey” you just created.   ② Click “Create Response Summary CSV” on the survey question details screen to download the survey results in CSV format. ③ The CSV will be output as shown below. Summary We have introduced a simple method for creating web surveys using learningBOX. Using our learningBOX, you can create a survey in just a few simple steps. By utilizing web surveys, there is no need to print, distribute, or collect paper response forms. You can also expect to reduce costs associated with printing paper forms. Survey data not only helps improve your company’s services and products but also serves as a catalyst for product development and improvements based on customer feedback, leading to better customer service. Of course, we also encourage you to experience the core features of our e-learning system, such as registering learning materials, setting up courses, distributing courses, and managing grades. We hope that creating a web survey will inspire you to sign up for a free trial and utilize learningBOX for your company’s internal training as well. If you are interested, please feel free to sign up for a free trial of learningBOX. Thank you for reading this article.

What Is Moodle, the Open-Source e-Learning Platform? Hello everyone! This is Ueda from CS. August is flying by, and September is just around the corner. I really hope this heat wave passes quickly! Now, I’d like to briefly discuss the open-source e-learning platform Moodle. Before I begin, I’d like to explain what “open source” means. Open source refers to the philosophy of making the source code—the computer program written in a human-readable programming language—widely available to the public, allowing anyone to use it freely. It also refers to the software released under this philosophy. ➡Quoted from the IT Glossary: Pros and Cons of Moodle There are several open-source LMS options available, but in this post, I’ll compare the pros and cons of Moodle, which has a relatively large user base. The biggest advantage is that it’s free to use. This allows you to reduce implementation costs. It also offers a high degree of flexibility, allowing you to customize it to your specific needs. Furthermore, under the GPL license, users are free to download, modify, and even redistribute it!! As for the disadvantages, when setting up Moodle, using a shared hosting server may not guarantee a stable operating environment, and if you set up and operate your own server, technical knowledge of servers is required. Additionally, since the support system is not fully established, maintenance costs may rise if issues such as bugs occur. Many people also find creating course materials and configuring the system to be difficult. ▼Click here for more details on Moodle▼ E-Learning - About the open-source Moodle About our service, the LMS learningBOX Our service, learningBOX, is a cloud-based LMS. Unlike open-source LMSs like Moodle, it does not require you to build the system in-house. learningBOX is designed for ease of use, and one of its key strengths is that even first-time e-learning users can operate it with ease! You can use it for free with up to 10 accounts with no time limit, allowing you to try out nearly all features before a full-scale implementation. Additionally, plans for 11 to 100 accounts start at just 30,000 yen per year! ➡ Learn more about pricing plans It’s packed with features, making it easy to create and manage content, organize members into groups, and track grades. You can create and upload 12 different types of content, including quizzes, tests, flashcards, PDFs, videos, surveys, and reports. If you’re considering implementing an LMS, we highly recommend giving our free plan a try! Our customer support team is fully committed to assisting you before and after implementation!! Summary What did you think? There are various types of e-learning formats, and within each, there are many different systems. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the best system for you will depend on your specific operational needs. We hope this serves as a helpful reference for those considering implementation. Please find the system that’s best for you! ♪ ▼Exhibition Announcement!▼ [September 25 (Wed) – September 27 (Fri), 2019] We will be exhibiting at the 3rd [Kansai] Education IT Solutions EXPO at Intex Osaka!