Case Study on Distance Learning for K-12 Education in Japan: The Nagasaki-Takaoka Model

A pre-existing partnership between the Japanese Government and Keio University paved the way for K-12 education to embrace distance learning. The university has been engaging in the revision of educational ICT policies in Japan for many years. In Japan, universities have been accumulating knowledge in distance learning practices since the emergence of the Internet, though earlier educational ICT policy required the ICT system in K-12 education to depend on dedicated Internet lines. In December 2019, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) announced a new ICT policy to allow K-12 education to launch distance learning classes via public cloud on the Internet. The university’s experience with running distance learning, bundled with the stipulations of the new educational ICT policy, enabled K-12 education to carry out distance learning. New subjects can be taught daily, and continuity of education is ensured in disaster situations, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The research team at Keio University built the “Nagasaki-Takaoka Model” as a reference model with the added aim of ensuring data security and trust in the open network. In December 2020, Takaoka City successfully deployed the “Nagasaki-Takaoka Model” across all public schools.

E-Government Policy Implementation in Thailand

This chapter investigates the current e-government and ICT policy in Thailand from an actor-centered perspective. It reviews existing literature on e-government implementation, while looking into the interaction of government institutions and citizens. It seeks to answer questions, such as the following: What are the key actors in driving the implementation of e-government policies in Thailand? How do Thai citizens perceive e-government efforts and ICT policy implementation especially in the context of present military government power? What are some of the risk factors typically embedded in e-government initiatives and policies implemented in Thailand? Some scholars specifically emphasize the key role of central government institutions in driving the e-government and ICT policy implementation pointing at its readiness to transform toward E-Government 4.0. These observations notwithstanding, issues related to the often-omitted crucial role of citizens and local customers in driving policy implementation and the problem of digital divide remain across much of the developing world.

The Challenges and Opportunities to Formulate and Integrate an Effective ICT Policy at Mountainous Rural Schools of Gilgit-Baltistan

The study, through the lens of school principals’ views, investigates the challenges and opportunities to formulate an information and communications technology (ICT) policy in order to integrate it in teaching and learning practices at the schools of mountainous rural areas of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). This quantitative research approach focuses on three different educational systems (Regional, National, and International), as a source of data collection, which operate in GB, Pakistan. To collect the required data, questionnaires with principals and policy document reviews were used. Applying SPSS, the data were analyzed. The results show that both groups (male and female) strongly agree to formulate a policy on ICT in order to integrate it in teaching and learning to improve at the school level. The results also show that the school heads face a number of challenges (e.g., lack of infrastructure, finance, Internet, technical staff, time, awareness, and training facilities, etc.) in the formulation of ICT policy and its integration in teaching and learning. The results revealed that the majority of the schools have an absence of ICT policy instead of having competent principals in those schools. Therefore, the research recommends that the school level ICT policy should be developed and integrated in teaching and learning practices to create an environment of powerful learning at schools, in order to fulfill the needs and demands of the 21st century education.