Last year, I received news from a student in another department who had taken Educational Information Engineering that they had passed the national civil service examination (it is called the senior level now, I believe; formerly the National Class I exam). This is truly wonderful news!! The student told me, “Not only the knowledge of Educational Technology I learned in Educational Information Engineering, but also the experience of collaborative learning, immediate information organization, and hands-on work with presentations and theories were very useful. In particular, the immediate collaborative learning (a form similar to a semi-structured jigsaw method) and presentations were helpful in the interviews.” Regarding knowledge, they also mentioned it was useful for their part-time job at a cram school and for mentoring younger students, and that it will likely be useful in their future career as well. It really makes me happy to hear things like this. I am glad I taught Educational Information Engineering.

I believe that by studying Educational Technology, one can not only acquire problem-solving skills but also learn how to foster one’s own growth. It involves viewing the phenomena of education and learning systematically, analyzing problems, and thinking of solutions. It involves evaluating the effectiveness of those solutions and finding evidence for that effectiveness. It also involves uncovering further issues. It goes without saying that this fundamental way of thinking can be applied to other fields, but the various theories that form the basis of Educational Technology are also useful. I believe that not only Instructional Design, but also theories such as Self-Regulated Learning, Social Presence, Cognitive Load, Distributed Cognition, and the concept of Legitimate Peripheral Participation can be applied not only to cultivating others but also to our own growth. I feel that this student learned exactly that (Am I overestimating them??? Well, I will choose to believe so).

Currently, I am in charge of an introductory course in pedagogy, which is an elective requirement (a requirement for the Faculty of Education) for first-year students. While I do cover Educational Technology in that course, with about 180 students, it is impossible to conduct a class that emphasizes discussion and experience like I do in Educational Information Engineering. However, I try to abstract the topics and keep their relevance to the students’ daily lives in mind so that the structure of the lectures is useful not only for students in the Faculty of Education but also for those from other departments. Among the students from other departments, there are those who work part-time at cram schools or preparatory schools, and some tell me that what they learn in the introductory pedagogy course is useful. Many students from the Faculty of Medicine are also interested in pedagogy and often research various topics on their own (educational research is quite actively conducted in the medical field).

I want to continue teaching things that will be useful for the future of all the students who take my Educational Technology classes, and I want to continue conducting such classes. My resolve has been renewed.