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ITOKI CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Minato) designed a virtual learning environment using metaverse technology with the themes of "research presentations" where students express themselves by making use of their individuality, and "international exchange events" where students connect with overseas and interact online, and conducted a demonstration study and implemented it as a class as a next-generation educational curriculum with the cooperation of Shizuoka Seiko Gakuin School Corporation (Location: Oshika, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture; Chairman: Seiichi Kudo). The results were also presented at a results report session for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "Project to Promote the Use of Advanced Technology and Educational Data with an Eye on the Next Generation of Schools and Educational Sites."

Currently, under the ``GIGA School Initiative'' launched by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, progress is being made in providing each child/student with a terminal and a communication environment, and educational activities such as ``digitizing teaching materials'' and ``accumulating learning logs'' are progressing. The introduction of technology into the environment is accelerating. These changes in the learning environment are having an impact on the very nature of learning, including the educational curriculum and class styles, and there is a need for transformation/redefinition.

This time, Itoki and Shizuoka Seiko Gakuin are collaborating to further advance education by holding a ``research presentation'' to cultivate digital creativity without being subject to various restrictions, and by connecting with overseas students to learn how to use the body language of avatars. By implementing a virtual STEAM classroom into actual classes, we have realized an "international exchange meeting" that fosters digital communication skills.

This class utilized metaverse technology. Metaverse refers to a three-dimensional space (=virtual space) built inside a computer. In the metaverse space, classrooms and other spaces can be constructed freely, and by using students' own avatars, they can communicate with members in remote locations as if they were in real space. .

Through this empirical research, ITOKI has developed technology and implemented an optimal space design for the "Virtual STEAM Classroom," a metaverse space where students can move freely within the space and multiple people can have simultaneous conversations just like in a real classroom. Did.

This time, we worked with Shizuoka Seiko Academy to develop a curriculum that utilizes Metaverse technology in classes. We developed curricula and verified the learning effects of exploratory/creative learning at the "research presentation" and dialogue/collaborative learning at the "international exchange meeting" in the classroom and in the metaverse space, respectively. . At the "Research Presentation", the metaverse space constructed by the students was exhibited at the school festival held in October last year, and a questionnaire survey conducted among students after the school festival revealed improvements in expression methods in exploration/creative learning. The results showed that students were able to practice more independent learning. Additionally, in a survey of parents who had experienced research presentations at the school festival, we received many responses such as ``I was able to convey the students' feelings'' and ``I want to experience it again.''

At the "International Exchange Meeting," we conducted audio analysis of the utterance time and number of conversations during international exchange using both the web conferencing system and Metaverse technology. As a result, it was found that speaking time and number of conversations were improved using Metaverse technology compared to remote communication using conventional methods (web conferencing system). A survey conducted among students after the exchange sessions held from January to March of this year revealed that students were able to communicate more freely through the use of gestures and gestures during dialogue/collaborative learning. Additionally, some respondents said that when interacting through the Metaverse, they were able to interact without feeling nervous since they themselves act as avatars and conduct the conversation, so there is little face-to-face interaction.

Based on these results, it can be said that the digital learning environment and educational curriculum introduced this time using Metaverse were highly effective for learning.

This initiative was commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a national project, and the final result is the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's ``Project to Promote the Utilization of Advanced Technology and Educational Data with an Eye on the Next Generation of Schools and Educational Sites.'' We made a presentation at the results report meeting.

ITOKI will continue to conduct research on communication using digital technology, implement social implementation of advanced technology, and aim to expand our business to educational institutions and companies nationwide.

■Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology FY2020 Achievement Report Meeting