Japan

Education
3G Smartphone and Tablet x Digital Textbook: Helping High School Correspondence Students Earn Diplomas

With 3G-enabled smartphones and tablets, students at Renaissance High School, a private correspondence school in Japan, can conveniently study anywhere, anytime, with the aim of earning diplomas, while seeking vocational training and holding part-time jobs. The 3G Smartphone and Tablet x Digital Textbook project, a collaborative venture between Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ initiative and Renaissance Academy Corporation, responsible for Renaissance High School, provides students with tools and content that are relevant to their lives and help motivate them to complete their education.

Impact

• In addition to the English course, Renaissance High School now offers all subjects on both the smartphone and tablet including math, science and social studies.
• Students enrolled in the 2013 school term overwhelmingly favor smartphones and tablets over PCs for learning. In fact, 68.8 percent reported always using a smartphone or tablet, up from 46.4 percent in 2012 or earlier.
• 52.7 percent of surveyed students answered that they now always use either a smartphone or a tablet for learning. The ability to immediately power on and use these mobile devices, as well as the convenience of being able to learn anywhere, anytime have both been cited as advantages of these technological tools.
• When comparing a PC to a smartphone or tablet, 53.1 percent of surveyed students answered that the use of a smartphone or tablet would help improve their overall academic achievement.
• With a new grant from Wireless Reach, the project is expanding; in Phase II students are receiving tablets that bring additional benefits beyond smartphones including increased functionality, sophisticated graphics and a larger screen.
• Students are now able to use the tablets to access National Geographic content that is designed specifically to enhance their English language learning experiences.