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Current educational technology research trends in Japan

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Abstract

To examine trends in educational practice research, this article conducted a survey and analysis of factors affecting the review of research papers in the field of the educational technology in Japan. Two factors, namely, practical orientation and theoretical orientation, were extracted from 63 survey responses, and scores from members of a Japanese academic society were compared with the scores of its editorial board. Results show that the two factor scores were not correlated to each other, and they are independent measures for any evaluation or review of research articles. Also, there was no significant difference between society members and editorial board members, i.e., their preferences when reviewing research papers were identical. For the second part of this study, a group composed of anonymous members of an editorial board conducted a paper review of 12 published “practical papers” and 11 published “general papers.” Results indicated that there was no significant difference between the two categories. The final rating scores of these 23 papers were analyzed using a decision-tree rating model. Results also indicated that for publication, papers need to contribute to theoretical research, in addition to contributing to basic educational practice research in educational technology.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their appreciation to the members of the JSET and its editorial board members, Professors Isao Murayama and Kazuhiro Takahashi, for their useful suggestions. This research was supported by a grant-in-aid for Scientific Research (C:16630009) in 2004. The authors would like to thank Prof. Rowena Santiago (California State University San Bernardino) for her comments and review of the English translation of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CRADLE (The Center for Research and Development of Educational Technology), Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan

    Minoru Nakayama

  2. Graduate School of Information Systems, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1, Chofugaoka, Chofu-shi, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan

    Maomi Ueno

Authors
  1. Minoru Nakayama
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  2. Maomi Ueno
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Minoru Nakayama.

Additional information

The original Japanese version of this paper was published in the Japan Journal of Educational Technology, Vol. 30, No. 1, 2006. The English language version is published with the permission of the original publisher.

Appendix

Appendix

List of Journal Papers used as Sample Papers in this Study (All papers have been published in the Japan Journal of Educational Technology)

1. Practice-oriented papers

  1. a.

    Development and Application of a Method for the Analysis of Classroom Communication Process: Clarifying Structural Articulation Based on Words Frequencies, 23:1

  2. b.

    Teacher Decision-Making When Faced with an Unexpected Classroom Response–The Relationship between Student Responses to Teacher Expectations and Teacher Reactions, 18:3/4

  3. c.

    Structurally Describing Instructional Process and a Method for Analyzing Partially-Defined Sequences, 11:4

  4. d.

    Role of Teacher’s Repetition in Classroom Teaching, 23:4

  5. e.

    Using a “Case Method with Visual Sense Simulation” for Investigating Kindergarten Teacher’s Decision-Making, 20:2

  6. f.

    Student Cognitive Processes during Classroom Instruction -Based upon Student Reports during Stimulated-Recall, 16:1

  7. g.

    Ethnography of a Learning Environment for Generating Narrative in Learning Processes, 23:1

  8. h.

    Learning Environment Design to Foster Computer Mediated Communication Ability, 23:1

  9. i.

    Using Stimulated-Recall Procedures in Revising Lesson Plans, 17:1

  10. j.

    Development of a Classroom with Appropriate Facilities Suitable for Microteaching and Role-Play: Based on Results of Microteaching Conducted for Sixteen Years in Accordance with a Teacher Training Program, 21:1

  11. k.

    Development and Assessment of a Self-Instructional Course for Pre-Service Teacher Training, 19:3/4

  12. l.

    A Comparison of Student Teacher Instruction, 11:2/3

2. General papers

  1. a.

    Analyzing the Change in Condition of Non-Attendance of Students by E-Mail Counseling, 28:1

  2. b.

    An Assessment Method for Collaborative Learning Based on Statistical Discourse Analysis of Electronic Forums, 28:1

  3. c.

    The Effects of Working Memory Load on Eye Blink Activity, 28:1

  4. d.

    Development and Evaluation of Information Providing System Using PDA and GPS for Nature Observation, 28:1

  5. e.

    An Examination of the Causal Model for the Relationships among Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, Self-Regulated Learning Strategies, and Persistence in Learning–Focused on Cognitive and Motivational aspects of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies, 27:4

  6. f.

    Instructional Design and Improvement Based on a Logical Flow Graph Method: Case study for four years running and verification of its validity, 27:4

  7. g.

    Achievement Goals, Evaluation of Instructions, and Academic Performance of University Students, 27:4

  8. h.

    The Effects of Writer’s Meta-Cognitive Knowledge and Meta-Cognitive Activities on Text Production, 27:2

  9. i.

    An Influence of Display Media and Presentation Style for Sentence Understanding, 27:2

  10. j.

    Study on Legibility and Preference of Web Design with Various Color Combinations and Font Size for Older Users, 27:2

  11. k.

    The Effect of Mastery Feedback Appended to a CAI System for Spaced Learning, 27:2

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Nakayama, M., Ueno, M. Current educational technology research trends in Japan. Education Tech Research Dev 57, 271–285 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-008-9103-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-008-9103-8

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