Recently, a large number of computer systems have been placed in primary and secondary schools throughout Japan. However, these thousands of computers are not necessarilly being used to their full potential. At the same time, because of antiquated facilities, most Japanese schools are unable to view the test broadcasts of High Definition Television already received in households across the country. Thus, we have developed a system which will enable all schools with computer facilities to receive HDTV broadcasts by utilizing the monitors of their desk top computer systems. We conducted several classes at local schools to test the usefulness of such a system. The results were overwhelmingly positive, including that construction of a new educational information environment within schools is possible. Further, the results indicated a bright future for multimedia computer systems.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of the use of adjunct questions on reading comprehension in Japanese. Experimental subjects consisted of 150 students who were studying Japanese at the mid to late intermediate level. Subjects were divided into five groups;1) prequestions with high frequency group, 2) prequestions with low frequency group, 3) postquestions with high frequency group, 4) postquestions with low frequency group, and 5) control group with no questions. The experiment was conducted as follows; first, a pretest was administered to predict reading ability (vocabulary test). This was followed by learning activity (reading), with the objective of content comprehension. Finally, a post test was administered to measure the degree of learning (content comprehension test). The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the questioned group and the non-questioned group. Therefore, it can be said that adjunct questions, regardless of their position, contribute to more effective reading comprehension of Japanese text. However, there was no significance concerning the position and frequency of adjunct questions.

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A survey of teachers of both elementary and secondary schools who participated in training courses run by INICE (Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Capacitacion Educativa) was conducted in order to learn about their ownership and use of media. The purpose of the study was to provide an information source to assist in the development of training programs. The data gathered would be used in order to select appropriate media for inclusion in inservice training materials (a teacher's self-learning package) which teachers could use at school or home. Further, the data would serve as a guide for INICE when purchasing new audiovisual equipment. Results revealed a need for the development of a training course in video production in the near future. With regard to the learning package, it was found that audio and video cassettes could be used effectively with printed material. Concerning the production of the learning package, it was considered necessary to install duplicators of both audio and video cassettes tape in order to support the educational activities mentioned above.

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The first governmen-run educational broadcasting station, the Educational Broadcasting System or EBS, was established in the Republic of Korea in 1990. EBS operates on one TV channel and on one FM radio channel to broadcast educational programs for schools and social education programs on nationwide networks. Program contents resemble those of Japanese broadcast programs aimed at schools, but there is also a distinct difference between the Japanese and Korean educational broadcast systems. For example, NHK is a public broadcaster independent of state influence, while EBS is under direct control of the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, EBS provides school TV broadcasts from 4:30 p.m., monday through saturday, on the assumption that programs are videotaped for repeat use. It is also assumed that each classroom is equipped with a TV set, video tape recorder and overhead projector, and that schools have dozens of videotaped programs. EBS prepares its programming on the assumption that teachers select some of the videotaped programs for use in their classes. The Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) is under the direct control of the national government of the Republic of Korea and is responsible for the drawing up of state-designated curriculums, the compilation of textbooks and the preparation of teaching materials including computer-related educational programs. KEDI is also in charge of coordinating the above items with educational programs broadcast by KBS. KSEB, the State of Korean Society for Educational Broadcasting, is a nationwide organization for school teachers, which is designed to conduct studies on how school broadcasts are used in classes and to promote the use of school broadcasts in education. KSEB also holds national conventions. We visited a primary school in Seoul which used educational TV programs only as supplementary teaching material, since its education policies emphasize the use of textbooks. Realizing that comparative studies of world educational broadcast systems are just as important as international comparisons of the contents of educational programs, we wrote this paper as an experiment in crosscultural comparison.

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