This research was conducted to develop a teaching activity for producing a horn speaker by bending wood. The aim was to introduce compound teaching materials by “materials and processing" with “energy conversion" in technology education curriculum used at a Japanese junior high school. The speaker was stereo type with front loading horns consisting of three pieces of thin woods bent to produce the rich, mid-low range with a horn acoustic effect. An inexpensive two-inch speaker unit with a relatively high acoustic range was used. In addition, a hinged joint between the upper front of the horn speaker and the lower enclosure controlled and modified the acoustic quality by insulating the amp system inside the enclosure. An expected outcome was improved technological literacy based on an experiential understanding of acoustic mechanisms balanced with processing. As a preliminary step, the quality of the horn speaker was verified and modified with acoustic testing. Then, its effectiveness as a teaching material was investigated by incorporating it into teaching practices. Consequently, listeners responded positively the acoustic listening test because of the horn's influence on increasing mid-low frequencies in the acoustic range. Finally, results of the questionnaire disseminated to evaluate the lesson indicated that the teaching material was highly effective.

Teaching contents regarding the harvesting of forest trees were investigated; teaching materials in technology education for agriculture and forestry were examined for their effectiveness based on high school agricultural department textbooks and field surveys related to the harvesting wood products. Furthermore, practice lessons were attempted based on the extracted teaching contents. The results showed that the teaching contents for forest tree harvesting included seven steps from logging to shipment; these steps represent the production of wood in a narrow sense. Regarding teaching practices concerning the harvesting of forest trees, guidance was conducted according to the extracted teaching contents; additionally, a comparison with the process of harvesting rice was made. Students also studied carbon fixation, which is advanced by appropriate afforestation and wood utilization. From the results of the questionnaire survey on the effectiveness of the practice lessons, it was not only found that students recognized the importance of crop cultivation, mainly for food production, but they also gained a wider understanding of the importance of material production based on wood utilization. To this end, guidance and systematic instruction about the harvesting of forests along the extension line of the cultivation of crops was helpful.

While information technology is constantly being developed, information systems are utilized in society as well as in everyday life; however, there are few opportunities to experientially learn the mechanisms and features of such technology. The purpose of this research is to develop teaching materials of a simulated POS system that can be learned experientially; it does so by using a POS (Point of sales) system that is utilized in society to demonstrate the structure and features of the given information system as a case. We developed teaching materials using a hot soup processor. We then used the developed teaching material to practice with first-year junior high students' classes and evaluated the materials. Results of a questionnaire verified the effectiveness of the materials, indicating that the developed teaching material is easy to understand, interesting, and that students can be interested in a POS system and can also learn about the mechanisms, roles, advantages, and cautions of POS system.

In this research, we developed classes for evaluating and using power generation technology required to support students with special needs. The technology was practiced in autistic, emotional disorder, and special needs classes. We analyzed changes in students and were considerate of class availabilities. The following information was obtained. (1) The developed classes were useful to students with high academic achievement, emotional stability problems, and a tendency to be restless. (2) The developed classes were useful to students who had strong persistence; however, there were problems with students who displayed persistence too strongly.

While ICT is frequently used in schools, there is still a problem of slow typing by children. Learning by blind touch is the best way to increase typing speed, but many kinds of typing practice software cannot understand whether the key was touched by the correct finger. Thus, we have developed a typing practice system that identifies the fingers touching the keys with a Leap Motion Controller to improve focused typing practice with AI. The evaluation of the program shows that the Leap program occasionally mis-recognizes the fingers, and participants expressed numerous negative opinions about the system's ease of use. However, typing finger mistakes in the test were reduced for all of the participants. The results of the questionnaire indicated that by using this system, participants were able to notice finger mistakes and could make improvements.