Martial arts experts have excellent attack skill that takes advantage of a momentary chance. Mastering the skill requires a long years training as repeated sparring, while such training puts players in great danger of injuring either themselves or sparring partners. In this paper, we describe a virtual training system that provides a player with a virtual sparring partner for skill improvement of well–timed attack in Karate match. It is required that the virtual partner plays the role of defense having a knowledge of the skill. Unfortunately, little is known about the knowledge because the knowledge is tacit. Therefore, we propose a method which extracts the knowledge from motion data sets of Karate matches games using a data mining method and determines the defensive property of the virtual partner based on the extracted knowledge.

We already developed a view control function for VR–based learning support system. The view control has features of simplicity, reality, and natural sense to body movement. Using the function, learners can view an object from the viewpoint according to their moving. Though the device for the view control is hand–free mouse and basically developed to aid disabled person, the price is reasonable and it is easy to treat. Now we are developing VR–based learning support system as an application of the view control function. The application is a motion of falling objects in elementary mechanics. There are two features in the system. One is games which linked to body movement and the other is reuse of the device. As a result of repetition the natures of the game get acquired knowledge to be established. The linkage of bodily movement gets a learner to understand the continuity of motion phenomena through his/her experience. And the novelty of the system exists in the new use of existing device in order to learn elementary mechanics. This paper discusses a system for the basic law of the falling object motion by horizontal cast and an experiment using it.

Recently the effectivity of a experience–based learning system using virtual reality technologies have been suggested. In this study an approach which multiple students shared one virtual experimental environment experiencing operations with force feedback was considered. Particularly the system which enabled two students to learn about the principle of leverage and the equilibrium of force in a virtual laboratory was developed. We analyzed protocols of experimental participants who used the experience–based system. Then we found they shared a learning environment in pairs, conducted experiments and repeated proposing and talking with them. In addition, we got the experiment data which indicated the possibility of understanding phenomenon in the laboratory by sense of weight intuitively as an effect of force feedback.

The aim of this research is to develop, implement and evaluate a mobile–based English listening comprehension language learning application for business people. The contents are designed to improve listening by incorporating current listening comprehension teaching methodologies, making optimum use of the functionality offered by mobile devices. We carried out tests on 23 employees of a large Japanese corporation, who used the devices for 7 days. We found that (1) there was a statistically significant difference in learning effectiveness as shown in an improvement in listening ability and a reduction in anxiety towards using English (2) although we received positive feedback on the usability of mobile–based learning, in that the application suits the needs of the busy lifestyles of working people, problems in usability, such as sound quality and using the buttons on the device remain (3) positive feedback on the structure of the learning contents was also found.

Digital TV broadcasting services will be acceptable from 2011 at anywhere in Japan. The services include a new one-segment broadcasting which is used for mobile reception. An advanced and challenging model which combines the one-segment broadcasting and mobilephone-type terminals was applied to a fourth year classroom of mathematics in an elementary school. The proposed idea and the realized model produced useful experimental results.

Regarding a pedestrian with Global Positioning System, it has been hard to steadily acquire his bearing just using GPS. In this paper, a novel practical method is proposed to acquire his azimuth instantaneously with a new wearable user segment of GPS even in his stillness. This is able to be used as an ideal input for the position and the orientation of the user. A novel educational system is also proposed using this device. This system assists a student who focuses on a certain azimuth range in his stillness, supposing his focus is on an object on his line of sight, by inquiring him whether he would like to have an educational story associated with it. Suitable objects for the system are also discussed and those are found to include celestial constellations, buildings of historical interest and relics, and perspectives of mountains in distance. This system enables us timely to provide suitable educational stories and practical guidance associated with the object interesting the student at the moment. The main factor of the superiority of the proposed system is revealed to be low uncertainty compared to traditional approaches. The proposed system, based on simple, economical and prevailing 1.5GHz band GPS receiver and several inventions by the author, is highly expected to be useful for education assistance in most areas of all over the world.

In remote lecture, a teacher can know circumstances of remote classroom by the video image from the camera which is installed in remote classroom. However, the teacher has few face-to-face interactions with the learner of the remote classroom. In addition, it is often difficult for the teacher to identify the students of the remote classroom because the quality and angle of video-image is bad. We focus on a face recognition technology to make the video footage highly value-added media as smooth communication media. We are developing a prototype system which supports to recognize the students and to control a video camera by using face recognition technology.

In this paper, at the first, we pick up technical problem to apply the face recognition technology to the remote student video-shooting. Next, we propose an application model and face recognition data management technique in order to solve the problem. Lastly we describe an outline and trials of prototype system and concern the availability.

We developed an arm motion animation system that can show learner’s arm motion on real time with magnetic position sensors. The learner can see his/her arm motion from any point of view with the system. We applied the system to sketch learning environment. We developed a sketch learning support system that diagnoses learner’s arm motion and advises adaptively.

Sketch drawing is a skill. It is important to diagnose not only completed work but also recognition, motion, and selection of action. The system in this paper is regarded as a motion diagnosis system.

Recently, there are many Chinese students in Japan. Second language learning is affected by the features of their mother tongues. In learning Japanese, it is difficult for Chinese students to learn Katakana words and it is said that they need to listen Katakana words repeatedly. In addition. it is hard for them to recognize special sounds of Japanese and to distinguish the length of vowel. To clear these problems (called “week points” hereafter) of Katakana word listening, we develop a drill style learning system for Katakana word listening called “KataLis”. Our system gives ten listening questions of Katakana words as a drill. KataLis analyzes week points from the result of each drill. In the next drill, listening questions are selected according to the week point. Chinese students can train listening skill for Katakana words by repetition of the drill.

This paper proposes a computer supported ubiquitous learning environment for language learning. Especially, this paper describes context-aware language-learning support system for learning Japanese mimesis and onomatopoeia (MIO) words, which is called JAMIOLAS (Japanese Mimesis and Onomatopoeia Learning Assisting System). This system provides a learner the appropriate MIO expressions deriving from sensor data in the learner’s situation. Phidgets is used as sensors in order to get real-world data from the physical world, e.g., temperature, humidity, etc. This paper describes the implementation, the interface and usage scenario of JAMIOLAS. Moreover, the preliminary experiment using JAMIOLAS shows the effectiveness of this system.

We have developed a support system for an observation class for elementary school children in outdoor social educational facilities (zoos, botanical gardens, etc.). Collaborative data gathered with the use of mobile information devices and displayed with summarized observation results have been implemented in our system. We also have evaluated a learning program in units of classrooms through a practicing class.

The current information education is centered not on the principles of computer but just on operation and knowledge of personal computer. In such circumstances, it is difficult to understand the principles of the computer. So we think that this constitutes a barrier for information literacy education. We claim that the learning of logical circuit is important to understand the essence of computer. As the method of such learning, there is a learning material based on software. However, we think that using such learning material is difficult to realize the essence of computer in the liberal and general education. Thus, we have designed, implemented, and evaluated the workshop for logical circuit used as learning material in the liberal and general information education. Based on the results, it is concluded that learners had thoroughly understand the principles of the computer.

Most IT Companies tend to recruit the human resources with immediately useful technique for the graduated occupational trainee. To train the technician of Web designers with an immediately useful technique, it is needed to include, not only acquiring a basic work, but also mastering the ability to achieve the practical requirements of the clients in the real workplace. Therefore, it is important to acquire the balance among the quality, the time and the cost of the products in the occupational training. The training system consists of video streaming teaching materials, web test for the required knowledge and practical training subject learned through a real operation. The trainee learns these teaching materials according to an individual training environment. Instructors of vocational training have to teach them with their different ability peer to peer. From the questionnaire on the experimental study of our system, we clarified the usefulness of our teaching design materials and also proved the improvement of the trainee ability.

Visual teaching material that can add multi-media information by the hyperlink has so far been developed. If inappropriate information is added, however, the learner’s load is increased and the learning effect decreases. To solve this problem, we divided the information into visual-based main information that described the overview of the learning contents and text-based sub information that described the details of the contents. Moreover, to reduce missing necessary information and a load of operations, we introduced automatic reproduction of sub information by the keyword from the operation record of the visual learning material. A teaching-material-making tool was actually developed and an evaluation test was conducted in terms of learning effect by comparing with a lecture. Through this evaluation test, higher learning performance of the learning material was confirmed than that of the lecture and past visual teaching material.

This paper describes a blended learning support system that uses ubiquitous equipments and promotes students’ review before class time. This system works in a wireless LAN-enabled classroom and requires a student to carry his/her student RFID tag and PDA equipped with a RFID tag reader. The classroom RFID tag is attached to the classroom door. The student comes to the classroom and sends his/her authentication (attendance) information to LMS by RFID-reading the two RFID tags. Immediately after successful authentication, review material is displayed on his/her PDA according to his/her understanding level. This means that the student is given an opportunity to review within short period before class time. Through an experimental use of the system, we obtained questionnaire data that short period review can be helpful for understanding content of the class.