The COVID - 19 pandemic triggered the introduction of online classes, in which faculty members employ a learning management system to handle digital data on education. Unlike in-person classes, online classes have disadvantages, such as difficulty in creating deep relationships among students; however, time and distance constraints have been eliminated, and collaborative learning in groups of students can be conducted anytime and anywhere. Lecturers from other universities and industries can also be invited from overseas without distance restrictions. In-person classes and online classes each have their own advantages and are not a choice between one or the other. Here, we present a blend of different educational methods in a learner-oriented manner. It is important to respect the positive aspects of two or more methods and integrate them to improve education. As first examples of blending, the positive aspects of in-person and online classes are blended and described. Second, a blended study abroad program that utilizes and combines the positive aspects of both travel-based and online study abroad programs, as well as cyber-physical experiments, to provide a collaborative design and experimentation at a distance is discussed. Inclusive education is realized by blending paper with electronic media to make books accessible to everyone, including learners with disabilities.

Regarding programming education in universities, it was common to utilize computer classrooms until now. Bring your own device (BYOD) spread, and students brought notebook PCs they purchased into a lecture room to take a class recently. A projector and screen were installed in the classroom. The teacher displayed a picture of the textbook he had photographed with a painting and calligraphic work camera on screen using a projector. The teacher displayed the state of the desktop notebook PC that he operates. In a lengthwise classroom, reading a letter from the rear of the classroom was difficult and created an issue. It was the entire school that introduced Zoom in February 2020 to address this challenge. In this review, I describe the new classroom AV systems and Digital Textbook in computer programming education.

A major change in school education in recent years has been that each student now utilizes a digital device to learn. Although the use of digital devices is expected to have positive effects on learning, there are also concerns about the negative effects of increased opportunities for children to utilize digital devices and the increased time spent using them. Therefore, it is necessary to consider children from an ergonomic perspective, such as improving the ease of use of digital devices and reducing the fatigue caused by their use. This paper introduces the use of digital devices in the classroom and discusses considerations for children's health regarding the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in school education, focusing on the environment in which digital devices are used and the differences between digital devices and paper media.

Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and policies such as the “Academic Management Guidelines” by the Ministry of Education, higher education institutions (mainly Universities and Professional Training Colleges) have recognized the need for Digital Transformation. In this situation, NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE WEST CORPORATION, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE EAST CORPORATION, established “NTT EDX Co., Ltd” in October 2021. NTT EDX initiated the business of providing “EDX UniText,” a digital e-textbook and educational materials distribution platform for higher education institutions. This platform has viewer functions developed for effective learning modalities, and contributes to the provision of novel learning methods and teaching styles that cannot be achieved with paper textbooks. In particular, the ability to maintain a learning activity log of students is a more valuable function of this platform, and it is considered that it can contribute to the versatility of learning support tailored to each individual student. This literature describes the direction of NTT EDX's goal as "realizing new learning modalities."

This study introduces the HCI Lab. of Gunma University. From the perspectives of "ICT and printing in education,” I describe five research activities in my laboratory: (1) evaluation study of digital textbooks in elementary schools, (2) evaluation of handwriting skills and handwritten characters, (3) designing an SNS that supports reading for enjoyment, (4) book production by students, and (5) community contribution activities aiming for "the city of books" in Maebashi.

The history of Japanese printing is similar to character printing. At the end of the Muromachi period, i.e., during the Tenshou and Bunroku eras, lead movable printing technology was introduced from the West, and wooden movable printing technology from the East. This was the impetus for Japan's printing and publishing culture to flourish. Since then, I have considered it necessary to accurately understand the transition of printing technology, which has developed mainly by accepting foreign technology, and have summarized the technological transition centered on letters.

The history of printing is briefly mentioned, and that of many press manufacturers who contributed to the development of printing presses as they emerged is described. Among these printing presses, the technology related to lithographic offset presses which are currently mainstream is described, and its latest level is introduced. Finally, I conclude this article by discussing the possibilities of cooperation between analog printing, such as offset printing, and printing using digital technology.

In the field of offset printing, especially in the pre-pressing process, digital technology has advanced significantly over the last 30 years. The old analog photolithography technology was transformed into desktop publishing (DTP) and computer to plate (CTP). The DTP completes the process of collecting images and characters on a computer screen. CTP makes it possible to draw data directly on the plate with a laser. These technologies have made it possible to improve productivity, stabilize quality, shorten delivery times, reduce costs, and respond to the environment. With the progress of visible-light and infrared-light laser technology, several types of CTP have been developed and have undergone selection and segregation. Radical-polymerization-type violet-laser-compatible photopolymer plates and phase-change-type thermal positive plates have become mainstream in commercial printing. On the other hand, acid-crosslinking-type and radical polymerization-type thermal negative plates have become mainstream for long-run printing and newspaper printing. Subsequently, the CTP system, which requires a highly alkaline developer pursued further process simplification, cost reduction, and environmental load reduction, and advanced the development of CTP technology for simplified and zero processing. Currently, non-processed plates (on-press development method/radical polymerization type) exhibit improved performance levels, and the non-processed plates are becoming mainstream in CTP. This report outlines the technical contents of the CTP plate material of each method.

Image scanners contribute to the digitization of prepress and printing processes. Advances in computers and semiconductor CCDs and memory devices have altered the functions and performances of scanners, and the digitization of prepress and printing processes has progressed. Since 2000, computer-to-plate technology has become prevalent, and during that transition, there was a demand to digitize very high resolution still images produced on analog films. This report describes the evolution of prepress scanner technology in the prepress and printing processes.

In prewar Japan, posters were produced using the advanced technology of the prepress and press of the day. In particular, a marked tendency was observed in posters on women. The oldest existing poster in color lithography was produced in 1894, it advertised cigarettes, was small and utilized colors within single figures. In 1905, the size of the posters was enlarged to approximately 90 cm × 60 cm, and were approximately 20. Simultaneously, the printing technique was lithography; therefore, the platemakers decided how many colors or printings were utilized in the original picture. Consequently, producing posters with added layers of color requires considerable work and high-quality techniques. In 1919, Japan imported the photomechanical processes that are theoretically employed today. However, color films were not available; therefore the platemakers had no choice but to add layers of color on their own. The processes of platemaking depended on the platemakers' abilities. During the fifteen-year war, a variety of posters were produced, which meant that people at the time enjoyed a rich culture of posters.

This study intends to open a future perspective of printing technology by referring to the history of printing technology for the past three eras: SHOWA, HEISEI, and REIWA. These three Japanese eras cover ca. hundred years (from 1926 to 2023). The Japanese Society of Printing Science and Technology was established in 1928. Therefore, this period falls in the footsteps of the Society. The fundamental framework of this study is based on the author's memorial lecture at the society's 90th year anniversary meeting in 2018. A novel framework of high school history education that merges modern and contemporary history (i.e., REKISHISOUGOU) began in Japan in April 2022. Past and future printing technology developments will be analyzed in association with this novel history education framework.