Konica Minolta’s Learning e-Portal System for its tomoLinks Learning Support Service is among the First in Japan to Meet MEXT’s Learning Log Data Handling Policy

Values of the “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” Service

1．Ensuring safe and secure handling of learning data of students

The “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” service deals with data of teaching tools and tests adopted by individual schools, as well as the results of CBT including the National Survey on Academic Achievements conducted on all students in Japan. To ensure that such data is handled safely and securely, MEXT decided not to allow learning log data to be stored in learning e-portals in its FY2023 National Survey on Academic Achievements and Learning Conditions and announced this decision on November 11, 2022. In addition, some education boards expressed serious concern over the possibility of such data stored in learning e-portals being inappropriately used, and strongly requested Konica Minolta to develop a new data handling policy to ensure the safety and security of data. In response, Konica Minolta promptly drew up a strict data management policy, which includes prohibiting the use of personal data for app development and any other commercial purposes, and deleting personal data if requested by an education board or student’s family and upon cancellation of the service. This policy will remain in effect beyond FY2023. The terms of use of other learning e-portal systems stipulate that learning data of students can be used for business purposes by private companies or their affiliates, and that requests to delete learning data cannot be met; such policies are of concern to education boards. Unlike these systems, Konica Minolta’s system helps protect personal data, and thus can be used safely.

2．Offering learning options best suited to individual students through multifaceted analysis of a wide range of learning data

The “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” service can analyze students’ learning conditions based on digital drills and various other tests and worksheets^*2. The service can also be used with original tests of local governments and schools as well as with data on students’home learning environment, thus helping teachers offer learning support better tailored to the needs of individual students. This service was introduced on a pilot basis in Minoh City in Osaka Prefecture, where the learning conditions of individual students were analyzed based on nine years’ worth of data of academic achievements and home learning environment surveys involving 13,000 students, with appropriate measures taken to protect personal data. As a result, it was proven that the service effectively provides better guidance to students to help them achieve the growth that would be expected from the data.

*2Some teaching tools are currently under development.

3．Developing and offering analysis AI models optimized for individual education boards and schools

The analysis AI model used with the “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” service is not a fixed model, but is optimized individually for each education board and school. This enables learning support to be provided in line with the specific educational policies of local communities and schools, and tailored to school-wide learning conditions. The service not only helps teachers draw up lesson plans, but also offers useful information for local governments and schools to make decisions on educational policies.

4．Offering teaching tools tailored to a wider range of learning needs through extensive partnerships with educational companies

The “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” service helps improve learning efficiency by analyzing the learning achievements of individual students. Currently, the service can be used with the teaching tools shown below, with many more to follow soon. As an open learning e-portal, the “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” service will provide a learning environment better suited to each student by expanding its partnerships with companies offering teaching tools and various educational services.

● Tokyo Shoseki: Mondai Database Tablet Drill, Standard Academic Achievement Survey
● Zoshindo-Jukenkenkyusha: Jiyu-jizai series, and others
● Cosmotopia Japan: Minna-no-gakushu Club®

Schedule for “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” Service Rollout

In November, Konica Minolta started accepting applications for the “tomoLinks Teacher x AI Assistant” service for the FY2023 National Survey on Academic Achievements and Learning Conditions. The company will roll out the service as follows.

November 2022
Start accepting applications for the service for assessing the English-speaking skills of junior high school students in the National Survey on Academic Achievements and Learning Conditions scheduled for April 2023.

February 2023
Begin offering the service for assessing the English-speaking skills of junior high school students in the National Survey on Academic Achievements and Learning Conditions scheduled for April 2023.

April 2023
Begin distributing worksheets for MEXCBT, a CBT system of MEXT, and offering the learning-history analysis service.

August 2023 and beyond
Begin offering teaching tools based on the analysis of students’ learning history, and launch the learning plan management service.

*The names of the products shown above are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies.

For More Information

tomoLinks website (Japanese): https://tomolinks.konicaminolta.jp/

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About tomoLinks

Konica Minolta’s tomoLinks learning support system originates from the company’s service to support DX in school education. Konica Minolta started developing the system in 2019 as part of MEXT’s project to pilot the use of advanced technologies in schools, and has since been upgrading the system in response to the requests of teachers, while helping to solve problems in school settings.

The tomoLinks system offers two kinds of services—learning support and analysis of students’ learning—by visualizing the individual characteristics and academic achievements of students that have been difficult to grasp. With Konica Minolta’s state-of-the-art image processing and optical technologies, the system can visualize the learning conditions of each student and parent-teacher communications, thus meeting teachers’ desire to “see.” The system has already been introduced to elementary and junior high schools in Minoh City in Osaka Prefecture on a pilot basis.

Features

● Improving the way teachers work through DX in schools

• The system helps to promote DX in schools by digitizing parent-teacher communication notebooks and worksheets.
• Online parent-teacher communication notebooks help speed up interaction between teachers and parents.

● Making lessons more engaging and easily accessible by anyone from anywhere

• Multimedia teaching tools enhance interactive communications between teachers and students and help improve learning efficiency.
• The distance learning service is helpful for students who refuse to go to school or who are hospitalized.

● Making learning a fun experience with AI-based individually-tailored study plan

• AI-based analysis of the learning conditions of each student enables personalized instruction.
• By recording how students are feeling and visualizing their emotions, teachers can quickly detect and act on bullying.

● Improving teaching ability by scientific behavioral analysis

• The service helps teachers to improve their teaching ability by using objective data gathered through analyzing their teaching practices.