A joint research by Associate Professor Keiji Emi at Kyoto College of Computer Science and Graduate Institute (KCGI) and Dr. Shinzo Kobayashi, a part-time lecturer at KCGI and a member of Vegetable Planet Association, received the IMS Japan Award.Prof. Emi and Prof. Kobayashi researched and developed a learning method that enables even beginners to efficiently acquire artisanal skills in agricultural work using the latest ICT equipment, wearable cameras and drone cameras, and applied for the IMS Japan Award sponsored by the Japan IMS Association (Secretariat: Chuo-ku, Tokyo) as "Practice of Blended Learning for Human Resource Development in Next Generation Agriculture Using Wearable Drone Cameras.This research is a learning method in which learning materials are created from videos of a skilled worker with a wearable camera attached to the side of his head recording the work from his eyes while explaining it, and videos of team work recorded by a drone camera from an overhead view, so that beginners can efficiently acquire skills by learning from these materials and then moving on to actual work on the farm.This learning method was also studied as an example of "Blended Learning" practice, in the sense that it leverages the best of both learning processes: the individualized passive learning benefits of e-learning and the active learning benefits of getting feedback from skilled people in hands-on activities.
The IMS Japan Award winners, Professors Emi and Kobayashi, were announced during the e-Learning Award 2017 Forum (October 25-27, 2017, in Tokyo).This award was established to commemorate the founding of the IMS Society of Japan.The IMS Association Japan is a member of the IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc. (IMS), a U.S. organization that promotes the development, dissemination, and standardization of ICT for use in educational projects worldwide.The IMS Japan Award was established in 2016 to promote the activities of the IMS-GLC (IMS-GLC, established in 1997) in Japan. The IMS Japan Award is presented to a case study that develops and proposes a progressive educational use of ICT.With this award, both professors have qualified for the Learning Impact Award (LIA) to be held by the IMS-GLC in Baltimore, Maryland, USA next May.The next challenge is to win the Platinum Medal, the highest award in this global competition.