How to Use the Digital Encyclopedia with Elementary School Students
Satoshi Noguchi
Kansai University, Graduate School of Informatics, Japan
Noguti_satoshi@yahoo.co.jp

Abstract: This research paper will show how to use the digital encyclopedia withelementary school students. This study uses an encyclopedia called the "Gakken
New Wide". The subjects of this study were elementary school students (31 people).
They freely used the digital encyclopedia during their school life for two months.
However, the teacher gave them a few rules (i.e. when the teacher is speaking,students don’t use the digital encyclopedia. Don't use it during long breaks andlunch breaks.) This research uses data on logs of students using digital anencyclopedia and fieldwork and a questionnaire of elementary students. The reason,
the data practice using digital encyclopedia by students. The analysis of the data
showed that using the digital encyclopedia changed students style on class lessons.
Keywords: Digital encyclopedia, Empirical Study, Elementary school(This page is used for the printed version of the proceeding. The body should start from the next page)Introduction
In Japan, the Ministry of Education started the policy of "Introduction of the device of one to
one student of digital textbooks " (the Ministry of Education 2009), and began the development ofdigital textbooks. The course of study of elementary school started in 2011, when textbook companies
began to market digital textbooks to teachers（Takahashi et.al 2012). Digital textbook for theseteachers were obtained by digitizing the information that is published in the textbook. However, there
was digital information that could not be put in the textbook.
Japan, so far has been focusing on the development of digital textbook for teachers. In recent years, however,researchers and developers began to focus on the development of digital textbooks for learners. In fact, many reports
at conferences on education and media features found the focus of digital textbooks on learning from around 2011.
It is believed that functionality for supporting learner was required for digital textbooks learners. Digitaltextbooks leaders proposed the form of using the layout and content of textbooks (Horita, Takahashi 2007; Horita etal 2008). Therefore, the Japanese digital textbook for teachers needed a lot of content in order to provide the basic
foundation for children (Taizan 2012). To be specific, there needed to be audio, audio playback function and strokeorder of character support function. These features are needed to teach students who use digital textbooks.
On the other hand, children and teachers in South Korea have their own digital textbook. Digital textbooks contained
the search function and dictionary function to support the learning of children. These features are essential to support
student learning with digital textbooks in the future.
Digital textbooks in Korea have search and dictionary features to help students personalize their learning.
If these functions are included in digital textbooks, students will understand how to use these features in theclassroom. Previous studies show how lending equipment to students can help students learn. For example, Ishizuka(2007), used mobile phones to help students learn about aquariums. In addition, Kubota (2012) conducted a safety
study of the region by giving iPads to students. In these studies, specific uses for children were found. However, howchildren might use this equipment in their everyday life has not been examined.
This study focuses on the ability to support learning of individual children with digital textbook functions
using the digital dictionary and digital encyclopedia features. This research aims to clarify how to use the digitalencyclopedia with elementary school children

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show how to use the digital encyclopedia in elementaryschools. In the future, the digital textbook for the learner will be developed by company of textbooks.
This study made use of the NEW WIDE a digital encyclopedia by the Gakken.
The list of vocabulary in the NEW WIDE digital encyclopedia and book encyclopedia is exactly thesame, as are listed contents.

MethodTarget class
The target group of children focuses on second grade children at Kansai University
Elementary School. Thirty-one students people students continued to use the digitalencyclopedia for about two month (The end of October from early September 2012). In thisexperiment a tablet device was distributed to each student.
The research group asked three questions to the target class (i.e. Do you feel interested in taking advantageof the dictionary. ii. Do you feel the dictionary is useful, iii. Do you want to look into using the dictionary). In thetarget class 28 out of 31 students were interested in taking advantage of the dictionary, Question i. All target classchildren felt that the dictionary was useful, Question ii. Also in the target class 28 children wanted to look into using
the dictionary from Question iii. Thus, it can be concluded from positive comments that the target group wasaccustomed to using the digital encyclopedia.
This research chose second grade students at Kansai University Elementary. The reason is because moststudents are accustomed to utilizing the dictionary. In other words, they are familiar with how to use a dictionary.
For example, if there is a word that they do not know in class, they have the habit to look it up in the dictionary.
They used the digital encyclopedia when at school and during breaks between classes. However they could not use
the Digital encyclopedia on the playground, because the digital encyclopedia must be connected to the network.

Table 1 :Use schedule in this study
Introduction time

Approach

September
21th〜
26th

Training period: Students do exercise to use digital encyclopedia in class lesson.
・To training of operation iPad. Students use computer as usually. Because students can usekeyboard.
・To search for one word.
・To use rule of iPad during class lesson.
・If teacher talk about lesson, students must not use iPad.
・If students do not understand using iPad, when they can ask for help.
・To understand the difference between digital encyclopedia and Internet.
・ To search of keyword.
・ To search of how to find out about things

September27th〜October
30th・ Students used the digital encyclopedia when at school and during breaks between classes.

Object: The Digital encyclopedia “Gakken NEW WIDE”
The NEW WIDE has a lot of features (i.e. Language dictionary, English-Japanese dictionary, and it ispossible to look up the meaning by the hyperlink). The list of vocabulary in the NEW WIDE digital encyclopedia
and book encyclopedia is exactly the same, and listed contents are same. However NEW WIDE has a lot of movie
and audio data
Analysis of this study１）Questionnaire
In order to understand how students used the digital dictionary, a survey was given on the digitalencyclopedia use on 30th October 2012. The item of survey consisted of the following questions: “Do you want to
try using the digital encyclopedia?” “Was it good to try using the digital dictionary?” “Do you want to use the digitalencyclopedia again?
２）The access log
This research used data from logs of students using digital an encyclopedia and fieldwork,and questionnaire of elementary students. This study treated it as analysis data. This study focuseson the ability to support learning of individual children with digital textbook functions using thedigital dictionary and digital encyclopedia features. In order to show to how to use the digitalencyclopedia, this research found out when to use the digital encyclopedia. Incidentally, access log
consisted of three parts.
Sample of Access Log:User ID[Date and time] Information of the access log
gakken_nw [22/Aug/2012:14:01:16 +0900] "GET/newwide_lg/search?keyword=%E3%81%8F%E3%81%BE&cond=prefix&dic=nw

Result of this study1) Comparison of perceptions about the dictionary: Results of questionnaires
The following are results from a survey given to measure student impressions after utilizing
the digital encyclopedia for two months.
First of all, about 90% students answered than they enjoyed learning that utilized the digital encyclopedia(I think fun: 27 students; I think a little fun: 2 students; I do not think a little fun 2 students; I do not think fun at all:0 students). The reasons are "Because I can find out that it was worrisome in class”and “I can examine the words thatcan not be my own understanding in class”.
Second, about 90% of the students answered digital encyclopedia was good to use. In addition, otherreasons that children answered with agreement were "I can examine words that I do not know in the class lesson.
However if I do it, I cannot listen to what the teacher is saying.” In fact, this student used the encyclopedia insituations when the teacher was giving instruction.
Last of all, all students answered “I want to learn by using again the NW.” The reasons are "I can findout easily by iPad that is in my desk." And "I can share it with my friends”. Many students were satisfied with using
an electronic encyclopedia. Also all students would like to use it again. Students appeared to have found the value of
utilizing an electronic encyclopedia.
2) Students how to use NW
A result of examining the usage scene in schools and access logs, frequency of use is asfollows. Use of in the middle of a class: 88%; Use of vacation time: 2%; after class or before class: 10%.
The reason why the use of rest time is less, because there was a rule “students must go to Athletic Field inrest time. However, teachers allowed a few students to remain in the classroom to complete classroom
responsibilities. (i.e. person in charge was responsible for problems with the school lunch, or the person in charge ofmaking a quiz.).
When using digital textbooks before the start of class, 1) students investigate the words of news they saw
in the morning, 2) Children found out about the book they are reading, 3) students found out about the animal thatinterested them. For example, at a time when news was about the civil war in Syrian Arab Republic in about October,
student checked up on "Syria" before class started. Another student looked up "Columbus" while reading Columbus'
biography. Frequently they saw pictures and videos of animals on digital encyclopedia. Sometimes, they raised theseanimals like the crayfish in their classroom. Therefore they were Interested in using the digital encyclopedia to learn
about the crayfishConclusion

This study showed how students could freely use the digital encyclopedia in elementary schools.
Students use digital encyclopedia when they examine the words that they cannot understand in class.
The results suggest that the students felt that the digital textbook was useful when utilized inactivities.
In conclusion, students found the value of utilizing the digital encyclopedia for learning

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