Revolutionizing Classrooms: The Evolution of Casio’s ClassPad.net – Empowering Teachers and Students Alike
Casio’s Educational Business: Boosting Curiosity through Innovative Tools
For decades, Casio has been a household name in educational settings, renowned for its calculators, electronic dictionaries, electronic musical instruments, and watches. The company’s education business began with the release of the scientific calculator “fx-1” in 1972, followed by the first graphing scientific calculator in 1985 and the first electronic dictionary “EX-word” in 1996.
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the education landscape, with digital devices, digital textbooks, and online learning becoming increasingly prevalent. In response, Casio launched its cloud-based learning service “ClassPad.net” in overseas markets in 2018 and in Japan in September 2021. This comprehensive platform offers a calculator, an extensive dictionary, and learning content for elementary, middle, high school, and university students.
Casio Computer’s educational business statement is “Boost your Curiosity.” This philosophy is rooted in the company’s commitment to providing support tools that foster learners’ curiosity and promote their learning. According to Yonehara Tetsuya, leader of the Product Strategy Office of the EdTech Development Department, “We are not teachers, but by providing support, we can increase the curiosity of the learners and develop their learning.”
Casio’s products are developed and updated based on user needs. For instance, the company created a graph-drawing calculator in response to a math teacher’s suggestion that graphing formulas helps students understand complex concepts better. Similarly, the electronic dictionary was designed with multiple dictionaries to address the need for a portable and comprehensive reference tool.
Through its services, Casio aims to provide an all-in-one ICT learning experience. ClassPad.net offers an online dictionary function, digital note function, class support function, and learning tools on a single platform, eliminating the need to switch between apps. Users can access the service from various devices, including PCs, smartphones, and tablets, making it easy to study on-the-go or at home.
The digital note function allows users to attach various “sticky notes” to their notebook. These notes can be used to type text, import and annotate photos and videos, attach links to referenced pages, and leave notes on dictionary searches. This feature enables students to research and summarize information independently, reducing the need for writing on the board and promoting critical thinking skills.
Students can share their compiled sticky notes with teachers and peers using the lesson support function. This facilitates collaboration and feedback within the classroom or in groups. Teachers can also use sticky notes to send and receive assignments, provide feedback, and set deadlines, reducing their workload and promoting timely submissions.
Casio’s learning tools offer a range of functions for mathematics and English. The “ClassPad Math” tool enables students to easily draw graphs and figures on the screen, while “enHack Full Power English” helps with grammar understanding, and ”Prontest Call” judges pronunciation and provides correction guidance, allowing students to improve their speaking and listening skills.
One high school has successfully integrated ClassPad.net into its “inquiry-based learning” program, promoting local area revitalization. Students created characters for local revitalization, and after group discussions and feedback from teachers, they exhibited their results. Teachers praised the platform for enabling them to evaluate the students’ creation process and progress.