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| Photo: Focus News |
Japan’s first virtual school, where teachers and students interact through avatars on the internet, just opened its cyber-doors, seeking to offer an alternative education to “hikikomori”, the Japanese word referring to sufferers of an anxiety disorder similar to agoraphobia, where people isolate themselves from others.
A total of 204 students enrolled in the first term, which started on April 24, for the annual fee of 180,000 yen ($1,500).
The customisable avatars are distinguishable by the nearly infinite selection of hairstyles and clothing accessories, not unlike characters from Japanese role-playing games or Nintendo Mii avatars. It is mandatory for students to attend classes regularly — through software installed on their personal computer, tablet or mobile phone — at their new school on the web.
The programme allows students to direct their avatar through the campus, going to classes (consisting of 20-minute videos and a written exam), consulting audiovisual material or e-books in the media library, or interacting with the avatars of fellow classmates and teachers through a chat interface.
This virtual school was created by Meisei High School, a private institute in the Chiba region, which has for several years been offering distance learning programmes for baccalaureate degrees.
The 20 face-to-face tutorials throughout the academic year required by the distance learning programmes, however, still posed difficulties, and thus inspired the idea for this alternative, virtual project.
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Source: Focus News
