Press Release

October 7, 2021
Digital Arts Inc.

GIGA School Device Usage Case Study of Osaka Prefecture's Settsu City Board of Education
— Using filters to prevent trouble before it happens and provide ICT education with peace of mind —

Information security solutions provider Digital Arts Inc. (headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan; CEO: Toshio Dogu; hereinafter referred to as "Digital Arts"; Securities Code 2326) is pleased to announce on October 7 it released an introduction case study of the Settsu City Board of Education in Osaka Prefecture, which used the web security cloud service i-FILTER@Cloud GIGA School Edition as a security measure for the one device per student GIGA School Program.

Introducing a Case Study of a Board of Education That Introduced Filtering to Ensure Proper Use of Devices

The GIGA School Program, which aims to provide devices and high-speed internet to every student nationwide, coupled with the increased need for online learning brought on by the pandemic, has led many local governments to fully introduce devices by the end of fiscal 2020. Each municipality continues to promote the use of ICT in schools and investigate the optimal way to operate the program, including how to use devices for learning and usage rules for students.

In the midst of all this, a tragic incident occurred in September where an elementary school girl in Tokyo committed suicide after being bullied in chat rooms on devices distributed through the GIGA School Program. It has been reported that the local government had a policy of leaving the use of GIGA School devices to the discretion of the students, and that device passwords were made the same for all students, making it easy for them to see each other's posts.

Children are still in the developmental stages of relationships and communication, and their internet literacy, too, is in its infancy. At this stage, both the issue of whether to allow students to use devices connected to the internet without restriction and the use of GIGA School devices have been highlighted. To prevent such incidents from happening again, is there any way to keep an eye on children's safety and allow them to use their devices safely?

Since April last year, Digital Arts has been providing the web security cloud service i-FILTER@Cloud GIGA School Edition (hereinafter referred to as i-FILTER@Cloud) so that students can use GIGA School devices safely, and teachers and parents can have peace of mind in letting their children use the terminals. On October 7, we released a case study of the Settsu City Board of Education in Osaka Prefecture (hereinafter referred to as Settsu City), which introduced i-FILTER@Cloud GIGA School Edition and is making efforts to achieve a safe environment for ICT education.

Settsu City Board of Education, Osaka Prefecture, Adopts Filtering for Speedy Response to Problems

Settsu City has been working to create easy-to-understand classes using ICT since before the GIGA School Program, and in December 2020, introduced 6,800 iPads for each student in elementary and junior high schools in the city. They hope to broaden the scope of their classes, including individually optimized learning using digital drills, group work using collaborative learning tools, and output that allows students to fully express their ideas, by having them utilize more technology in class.

Learning with iPads (actual class in Settsu City)

In order to make devices into learning tools that students can use on a daily basis, it is necessary for teachers to use technology more often. Additionally, Settsu City has emphasized a trial-and-error policy that encourages teachers to take on new challenges and respond to issues quickly.

To allow teachers and school boards to respond immediately, i-FILTER@Cloud sends real-time e-mail notifications when students access problematic or threatening sites. This will help prevent students from danger.

Access to Harmful or Life-Threatening Sites, and Issues on Social Media Must Be Stopped

Having also envisioned implementing off-site learning, Settsu City placed emphasis on restricting access to harmful sites and social networks through filters. In addition to the default filter settings, they also used a blacklist system to restrict sites they did not want to show students, as well as individual settings to allow sites that were deemed necessary for at-school learning, such as YouTube channels related to learning.
Toshinori Muneki, a supervisor in the School Education Division of the Settsu City Board of Education says, "We must not allow children to access harmful websites that could lead to suicide, crime, or other life-threatening situations, or allow them to get into trouble on social media. By preventing access from the outset, teachers can use technology with peace of mind. However, as we want families and students to also think about how to properly use technology, we have been working to communicate the importance of creating rules".

Learning with iPads (actual class in Settsu City)

Enhancing the Quality of ICT Utilization Through the Development of Information Utilization Skills and the Education of Morals

Settsu City also emphasizes the improvement of information utilization skills and education surrounding the morals of information. As well, in July, as part of career education for junior high school students, Digital Arts provided job experience. A class was held for second-year junior high school students on the theme of thinking about the appropriate use of devices and creating rules for safe and secure use.

Although there are still issues to be addressed, with each passing day, students' devices get closer to everyday stationery. They started with simple applications such as cameras and research, and now they are using Google Workspace for Education to collaboratively edit documents, make presentations, and use digital drills.

In order to use iPads as a piece of stationery to deepen learning, filtering is thought to be one of the most essential tools to protect children's safety.
In the future, the goal is to increase the frequency of off-site learning, focus on fostering the ability to use information, and build an environment where children can grow in both operational and moral aspects.

■The full case study of the Settsu City Board of Education in Osaka Prefecture can be found here
▶ https://www.daj.jp/bs/case/case83/


As examples of Digital Arts' products at school, we will gradually release comments from boards of education that have adopted i-FILTER@Cloud in response to the GIGA School Concept from October. Local governments that have introduced filtering are making efforts to use ICT in schools. They also emphasize the need to look after students, saying that they do not want to make them either victims or perpetrators.

Digital Arts "i-FILTER@Cloud" GIGA School Edition Special Lineup

In addition to "post controls" and "web service controls," which prohibit posts related to cyberbullying, our system is also equipped with a "Child Protection System."

Digital Arts' web security cloud service i-FILTER@Cloud GIGA School Edition is a filtering service for schools that has been improved to enable the use of the GIGA School Concept's one device per student initiative and allow safe and smooth learning in educational settings. Based on i-FILTER's filter database, which has the No.1 share in the domestic market*, detailed filtering rules can be made to meet the learning environment's needs.
In addition, all three operating systems recommended by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in its GIGA School Concept can use the "post controls" function, which controls the posting of messages by students on hidden message boards and social media websites, and the uploading of photos taken with the device's built-in camera. This will prevent children and students from using the devices for private use, using them for purposes unrelated to learning, and writing messages that could lead to bullying. In addition, the control features of "Web Service Controls," such as login, writing, uploading, and downloading for each web service, and the "Child Protection System" blocks students' access to suicide-related websites from their own devices using i-FILTER@Cloud, and alerts designated teachers and staff or the Board of Education by e-mail. These functions help support educational settings to keep an eye on children's safety and find distressed students as soon as possible.
https://www.daj.jp/es/lp/GIGA/

*Fuji Chimera Research Institute, Inc. "2020 Network Security Business Survey General Guide" Web Filtering Tool Market Share (FY2019) (Published November 2020)

Digital Arts Inc. Overview
Digital Arts Inc. is an information security solution provider focused on the development and sales of security software for web, e-mail, files and other uses.
Since its founding in 1995, the company philosophy has been "Contributing to a safer, better, more convenient internet lifestyle" and since developing web-filtering software to prevent the browsing of harmful information on the internet, the company has been promoting internet security products to companies, the public sector and homes everywhere.
Otemachi First Square, West Tower 14F, 1-5-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
URL: https://www.daj.jp/