Answers to questions received at the UD Font Seminar 2021
On this page,UD Font Seminar 2021We have posted answers to questions received on "Aiming for high-quality education that leaves no one behind," including questions that we were unable to answer on the day.
Q1. Can I use UD textbook fonts on a Chromebook?
UD fonts are not currently available on Chromebooks as they are not bundled with the device.
Answer: Morisawa Co., Ltd.
Q2. What does it mean for text to be easy to read on digital devices? (If there are any characteristics, please let us know.)
The UD Digital Textbook Font has lines that are almost uniform in thickness and do not easily fade when displayed on a digital device.
Although the content is aimed at people with low vision, the results of a test conducted by Professor Yasushi Nakano of Keio University on ease of viewing on digital devices (tablets) are posted on the website below.
Answer: Morisawa Co., Ltd.
https://www.morisawa.co.jp/products/fonts/ud-public/study/
Q3. Will UD fonts be included as standard in the LTSB2016 version, which is likely to be widely adopted in educational institutions?
As LTSB is not intended to be used for daily business purposes, feature updates will not be applied. Therefore, features that are not included at the time of installation will not be added through updates.
Answer: Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.Mr.
Q4. I am a freelance Japanese language educator. I feel that UD fonts are extremely useful in the field of Japanese language education. I would like to ask about the functions of PPT. Is there a possibility that ruby functions will be added to PPT in the future? (I am really looking forward to it.)
Unfortunately, it's not on our roadmap at the moment, but we appreciate your feedback and would like to share it with the development team. Currently, you can embed Word objects in PowerPoint (including ruby functions).
Answer: Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.
This is a life hack-like usage, but I hope you will find it useful as a starting point.
Q5. (Question to Nishinomiya City Board of Education) Please tell us the denominator for the survey.
What factors led to the penetration rate reaching 81% one and a half years after the system was introduced, and were there any specific activities undertaken by the Board of Education?
We received responses to the survey from just under 100 teachers. There are approximately 2,400 teachers in Nishinomiya City as a whole. The survey results and the number of teachers who said they were using UD fonts after hearing about them at training sessions and other events were roughly the same, so we believe that a penetration rate of around 80% is a reasonable figure.
One reason why so many teachers are now using UD fonts is that we explained them when introducing the school's administrative PCs, and they created materials using UD fonts during training sessions, which helped them experience the ease of reading, but I feel that the teachers' efforts played a large role. Teachers who are special needs class teachers and special needs education coordinators were also taking training on how text appears in special needs education training at the same time, and they spread the word about the use of UD fonts within their schools. This is also due to the growing awareness of universal design in the city for learning environments and lessons.
I also think that foreign language teachers have been using it to create worksheets, etc. The Board of Education has also worked hard to inform students that they can input four-line characters using conversion, and that they can display characters by overlaying a text box on top of them.
I feel that this is the result of teachers who need it and know its effectiveness taking the lead in promoting its use within the school.
Answer: Nishinomiya City Board of Education
*Reference video: "Learn more about UD fonts!" UD Digital Textbook Fonts, Western Series
Q6. When introducing UD fonts (and not just UD fonts...), I'd like to know if there are any tips for getting others involved. How to gather persuasive materials that will resonate with others, etc. Please also include financial information!
I feel that the introduction of the font was driven by the public's attention being paid to improving school administration and business practices.
Answer: Nishinomiya City Board of Education
As English education begins in the third grade of elementary school, teachers' workload increases, and we explained that using UD fonts makes it easier for teachers to use and reduces the burden on teachers of having to search for fonts that are easy to use for teaching.
Q7. Does the UD font for Roman characters include characters other than English (such as ü ş ç ö)? I have never paid any attention to Roman characters until now.
The UD Digital Textbook Font Roman Series within the MORISAWA BIZ+ service introduced during the seminar is only equipped with Latin characters (alphabet) as it was developed with a focus on elementary school English education.
For detailed character specifications, click here
https://www.morisawa.co.jp/products/fonts/bizplus/requirements/In addition to the typefaces included in MORISAWA BIZ+, Morisawa also offers several multilingual UD fonts.
Answer: Morisawa Co., Ltd.
https://www.morisawa.co.jp/fonts/udfont/lineup/
We would be grateful if you could let us know if there are any cases in which this is necessary in educational settings.
Q8. What is the reason for the 20% of people who do not use UD fonts?
The question asked whether teachers were "utilizing" UD fonts. Therefore, I think that the answer "not utilizing" may have been due to teachers who knew about them but did not actively use them. I believe that there are almost no teachers who are not aware of UD fonts, and I do not think that they are not utilizing them because there are disadvantages to them.
Answer: Nishinomiya City Board of Education
One request we have received is for more UD fonts. In addition to making text easier to read, there seems to be a demand for them to be used in design for posters.
Q9. My PC has six "UD Digital Textbook Fonts" installed, and I'd like to know the difference between N/NK/NP. (I think B and R are bold and regular.)
HereIt is explained in detail here.
Answer: Morisawa Co., Ltd.
Q1. I think there were references or papers in the PowerPoint, but it was only for a moment so I wasn't able to take notes.
Wong, K., Wadee, F., Ellenblum, G.,
Answer: Mutsumi Iijima
& McCloskey, M. (2018).
The devil's in the g-tails: Deficient letter-shape knowledge and awareness despite massive visual experience. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 44(9), 1324–1335.
Shirahata, Tomohiko, Wakabayashi, Shigenori, and Muranoi, Hitoshi (2010), Detailed Explanation of Second Language Acquisition Research: From Theory to Research Methods, Kenkyusha.
Jeffries, Linda and Mikulecky, Beatrice
(ed.) (2009) Reading Power 2, Pearson Japan.
Q2. It would be helpful if you could provide us with your references.
Uchiyama, Kazuya (2017) "A Brief Consideration of the Shape of Kana Characters in Modern Japanese," Bulletin of the Japanese Language Education Research Center, Beppu University, 7, 43-47
Answer: Chie Iwasaki
Nagaoka, Yuki (2011) "Examining the significance and role of literacy education from the perspective of literacy awareness: Focusing on the theory of the learning process of "writing"",
Japanese Language Education, 69, 43-50
Furukawa, Masako (2001) "Possibilities for Kanji Learning Content in Japanese Language Education Using Mobile Phones: Issues with Character Fonts and Text Display on Device Screens," Bulletin of the Graduate School of Japanese Language Education, Showa Women's University, 1, 18-29
Toshihiro Yoshikawa (2016) "Explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge in second language acquisition (SLA)"
(Implicit knowledge), Foreign Language Education: Theory and Practice, 42, 1-15
The Japan Foundation (2011) "Teaching Characters and Vocabulary"
Agency for Cultural Affairs (2016) "Guidelines for the font and shape of the Joyo Kanji List"
Q3. What are the names of apps that international students use to study Japanese?
Since we primarily use free applications, the accuracy may be lower depending on the dictionary. However, as a digital gadget, it is connected to a camera, so we are using it in new ways, such as scanning and searching for characters that we cannot read. On the other hand, since we no longer write with our fingers, it sometimes does not lead to air calligraphy practice. We have also introduced a kanji practice app, but tracing a screen with a finger is different from writing with a pen, so it would be better to explain the pros and cons of each to promote understanding.
Answer: Chie Iwasaki
<Examples of applications used by students>
・Voice Tra
・Hakuhinoki Dictionary (used by many students)
・Google Translate (used by many students)
・MOJI Dictionary
・ Jp Mm Dict
・ JLPT kotoba
・ Baidu Translation (mainly Chinese)
・ Mazii (mainly Vietnamese) *This can be viewed in part as a handwritten font animation.
・ Beautiful character judgment
・ Kanji Ninja
Q4. Have any papers containing Professor Iijima's experimental results been published?
It hasn't been announced yet.
answer:Mutsumi IijimaMr.
I hope to provide a more detailed analysis in the future.
Q5. I am a beginner when it comes to UD digital textbook fonts. I looked at Microsoft's products and found that there are six types. Which one is the best? How do you use them?
For details on the differences between the UD digital textbook fonts, please seeThis siteIt is explained in.
Answer: Morisawa
Based on the content of the above website, when using "UD Digital Textbook Font R," we recommend using "P" for the main text, since the spacing between kana characters can create a rhythm in Japanese text. When using large text, such as presentation slides, where the kana characters appear to be flipping, we recommend using "K."
[Fonts frequently used by each speaker]
・Professor Iijima often uses the K-equipped
・Professor Iwasaki often uses P-attached phrases (he would like to use K-attached phrases, but there is a lot he wants to convey, so the number of characters is long, so he often uses P-attached phrases)
Q6. After hearing Professor Iwasaki talk about international students, I thought that no matter how explicitly they are told to write the alphabet (g, y, p, q) without the letters below the base line, it might be related to the fact that Japanese is basically written within a grid. In addition to these students, there are also students who spent a lot of time abroad in their childhood and struggle with remembering and writing kanji. Are there any effective learning methods or support we can provide to help these students?
Students with extensive overseas experience who do not speak Japanese in their daily or home lives may have difficulty not only learning the language they are studying, but also mastering kanji itself. This situation is similar to that faced by international students who have not had the experience of gradually being exposed to kanji. Particularly when students suddenly begin studying kanji in the middle grades of elementary school, they may perceive the character as a single character unrelated to its meaning, without first acquiring basic knowledge of the origins of kanji and simple kanji. This creates a vicious cycle in which they are unable to understand the meaning or notice the combinations of each kanji character's morpheme, preventing them from recalling kanji. Furthermore, they may lose interest or even develop a sense of inferiority, seeing as the children around them can read and write kanji.
In recent years, learning methods incorporating gamification have become popular, and we believe this approach is easy to adopt when initially introducing kanji to learners. For example, practicing kanji pattern recognition is also effective. Dividing kanji into four types—left-right, up-down, structural, and overall—not only makes it easier to visualize the kanji's shape as a diagram, but also helps students become aware of radicals and understand the balance of each element. A quiz format can also reduce students' perceived difficulty with writing. Quizzes that evoke associations with partially obscured kanji also pique students' interest. Another way to connect Realia materials to learning is by combining them with other subjects. At our university, we conduct activities such as "Exploring the World of Kanji in Everyday Life." For example, after a lecture on disasters, students visit evacuation shelters and take photos of "kanji related to evacuation and disasters" displayed there, then present them. Since the kanji have already been learned in class, tasks such as finding them are relatively easy, or asking someone working there if they can't find them are given. By learning and understanding the meanings of kanji and identifying actual locations where they are used, students can associate kanji with everyday situations, leading to kanji production.Answer: Chie Iwasaki
It is also often said that when it comes to handwriting, learners want "corrections for errors" more than we supporters realize. Corrections made only with red felt-tip pens often do not lead to understanding, so verbal communication is also necessary. Presentation of "bad examples" was well received as it made them easier to understand. Although this is a miscellaneous list, I have explained some of the methods of support. Thank you for your questions.
Q7. You mentioned an example of students writing part of a character beyond the underline. Are there any international students who have difficulty fitting Japanese characters into a square "masu" (masu)? Conversely, some Japanese students learning English have difficulty writing characters beyond the line below the underline.
As you mentioned in your question, some students at the beginning level have never practiced writing kana characters using the square "masu" when learning them. I have heard that some students self-taught themselves in their home countries, or that they never used practice papers with "masu" written on them when they studied at school. However, when learning yo-on sounds, they seem to have only heard that they should write them in small letters, and sometimes the letters end up being surprisingly small. When first learning Japanese kana characters, most textbooks have the kana written inside a square "masu." However, even if students copy the kana characters, if there is no "masu" in their practice notebooks, I think it will be difficult for them to notice the difference between the characters they write themselves and the model.
Furthermore, as students progress in their studies, when they try out complex kanji, if they don't understand the kanji morphemes, they won't internalize the character's shape and will find it difficult to produce it accurately, often resulting in overwriting. However, this isn't the case for all international students; students who study carefully write neatly. After all, if students focus on character shape, sound, and meaning at the beginning of their studies, are able to classify patterns, and this leads to an explicit understanding through the "masu" (masu) character, I believe this will lead to subsequent reflection.Answer: Chie Iwasaki
The case studies of Japanese English learners are also very interesting. I believe there used to be something like a four-line workbook for English, like the Japanese "masu" character, but are they no longer used? I believe that the teaching materials used when introducing kana characters and the alphabet will continue to be used in future studies, so I would like to continue my research in order to contribute to effective learning for learners. Thank you for your question.
Q8. English education begins in elementary school, but are there many children who have no trouble in other subjects but suddenly find themselves struggling with English education? Please tell me what parts of English education children struggle with.
This question is related to whether or not the differences in the characteristics of the Japanese and English languages make reading and writing difficulties more likely to be apparent. You may have heard of reading and writing disorders (dyslexia).
Answer: Mutsumi Iijima
This disorder manifests itself only in reading and writing, despite the child having no intellectual problems, and is caused by difficulty grasping the relationship between letters and sounds. It is said that this reading and writing disorder is less likely to manifest in Japanese, where the relationship between letters and sounds is one-to-one, but more likely to manifest in languages such as English, where the relationship between letters and sounds is more complex. Therefore, even Japanese children may have hidden reading and writing disabilities that remain hidden while they are studying in Japanese. As they suddenly begin learning English, which relies on letters, in junior high school, their hidden reading and writing difficulties may suddenly become apparent, resulting in the so-called "first-year junior high school gap" in English. As English education becomes more fully implemented in elementary school, and letters become a part of everyday learning, it is important to check for hidden reading and writing difficulties in Japanese as well before this happens.
Q1. Has this language been particularly attracting attention from teachers?
As far as I can tell from checking the installation list, most of the teachers are English-related, and there are also a few Spanish teachers using it.
Answer: Masaaki Ishii
Q2. You introduced us to the stroke order font. In what situations do you think it can be used?
In elementary school Japanese language classes, students whose native language is not Japanese may be learning characters (hiragana, kanji, etc.). By using PowerPoint's animation function, you can make stroke order and other details more easily understandable. We hope you find the information below useful.
Answer: Mr. Niwa Kazuhisa
* Morisawa's support page: "What is a stroke order font?"https://www.morisawa.co.jp/support/faq/154
*Print & Promotion - A specialized site for digital printing
https://p-prom.com/product/?p=48895
*Introduction to the activities of the General Social Incorporated Association for the Development and Support of Children and Youthhttps://fontswitch.jp/post/6972
Q3. Are there any fonts that you often use or recommend for online classes or online meetings?
I like to use UD Digital Textbook Font NK-R! I find it easy to distinguish when displaying half-width alphabets and numbers interwoven with Japanese text.
Answer: Masaaki Ishii
Q4. Has the use of UD fonts and the industry-academia collaboration with Morisawa changed the students in any way?
Before the collaborative class, many students had no idea about universal design or only thought of it as barrier-free, but after learning that universal design also exists for characters (fonts), I think they have been able to take a more "user-friendly" perspective in various everyday situations.This articleI hope you will also take a look.
Answer: Masaaki Ishii
Q5. You said that you did not have a budget for the implementation, but did you have any difficulties in getting other departments to provide the budget?
During this implementation, we did not experience any difficulties in the related activities to create an environment for the use of UD fonts for some of the stakeholders.
Although it would be ideal to introduce it university-wide, our first priority was to implement it as quickly as possible.
Therefore, we narrowed our objective to "reducing the visual burden on students with special needs and similar students when taking online classes," and worked to secure the budget necessary for the minimum number of contracts.
The department that provided the implementation budget also had a thorough understanding of universal design, and they were able to allocate the funds that had remained unspent due to the effects of COVID-19.Our goal remains to introduce this system university-wide, and we are also utilizing the following information.
Answer: Mr. Niwa Kazuhisa
*Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, "Notice Concerning the Enforcement of the Act on Promoting the Development of Reading Environments for Visually Impaired Persons, etc." July 8, 2019
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/ikusei/gakusyushien/1418383.htm
Q6. Surveys and student feedback indicate that UD fonts are easier to read and more helpful, but please let us know if there are any internal rules or other reasons why they are not being used university-wide.
One reason is that we are currently unable to contract enough licenses for all faculty and staff to use the software. If we were to make university-wide use a rule or recommendation, we would need to purchase licenses for all faculty and staff who may potentially use the software, so we have not yet reached that stage.
Answer: Masaaki Ishii
Another reason is that while it is sufficient to simply create a file and display (project) it, when distributing the file, the recipient must either have the same UD font or the font must be embedded, which makes simultaneous use difficult.
Furthermore, and this is purely my personal opinion, I believe that the choice of font to use and the expression to be made should be left up to each faculty member, staff member, and student. No matter how excellent a UD font is, if the expressive artist wishes to use a different font, I would like to leave that option open.
However, it is possible that the university will eventually standardize or recommend it to some extent (for university-wide use).
Q7. Surveys and student feedback indicate that UD fonts are easier to read and more helpful, but please let us know if there are any internal rules or other reasons why they are not being used university-wide.
Nagasaki University has only just begun to use it, so it is too early to make it a rule.
Answer: Mr. Niwa Kazuhisa
When budgeting for university-wide implementation costs, we need to demonstrate the effectiveness of implementation, so we would like to promote the creation of rules based on the student survey example conducted at Kanda University of International Studies.
Q8. What are the thoughts of native foreign language teachers about UD fonts?
I have looked at the installation status and survey results so far, but I have not yet received any feedback from native speakers of foreign languages. I would like to collect this information in the future.
Answer: Masaaki Ishii
Q9. Where can I get the UD font mark? Are there any rules for its use?
The UD font mark isThis siteIt can be downloaded from here.
Answer: Morisawa
For usage rules, please refer to the "Usage Guidelines" downloaded along with the UD Font Mark.