A research team from the Department of Management Systems Engineering, Faculty of Knowledge Engineering, Tokyo City University has developed an application for tablet PCs that supports elementary school students in creating hazard maps, with the aim of independently ensuring the safety of children during disasters. This is the first attempt.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Central Council for Education has pointed out that while it is important to educate children about disaster prevention and safety from an early age in elementary school, there is a lack of appropriate evacuation maps in the event of a disaster, as they are intended for adults.
Therefore, the research team aims to develop the ability for children to think for themselves based on disaster prevention knowledge and make optimal decisions based on disaster prevention knowledge and through disaster prevention-themed classes such as hazard map creation and disaster-based evacuation drills*. , developed a class curriculum and application system for creating hazard maps within the school district using tablet PC applications.
The difference from the conventional hazard map creation curriculum is that it is not a one-off lesson, but a consistent one that deepens understanding on an annual basis for each grade from 3rd to 6th grade, and it is not a paper-based curriculum. One example is that it uses a tablet PC application.
From November 2015 to February 11, classes were held for fourth graders at Aihi Elementary School in Shinjuku Ward.The children divided into groups and conducted fieldwork exploring the city, creating hazard maps for each area that included the locations of fire extinguishers and hydrants, photos, and comments.They then created a hazard map for the entire city by combining the results of each group, and deepened their understanding of the city as a whole by linking the map with the actual scenery of the city.
From September 2016, 9, a total of 23 sessions will be held, in which students will engage in a disaster-based evacuation drill-type study where they assume they encounter a disaster on their way to school (disaster) and have children independently think of safe detours. That's what it means.
*Disaster-based evacuation drills are different from traditional on-site evacuation drills, and are evacuation drills designed to develop the ability to make independent decisions by imagining a disaster occurring in daily life. .
