Remote Learning Responses to the COVID-19 Situation in Creating Collaborative Learning Environment: Cases from Nagasaki’s Public Schools

Abstract This paper examines collaborative learning environment through remote learning in local government. While COVID-19 brought pedagogical and financial challenges to public schools that were already experiencing crises in the management of their educational programs, it also created new opportunities to strengthen relationships and create institutions that will bring out the resilience needed to bounce back stronger and better than before. Government-led approaches to introduce ICT into the educational environment have become even more important in the during the COVID-19 disaster, and in this crisis, public school education in remote areas, including remote island regions, is about to undergo a major transformation. In recent years, ICT environments have begun to be established in educational settings throughout the country. However, it is a fact that there is a large difference in the response to remote learning among local governments. On the other hand, some local governments in Nagasaki Prefecture have begun initiatives to collaborate with private companies and universities to enhance remote learning. In particular, in remote island areas, cross-border collaborative remote learning is being developed in a way that makes use of past experiences. These efforts are expected to meet the needs of the "new normal" under the COVID-19 situation and to be effectively used as "hubs for collaborative learning" that will become the standard in the future. This paper briefly explores the challenges and possibilities of how the promotion of remote learning can bring a ray of hope to the educational field of public schools, using the case of Nagasaki Prefecture, which includes remote island area. KEYWORDS: Remote Learning, Online Education, COVID-19, Collaborative Learning, Nagasaki