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New experiences unfold from viewing everyday life from different perspectives. The world seen through a microscope is one such example. It can be the inspiration that sparks your curiosity about nature and life. At Rikkyo Niiza Junior and Senior High School, in Saitama, Japan, there are 90 microscopes available for each student to make detailed observations. For some of them, it is their first real experience of using a proper microscope, and this educational microscope from Nikon, developed based on the concept of being ‘intuitive and easy-to-use’ is being utilized in their classes.
Valuing the microscope experience of each individual.
Do you remember the first time you ever looked through a microscope? You might have been very impressed by a world you had never seen before. To learn more about the contribution of microscopes to education, we spoke with Ms. Rika Izumi, a science teacher at Rikkyo Niiza Junior and Senior High School, in Saitama, Japan. Rikkyo Niiza Junior and Senior High School shares a campus with the affiliated Rikkyo University and is located in northern Niiza, Saitama Prefecture, amid the lush greenery of the Musashino plateau. The school building, constructed in 2014, resonates with this bright and open environment. The school’s educational philosophy that encourages students to learn and think by themselves based on freedom and self-discipline, greatly emphasizes the value placed upon the independence of students within the school’s culture.
Ms. Izumi teaches high-school students and her classes involve the microscopic observation of living organisms. As there are times when junior and high-school students need to make microscopic observations in their own respective classes during the same period, the school prepared 90 microscopes, sufficient for each student to make thorough observations. However, half of these instruments had exceeded their useful lifespan, so the school decided to replace them. As a result, the school selected the ECLIPSE Ei, Nikon’s educational microscope.
An easy-to-use microscope that allows anyone to concentrate on making observations.
Ms. Izumi and the other teachers chose the ECLIPSE Ei model over other microscopes because of its high resolution, and the bright and vibrant field of view. Moreover, its light weight, compact size and the convenience of stowing the power cord on the back, making it easy to handle and store, were also some of the decisive factors.
Ms. Izumi explained to us about what she has realized after adopting this microscope. “It is essential to teach students the proper operation and observation methods during the first lesson using microscopes, and this procedure is very time-consuming. This has been a concern of mine for a long time”, said Ms. Izumi. It takes a particularly long period for students to understand how to adjust the magnification of the objective lens and the amount of light. She would like to maximize the valuable experience of making microscopic observations for students in the limited amount of class time available. To realize this, she wants to keep this initial explanation time as short as possible. Ms. Izumi continues by telling us that, “the ECPLISE Ei aperture adjustment displays the magnification of the objective with corresponding colors as well. This makes it very easy to explain to the students, and also simple for them to understand. So even if there’s considerable time until the next lesson, they can quickly recall this information.” The knobs to adjust the focus and control the stage are simple to use, allowing students to concentrate on making their observations. It seems that this educational microscope developed based on the concept of being ‘intuitive and easy-to-use’ satisfies both the needs of the teachers and the students.
Creating new learning opportunities together with microscopes.
In Ms. Izumi’s classes, observation of Egeria densa and onion tissue, as well as the growth of sea urchins takes place in the lessons using microscopes. And currently, they are working on a new initiative. This began when a student asked, “Can I take a picture of this?”. After being given permission, he aligned his smartphone camera with the eyepiece and took a picture. The image was so impressive that the other students started to take pictures of their own. Ms. Izumi wanted to make better use of these photos taken by the students, and decided to use LoiLoNote School (LoiLo.Inc.), a cloud-based classroom supporting application. She first asked the students to upload the photos taken onto LoiLoNote School and then utilized them as reference examples during her classes.
They then also worked on investigating the air pollution levels in the school grounds. For this project, the students will go to different locations in the campus to collect pine leaves and through making investigations such as observing the stains in the leaf pores under the microscope, determine the air pollution levels and upload the results onto LoiLoNote School. Additionally, they plan to have each student and each class compile their observation results made throughout the school year to create an observation photobook on LoiLoNote School.
In addition to these projects, Ms. Izumi is also planning a lesson for making close observation of a single organ. “The ECLIPSE Ei is bright, clear, and easy-to-use, so the students can make close observations of an organ using different methods without any hassle,” said Ms. Izumi. The microscope, which shows us a world we have never seen before, possesses a mysterious power that sparks our curiosity. Nurturing and developing this curiosity will link to the students’ desire to learn even more, and lead to their growth.
Nikon sincerely hopes that these microscopes will further contribute to creating new learning opportunities together with the students.