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Sony STEAM Studio 2018
Encouraging failure to narture creativity

Opening BGM. The screen shows the Sony STEAM Studio 2018 event venue

The title, "Education for the AI age," is displayed on a screen showing children and aibo

The message, "It was so fun I lost track of time," written by a child on the event signboard at the venue entrance

The Stories logo appears on the screen. Next, the main title, "Encouraging failure to nurture creativity," is displayed. Underneath that is the title, "Sony STEAM Studio 2018"

While the screen shows images of children repeatedly writing and erasing as they struggle over exam papers, Kenichiro Mogi, who develops unique theories on education as a neuroscientist, begins to speak in off-screen narration

Dr. Mogi
"Our present education system evaluates children based on how much information they can memorize.
One problem is that it doesn't adequately consider each child's unique ndividuality
The greatest problem is that it doesn't nurture creativity, which is the most important thing today"

With an earnest expression on his face, Mogi talks about the kind of education that is needed in the age of AI
His job title is displayed on the screen:
Dr. Kenichiro Mogi　Scientist　Senior Researcher
Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc.

Dr. Mogi
"Today's children will grow up as AI natives, From the moment they're born, they'll be surrounded by artificial intelligence and robots
The way they learn may be completely different from the way we learned as children
So our job is to propose specific solutions and technologies to foster new ways of learning"

Images are inserted as Mogi is speaking. The images are of children of today forming up into lines and going home from school

Image of Masaaki Isozu, President & CEO of Sony Global Education, Inc., glancing at some children on their way home from school as he passes by them

Isozu
"My goal is to innovate in education.
To create new systems, new ways of learning"

Isozu at the STEAM Studio 2018 event venue, talking about why Sony is and will continue to be involved in education, and the company's passion regarding educating the next generation.

Isozu
"You have to be willing to tear down existing systems and rebuild everything from the ground up
That trial-and-error mentality is fundamental for Sony
In the future, the readiness to fail will be essential
The ability to learn without fear of failure"

The screen symbolically shows the "Sony" logo at Sony Head Office
Next, the following descriptions are shown over an image of a city seen from above:
KOOV: Educational Coding & Robotics Kit
MESH: IoT Coding Kit
Through education products such as these,
Sony is shaping the future of education

On a screen showing lively children entering the Sony Head Office building (the event venue) full of excitement about the yet-to-be-experienced world that is about to begin, the following description is shown:
In July 2018, Sony held the STEAM Studio 2018 workshop,
an innovative and exciting hands-on coding experience

The screen shows the expressions of children getting hands-on coding experience using KOOV, MESH, etc.
Then, the following captions appear:
STEAM Education
Science　Technology　Engineering　Art　Mathematics
Sony views art education as vital to nurturing children's creativity
These captions convey the thinking behind Sony's working on STEAM education

A close-up image of children's hands as they pick up the Coding Kit with deep interest
Then, the following caption appears:
Sony's STEAM workshop uses various approaches to stimulate children's natural playful instincts

The screen shows Teruhiro Shimizu, Education Evangelist, Sony Global Education, Inc inside the STEAM Studio 2018 venue. He begins to talk about the aims behind planning this year's event, and the thoughts and ideas that have been put into it

Shimizu
"In our version of the story, the third little pig doesn't build a house of brick.
Instead, he uses KOOV and MESH to figure out how to save themselves from the wolf"

While images of children enjoying the event with beaming smiles are shown, Shimizu continues to share his thoughts in off-screen narration

Shimizu
"More than trying to create something that's 100% perfect,
what children need is to feel engaged and excited
I hope that will be the takeaway of this Sony STEAM Studio workshop"

The screen changes, and Masaaki Isozu begins to talk again about the importance of creativity born from trial and error
Part way through the scene, the screen shows images of children picking up Coding Kits and earnestly wrestling with the task of assembling them

Isozu
"Children don't worry about making mistakes
Let's say you're building a robot with KOOV and it's 90% done, but something's not quite right.
A grownup will focus on completing the robot as is,because they don't want to have wasted all that effort
But a child will tear it apart and start all over again from scratch
Children will do it over and over again until their project comes out just the way they want it
This process of trial and error is what gives rise to new ideas and fosters creativity
Processes like coding that involve putting things in order nurture children's logical reasoning ability
Then to express the results of the processas an output calls for aesthetic sensibility"

The screen changes to show Kenichiro Mogi. He talks about what education should be like from a neuroscientific perspective

Dr. Mogi
"Art education nurtures children's aesthetic sensibility
Finding the right balance between art and science education is essential to children's mental development
Being able to imagine and design something that doesn't already exist is the essence of human creativity"

The screen changes, and Masaaki Isozu begins to talk again
He stresses the importance of failure and what that means, and concludes with a message to the parents of children who will need to survive in the age of AI

Isozu
"In many ways, gaining the capacity to fail is at the very heart of STEAM learning
There's not just one right answer. It's OK if everyone has a different answer
That's the world we live in
Failure teaches you a great deal, and learning from it can drive success
It's better to fail sooner rather than later
The sooner you fail, the sooner you can try again
And of course, the more times you try, the more times you'll succeed
I'd like kids today to learn how to fail early and often, to see failure not as a setback but as an opportunity
To learn that failing can be fun, and that it's an important part of the learning process"

The screen shows handwritten messages left by the children on the event board after the event, having experienced first-hand the programming education that will be needed to survive in the age of AI, and touched the world of the future as Sony has imagine it will be There are many messages, such as:

"It was so fun I lost track of time"
"The smartphone-operated car was really cool
I definitely want to do this again"
"Robotics makes ordinary games much more fun!"
"It really blew my mind!"
"aibo's so cute He's just like a real dog!"
"I enjoyed making a plan with the other kids and then building it!"
"It was cool learning about new technology"
"I'm so glad I came today! I can't wait to come back!"
"It was great—I saw things I'd never seen before!"

Movie ends with Sony's logo.

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