Japan preschools using tablets to prep tots for digital age

YOSHIKAWA (Japan): Japanese preschool programs equipped with tablet computers are aiming to prepare kids for the digital age.

The Associated Press visited Coby Preschool, in a town northeast of Tokyo, where toddlers use tablets to color birds and flowers that appear to come alive as 3-D computer graphics. The school in a small town northeast of Tokyo is among nearly 400 kindergartens and nursery schools helping lead a national initiative in "digital play."

They are using smartphone software applications designed especially for preschoolers called KitS.

Experts say the applications are meant to encourage creativity and collaboration, although they warn of the risks of relying too heavily on technology.

The government wants to strengthen technology education even while it struggles to meet its target of supplying one computer or tablet per three children.